down with Berlin, hall of shame!

I couldn't agree more. Melville is said to be a R250 million per month turnover tourist destination. Despite this staggering economic fact the Gauteng provincial government is doing nothing visible to preserve this place and keep it safe. Gauteng tourism is doing nothing to help enhance or preserve this place that employs hundreds of people. As we speak, an uncontrolled, dope-infested drinking hole of an establishment called Berlin is single handedly killing the place. Barely two days ago a man stumbled out of this rot of a place with blood dripping from stab wounds before being chased up to the corner of a neighbouring business where he and his girlfriend were further beaten up before those who did this went back to Berlin. The Berlin managers did not even call the police! On the contrary, 48 hours later, yesterday, a Sunday, three other Berlin patrons beat up a 7th street business owner on the street with Berlin patrons cheering as they stood spilling out of Berlin on to the pavement as they normally do because he dared to ask one of these three hooligan Berlin patrons to move his car that was parked in the middle of the road so that he could drive his home! The Berlin owner was not there. She is never at Berlin except to collect the money she makes from killing what is arguably one of the best streets in the world right now. Not so long ago, a similar fate befell one of the best streets in South Africa, a place that was reputed to represent the future of South Africa before liberation came, a beautiful street, Rockey Street in Yeoville, because nobody did anything when the rot began. And when they did try, it was too late. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! Let's all join hands together and get our government to do something about this. More importantly, let's rally together and SHUT BERLIN DOWN, NOW! Granted, the Gauteng provincial government has apparently agreed to pave 7th Street and turn it into a pedestrian thoroughfare. But it says it will do it in two years! But will there be a 7th Street in two years? Will there even be a Melville? Or will they have disappeared and gone under because of this sickness of a place called Berlin? Enough is enough people. Let your voice be heard. Join in and help by posting a comment here if you agree, even if it's just one sentence, and help SHUT BERLIN DOWN, NOW! We cannot let one greedy, uncaring, violence infested establishment kill an entire zone that is a haven for both tourists and locals alike. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

BERLIN MUST GO!!!!!!!

The only people who preserve the antiquity of Melville are the people who actually do something about the constant struggle that Melville has had to survive these elements. If you need a little more than a comment on this site to get rid of Berlin, You have my full support!!!

Raeesa

I drove past Berlin last night at 23h00 - it was total chaos, seemed like more patrons outside on the pavemet and on the street than inside. The scene made enough of an impact for me to comment on it when I got home. Drunk and disorderly doesn't begin to describe it. The noise from Berlin, on "those" nights, can be heard from more than two blocks away.
But it's not unusual - many people familiar with Berlins activities will avoid that block in it's entirety on certain nights of the week. So the businesses on the rest of the block suffer while one venue profits.
The real question, though, is how do they get away with it when other venues have to toe the line?

What is happening to Melville is saddening but what happened to Eb's, a man I care about is even worse, you have my full support to shut the rat infested place down!

Having lived a considerable time in Melville and still patronising it on occasion, I'm appalled to hear about these developments concerning the establishment called Berlin. Years ago, there was a similar place called "the Red Barrel", which occupied the same space where Soi is now. A familiar, but disconcerting thread is running through Berlin and it calls for concern. Patrons of the Red Bull used to arrive, drink out of the boots of their cars and generally cause misery for other patrons of this establishment and others in the vicinity. Concerned residents and others managed to get this place closed down, which generally uplifted the street again. I'm supportive of closing down Berlin, especially when my friends are being affected by the unruly behaviour of delinquents!

i think its about time the the people of melville took action against these barbaric elements that threaten the cool co-existence that has been the people, bars & restaurants on 7th. We cannot allow one rouge element to sabotage an entire way of life & livelihood of many people.
The owner simply must be held accountable for the actions of her patrons barbaric behaviour & the assault on the owner of six...

I'm behind Eric Miyeni's comments 100%. I hang out at Berlin sometimes, but would hate the street to go because of one bar. So yes, I'm supportive of closing down the place

It has to close down with a twinkling of an eye, we dont have human butcheries

Terrible what happened at Berlin and a lot of anger directed at closing it down -- I wonder how, exactly, this can be accomplished?

Okey - so how do we act to make it close down? Will protest lists help, or is there a more efficient way? Any suggestions?

I've lived in Melville for 23 years. I can honestly say I love the place and it's where I feel most at home.

That said, I refuse to go near 7th on a friday or saturday night. The place is utter chaos. I've never been a fan of Berlin, the place is tiny, the staff are useless and the patrons are, for the most part, not the most restrained of people.

I've shocked that Eb's was attacked, he's one of the friendliest proprietors on the street along with Ivor from Unplugged.

I often feel that too much negativity attention is focused on Trance Sky, at least they have door staff to keep unwanted types out and they know when they're at capacity and refuse entry until people leave.

Something definitely needs to be done about Berlin attitude towards safety and the law(correct me if I'm wrong but it's illegal to drink on the pavement outside the venue - I know The Ant doesn't allow it).

please all come to the melville residents association meeting on wednesday night (november 26) at 6pm at the Melville Junction Church. I'm sure this incident will be among the topics of conversation.

As a Melville local I do not want 7th Ave to become the next Rocky Street by any means.

Surely the only way around this, is to apply laws/bylaws..any venue has a legal maximum capacity that cannot be exceeded for fire/health whatever reasons. The same applies to patrons outside the venue, I've been to many a venue and been asked not to take alcohol outside. Some venues cater for an outside clientèle, some don't/cannot, Berlins is one of the latter. The same surely applies to excess noise. Action taken on any of the above will surely result in the venue toeing the line or shutting shop.

What attracted me to Melville all those years ago was that it represented a tranquil island of bohemia within a rather chaotic city. Now we are faced with Melville becoming part and parcel of the chaos that surrounds us. Unfortunately things have changed rather quickly over the years and in-part I blame the Uni halls of residence down the road. Nonetheless what we have is Berlin representing the tip of the iceberg of a growing problem - the spread of violence and chaos.

I don't advocate for use of heavy handed policing(Many of us readers were in Unplugged back in 2004 when it got raided and most of us were searched)but a return to law and order has to be achieved so that law abiding citizens can live in peace and harmony.

Melville always represented the ideal of what our Rainbow Nation should be - lets not lose that!

I think that all of the comments listed above suggest that people are tired of the chaos associated with unruly establishments. What comes out of this for me is the following:

1. The Berlin owner is only interested in making money at the cost of 7th Street

2. Landlords are allowing this to occur, by not enforcing the terms of the leases; establishments cannot be in violation of municipal by-laws, and landlords are just as responsible for not enforcing the terms of the lease.

The answer is quite simple:

GET BERLIN TO COMPLY, OR THE LANDLORD MUST KICK THEM OUT

We can't keep having beautiful places being turned upside down by people without beautiful visions.

The City of Berlin -the home of the truly Bohemian Culture. A City that faced struggle & divided for over 40 years. A place that is now unified through its Bohemian Thinking and Freedom of Expression,Respect,Integrity & Peace,very much similar to the symbolism of 7th Street in Melville. Where in the past attracted a collective of Free Thinkers,Struggle Heroes,Artists,Actors, Poets & Intellectuals. The degrade of Melville is chasing all of this away, the culture of Melvile is Dying and all like minded minds are pushed away by the rot.

Bar Berlin is a disgrace to the city it is named after and an even bigger disgrace to 7th Street. I have withnessed too many people at Berlin standing on the street outside the entrace drinking,being overly-loud, and often at times smoking Dagga. I have even witnessed people being victims of pick-pocketing as walking by Berlin's crowd outside. Now all the above mentioned issues that Berlin is part of is in fact a contrevention of the Liqour Act and Berlin should definately have its Liqour License reviewed.

1.Allowing Drinking in Public on its premises.
2.Allowing the use of Drugs on its premises.
3.Creating an unsafe environment for patrons at its premises and surronding business operations.

"If a licensed trader causes a nuisance this may be in breach of the Liquor Act or the conditions of the licence. A complaint must be laid with the police, who will take steps against the trader. Where a community organisation, for example a community policing forum or rate payer's association, is active in the community, it must be informed. If the problem persists, the police are required to send a report to the Liquor Board. The Liquor Board may hold a hearing and place conditions on the licence or withdraw or suspend the licence, if necessary. "

Just for the Record...I am a young person,23 years old, a student type, who lives,parties,drinks,smokes(cigs),socializes in Melville.
I dont even feel safe in Melville on the Weekends,hence we go out during week-nights in Melville & Greenside(Safer) on the Weekends.

Melville has a better street-vibe than Greenside but soon 7th Ave, well end up like Rocky Street if nothing is done.

It is very sad that something like this had to happened to someone like Eb's, who has witnessed the demise of Rocky Street, taken actions to get rid of the riff-raff and control peoples behavouir at his own establishments, so well, truly an business owner/resident who is concerned for his clientele,business,employees and 7th Street as a whole.

The other business owners need to collectively address the problems of 7th Street, co-operate with each-other as this is in the best interest of all. And those that feel they shouldn't co-operate because the riff-raff brings them business..these establishments should have their LIQOUR LICENSE REVIEWED & REVOKED!!

-Let Berlin n likeness Establishments sell Coffee rather :)

Please, if you see Berlin (or any other bar on 7th) breaking the law by allowing patrons to drink outside or after drinking hours, call the police immediately. If the are inundated with calls, they might just do something. Well, maybe.

Berlin is a disgusting place. It is dirty, the service is terrible and we could really do without it. The patrons are thugs. I support closing this 'establishment' down.

The police must know that there is a problem. Surely they have received calls when things get out of hand? Everyone should petition for it's closure and badger the police until they take action. The landlady should also be targeted: greed kills, but you can bet she thinks that she is a 'decent human being'...

Does anyone have contact details for the landlady/lord? There's a lot of anger on this thread, but nothing will change unless we actually do something -- petition, picket, whatever it takes to work with the bar to get them to change their attitude. I don't think shutting it down is realistic, unless anybody has an idea of HOW this can be achieved.

Or is it a deeper issue that now seems to cluster around this particular establishment?
This seems to happen from time to time - a bar or club becomes "it". All the rubbish flock there and the trouble is centred on one place.
Perhaps we should be rather looking at a different set of rules for the strip:
stricter decibel control measures (including cars)
stricter liquor law controls
earlier closing times
better policing of beahviour around the strip - public urination, violence, public drinking, public drunkeness

Berlin just happens to be the latest offender in a long trail of shame.

Melville Joller

Well said Mandy and Eric!
Yes, we have made a start but need even more support and energy put into this.
Where to from here?

Lets all positively tackle this issue and get Melville back!

I used to frequent 7th Street in Melville for many reasons, such as the relaxed atmoshere and variety of establishments and people. These days, it seems that Melville is visited by only one type of person, those you find at Berlin. At the time when things began to change for the worse on 7th on Friday and Saturday nights, I couldn't help notice that the SAPS were conspicuos by their abscence, expecially since there was always a very visible police presence in Melville over the weekend at night. When they were patrolling one didn't see transgressions of by-laws like one sees in their abscence. Have they lost interest? Are they simply no longer bothered? Many people compain that the SAPS does nothing in our communities and that they are grossly ineffective, but while they were around in Melville things were fine - now that they have left things have gone to the dogs. Drinking in public is illegal in South Africa, yet if you have the misfortune of being on 7th over a weekend, you run the risk of blowing your car's tyres on the bottles left in the street. I think it's time for the SAPS to explain where they have gone! Oh yes, shut down Berlin if only as a message to all that nobody is above the law and that business owners should be made to take responsibility for the impact their business has on the community.

I've been going out in Melville a long time and I also go to Berlin, sometimes also on these very busy nights.

As someone who has been inside there, it's obvious none of the people writing here have been. People having a good time but I've never experienced violence or anything threatening inside the place. I'm always stopped at the door with my drink.

A lot happens in Melville - I've seen fights everywhere from Six to Unplugged to Spiros when it was still there to right in the middle of the street. I know many people who have been pickpocketed at not only the bars but the restaurants as well. Hijacked, robbed, and worse.

Melville is unsafe these days but it seems unfair to blame one establishment that you have never even step foot into. By the way I would also like to count the amount of times the word "seems" appears in the above posts.

I find it strange that all these descriptions of the supposed attack on Eb's claim that the attacker was from Berlin. I witnessed the incident up close, and nobody involved in that incident was from berlin. i recall owners of a bar opposite berlin being involved in the altercation and literally body-slamming a young man into the ground. They were the ones taunting the onlookers, who were inevitably curious to see what was happening. I don't know what sparked the entire thing off, but to blame it on berlin patrons is a blatant lie. I think there's a bigger issue within Melville, and everybody seems to be pointing their fingers at Berlin as if all the problems stem from there. This is ridiculous. There are many bars on 7th that play loud music - some of them with their entire store front exposed to their loud speakers. I frequent Berlin Bar On Thursdays and Sundays, and as a hip-hop loving white man, have never felt threatened in any way while there, even when it has been full and white people have been in the minority. On many occasions, i've been stopped from taking my drinks outside, and have seen people being stopped from bringing their own drinks inside. It does get full, but these reports of disorderly conduct on the streets sound a bit exaggerated. It's unfortunate that the majority of people who frequent the bar don't have access to this specific avenue to express their views and opinions. If they did, i think we'd start getting a more unbiased view on the situation.

As a resident of Melville I would like to distance myself from this latest witch hunt against Berlin. During the past couple of years the residence association has done nothing but alienate business owners in the area, instead of discussing problems with them and trying to find solutions together. The constant referral to Yeoville should be a warning to us as residents, as that area’s demise happened when the bar and club owners left. Has nobody noticed all the empty shops in Melville? All studies done on urban decay shows this as one of the first signs. We became a hostile community, and should take responsibility for no new businesses wanting to move into Melville too. While I am not happy with the changes in Melville, some of it like the changing demographic is inevitable. Why the sudden witch hunt on one business that’s been there for years? Trust me, Berlin is one of the good guys.