The basement of the future Cruz Blanca residence, in the Altavista neighborhood, is becoming a meeting point for young minors, who meet in these unfinished works "to have their first drinks and roll their first joints", according to a neighbor of the neighborhood.
"The minors ignore what the older people tell them, having the nerve to stand up to them", says this woman, who affirms that the minors are not from the neighborhood, but come from other places in Arrecife. "This is where they meet."
This woman assures that it is not only the minors who enter the works, but also "the adults do their thing".
"It is regrettable what is happening in this work, in which both the Minister of Social Affairs of the Government of the Canary Islands, as well as so many politicians who are not governing at this time, took their photo when they laid the first stone. A social work so necessary for the thousands of elderly and homeless people we have on this island of Lanzarote", she laments.
This fact was verified this Saturday by the president of the Amigos de Cruz Blanca association, Francis Martín, who had already been alerted by the neighborhood association, as well as by several merchants in the neighborhood. "We were in Altavista at a street market and we were able to verify during the day how young people were coming and going", Martín points out.
"We already warned"
Martín assures that they approached there and verified that there were several sofas installed."There was a group of about 12 young children. We saw drinks, joints and even some condoms. And I have been told that sometimes young people go even with their babies", assures the president of the Amigos de Cruz Blanca association. "We told them that they couldn't be there and they responded with insults. That they were not going to leave there and that we should prove that it is ours", he adds.
Even, adds Martín, there were children of about 7 or 8 years old jumping around the works. "Imagine if one falls through the elevator shaft or something and a tragedy occurs", he warns.
The president of the Amigos de Cruz Blanca association affirms that they have already contacted the construction company and the City Council to take measures."The Police told us that they were going to go and from the construction company that they would try to wall that up", says Martín, who says that only what they had already been warning about has been fulfilled, "that this was going to become a drug focus".
And it is that, the future Cruz Blanca residence, located on San Juan de la Cruz street, saw its first stone laid in April 2009, but the works are stopped due to lack of financing. Until now, only part of what is the garage and the foundations of the building has been achieved. "The project is not a whim, it is a necessity. They tell us many things from the institutions in words, but if 7.5 million euros are missing to complete the works and they only budget one, we can be 21 years until this is finished".