The emptied shelves of the public library in Mar Mikhael's Laziza Park on May 5, 2023. (Credit: Richard Salame/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — The much-loved “Laziza Park” in Beirut’s Mar Mikhael neighborhood has hit an obstacle that puts its future in question.
On Wednesday, Internal Security Forces (ISF) visited the park to notify those involved in its upkeep that the land owners had filed a lawsuit, according to GROBeirut, one of the organizations that established the park.
The lawsuit was filed against unnamed defendants, who it alleges occupied private property without permission, according to GROBeirut.
Despite Laziza Park’s de facto status as a public green space, it is actually the private property of Grande Brasserie du Levant (GBL), the company that for decades produced the well-known Laziza-brand beer.
Laziza was acquired by Brasserie Almaza, the maker of Almaza and Rex beers, in 2003, but the land in question remains the property of GBL.
The brewery that previously stood on the land was demolished in 2017.
The land has been used as a public green space since March 2020, when grassroots organization GROBeirut began transforming it into a park without significant protest from the owners, they told L’Orient Today last year.
On Wednesday, ISF ordered GROBeirut and other community groups to remove their contributions to the park within two to three days.
The broken down remnants of a gazebo in Mar Mikhael's Laziza Park on May 5, 2023. (Credit: Richard Salame/L'Orient Today)
The park contains removable planters and furniture provided by Rashet Kheir, an NGO that renovated the park in the first half of 2022 and maintained it, as well as trees planted directly into the soil by GROBeirut.
On Friday, planters, benches, a tent and other movable structures were removed by workers. The park also featured a library, operated by GROBeirut, which was removed.
The planted trees will be allowed to remain for now, according to GROBeirut.
“The ISF came and gave us two or three days to take away everything,” said a representative of GROBeirut. “[The officer] said neighbors complained about people coming in the evening, taking drugs and kissing.”
Two people present in the neighborhood Friday said they heard similar rumors about these complaints, which allegedly took place shortly before the lawsuit was filed.
L’Orient Today could not independently confirm the origin or contents of the alleged complaints.
Property owner GBL could not be immediately reached for comment. The brother of the company’s CEO told L’Orient Today he did not have any information about the situation.
