Workers break ground on the Mar Mikhael Piazza project, March 2023. (Courtesy of: Youssef Borsh/Beirut Urban Lab)
BEIRUT — The Beirut Urban Lab at the American University of Beirut announced its complete and final withdrawal from the Mar Mikhael Square project on Wednesday, explaining its workers were "threatened and intimidated,"
"This morning, workers and engineers assigned by the Beirut Urban Lab (BUL) were threatened and intimidated by those claiming to represent the residents of the Gemmayzeh and Mar Mikhael areas who forced them, under a barrage of threats, insults and screams, to stop completing the necessary work to ensure the safety of vehicular and pedestrian traffic," the Urban Lab said in a statement released on Twitter.
Launched in 2020 as part of Aug. 4 port blast recovery efforts, the reconstruction plan aimed to improve Mar Mikhael's walkability and create pedestrian-friendly spaces.
The works were also initially suspended in June after locals opposed the project. On July 12, BUL announced they were “forced to halt" the Mar Mikhael Square project.
"Yesterday, [BUL] received a direct request from Beirut municipality to complete some necessary works in order to open the way for traffic on Armenia/Pasteur Street ... However, in view of what happened today, and the exposure of lab workers to danger, we announce our complete and final withdrawal from this project," the Lab added in its Wednesday statement.
Speaking to L'Orient Today, Mona Fawaz, a professor in Urban Studies and Planning and co-founder of the Beirut Urban Lab confirmed the Lab's withdrawal from the project.
Fawaz explained to L'Orient Today that the municipality requested BUL to "open the road, treat the pavement so that it's no longer slippery, put up the three previously-planned trees, as well as a few lampposts."
"We also wanted to level the road since we only managed to install [pavement] tiles on one side but not the other," Fawaz said. "And since we are aware that people are stressed and the road being closed has caused a lot of problems, we asked the contractor to work on a holiday."
Wednesday marked the Islamic New Year, also called the Hijri New Year, the beginning of a new lunar Hijri year for Muslims.
"Shortly after our contractor started working today, those claiming to represent the residents of the Gemmayzeh and Mar Mikhael areas, came up to the contractor, threatening and demanding him to halt all works," Fawaz added.
'Unsafe working conditions'
Following Wednesday's alleged threats, Fawaz said she tried reaching out to the municipality but "no one answered because it's a holiday."
Fawaz then asked the contractor to desert the area for their safety. An hour after releasing the statement by the Urban Lab, Fawaz said they received a statement from the municipality saying, "misinformation cleared," a message she and her team could not decipher.
"I don't know what it means but I'm tired," Fawaz lamented, adding that "we cannot tolerate the working conditions anymore."
"We can't be put in this situation anymore — the workers and engineers constantly feel pressured and unsafe," she added. "Either the municipality can ensure police protection for the workers to finalize the job or we can't do this."
Some accusations are 'deceitful'
Contacted by L'Orient Today, Gemmayzeh mukhtar — a local elected official charged with administrative tasks — Bechara Gholam, who is also the President of the Lebanese Mukhtar Associations, denied that BUL's workers were subjected to threats and intimidation on Wednesday.
"I don't allow such things to happen," Gholam told L'Orient Today.
While initially welcoming and supportive of the project, Gholam said he became discouraged when "[the Urban Lab] started executing it."
"We were not against the project — we actually wanted the area to look better the way they proposed it," the mukhtar said. "But the architect with the Urban Lab who presented the project to us only focused on the positives, leaving out the negatives."
“The project aimed at making a small garden with seats and trees where people could sit at night. This would create room for drug dealers to roam in the area and immoral actions to take place,” Gholam claimed.
In a previous statement, BUL defended the project, saying it fell within the framework of "a comprehensive strategy aimed at improving people's lives and developing effective and safe paths for pedestrians.”
"The only change that can result from this project is to prevent cars parked in the second row, and this is currently possible, contrary to the traffic law, which is the main cause of congestion and a source of danger to traffic safety," the statement continued.
Fawaz reiterated to L’Orient Today that "there is a whole array of local opinions about the project, but most residents we have talked to, and many of the store owners, actually support the project."
"Some just want reassurances that the municipality will not authorize bars to play loud music here, and the muhafiz [governor] has given this guarantee,” she added. "We have met with tons of residents who are in support of the project. And they have asked us to work on a couple of modifications which we did and we presented all of this evidence for the municipality."
Fawaz said that it is "deceitful" when some accuse the project of closing down the road and causing traffic jams.
"They want to turn the project into a bit of a makeup design while widening the road for cars, which, according to our professional experience as well as that of the experts who work on traffic design, would in fact only create more traffic jams and we can't implement something that negates the technical recommendations."
In the modified plan, which Urban Lab worked on following suggestions from residents and negotiations with some politicians, Fawaz said that Urban Lab has allocated "a very large space for buildings that need temporary parking for drop offs or pick ups."