Bucharest City Hall Dismantles Restaurant on Illegally Sublet Party HQ

Bucharest City Hall is taking decisive action to rectify a significant abuse of public property, targeting the National Peasants' Party Christian Democrat (PNȚCD) for illegally subletting its headquarters in Piața Rosetti. This move, spearheaded by Mayor General Ciprian Ciucu, aims to reclaim a valuable municipal asset and address years of financial mismanagement and illegal commercial activity.

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Properties AFI sublet! We give you an example! The National Peasant Christian Democratic Party received from PMB, through the Real Estate Fund Administration, in 2015, a building and a courtyard. For headquarters! Both in Piața Rosetti, on Bd. Carol I, of 1,833.69 sqm, respectively 959.36 sqm. At a rate according to the contract of 6,851.45 lei/month (VAT included). A few months later, in September 2016, the party sublet part of the space to a company, without authorization.

The PNȚCD, which received the building and courtyard in 2015 for use as its headquarters, entered into an illegal subletting agreement just months later. This allowed a private company to operate a terrace and restaurant on the premises, effectively commercializing public space without proper authorization. The situation escalated as the company, and subsequently the restaurant operator, accumulated substantial debts to the state, amounting to millions of lei.

"Business with sublet AFI properties! We give you an example!" representatives from the City Hall stated on Facebook, highlighting the egregious nature of the violation. The calculation of tariffs, based on municipal decisions, indicates that the space was generating significant potential revenue, estimated at nearly 6,000 euros per month during peak season. However, from 2016 to 2024, these payments were largely evaded, leaving a debt of approximately 480,000 euros, which ballooned to 2.3 million lei with penalties for the commercial entity.

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Now, by the order of the general mayor Ciprian Ciucu, all these illegalities are stopping! The space belonging to the patrimony of the Municipality of Bucharest is being recovered and will be brought into legality. And the outstanding debts will be recovered!

Even the PNȚCD itself is in debt to the Administration of the Real Estate Fund (AFI), owing over 329,000 lei. This financial delinquency, coupled with the illegal subletting, led to a court order for the party's eviction in 2023. Now, with the Mayor's directive, the illegal restaurant is being dismantled by the Local Police, and the City Hall is committed to recovering all outstanding debts, ensuring that Bucharest's patrimony is no longer exploited for private gain.

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Our colleagues from the Local Police of the Municipality of Bucharest started last week to dismantle the restaurant. And they will continue these days. Access to the courtyard of the building was blocked for them on Saturday with a car, and today with a padlock on the gate. But we are not giving up!