Epress.am News from Armenia
On Saturday, Epress.am caught up with Yerevan mayor Karen Karapetyan, who was taking a stroll in the park on Mashtots Ave. (Fountains Park), where members of the civil initiative group “We are the owners of this city” were organizing a tree-planting while city employees were cleaning up the park.
Walking until the tunnels that lead to the Children’s Railway, Karapetyan made a few observations on possible ways of improving (and preserving) the green space.
“It can be lit, built up; it’s a great area, like Vernissage [the outdoor market area where vendors sell a variety of goods on the weekends],” he said, speaking to his staff.
The mayor also spoke with local environmentalists, who raised current issues and asked to organize a meeting to talk in more detail.
“Shall we prepare a list of environmental issues [in the city] and present it to you?” they asked, adding that they’ve already met a few times with the head of the municipality’s nature protection department.
“Let’s agree on this: if you’re meeting with the head of the nature protection department and you’re not satisfied with the meetings later, I will meet with you, what do you say?” said Karapetyan.
Asked by Epress.am whether more cafes are going to be built in Fountains Park, the mayor said, “Cafes won’t be built again; on the contrary, whatever structures there are, we’re removing from here.”
Karapetyan added that city hall is going to look after maintaining and planting greenery in not only Fountains Park, but also all of Yerevan’s green spaces.
