In an open letter to the city, residents are calling for an anti-alcohol ordinance and the revitalization of vacant spaces, including several major buildings that now sit empty. “We are prisoners of waste and neglect: enough promises, concrete action is needed”.
September 15, 2025
“A barrier of excrement that renews itself every morning”: this is how residents of Via Carducci describe the situation in front of the In’s supermarket, where a homeless woman has been using the driveway as a restroom for weeks. Sanitary conditions are so dire that an elderly woman with a walker has had to forgo leaving her home for a few days because she couldn’t climb over the barrier of excrement and dirty toilet paper.
However, it’s not just a question of urban decorum. Residents point the finger at alcohol abuse, which fuels this urban decay: “Most of the homeless who hang out under the arcades of Via Carducci and Piazzale Donatori di Sangue spend their days drinking, buying bottles and cartons of wine from local supermarkets and ethnic shops.” Hence the residents’ request for an ordinance prohibiting the sale of alcohol to non-residents, at least until a certain time in the afternoon: “a minimum measure,” they explain, “to discourage the concentration of people who every day turn the streets into dormitories and latrines.”
Reports to Veritas are responded to regularly, but even when the area is cleaned, the problem recurs within hours. Making matters worse are the recycling bins, which are often broken or overflowing with garbage, making Piazzale Donatori di Sangue and Via Degan unlivable, where flowerbeds and sidewalks end up being transformed into makeshift landfills.
The local police, despite knowing the people involved and despite repeated reports, have failed to intervene decisively. Meanwhile, Mestre faces a glaring contradiction: in the heart of the city, the former Telecom, the post office, and the former Brek space have remained empty for years—property that could house businesses and services, but instead accentuate the sense of abandonment.
“We’re not talking about isolated incidents, but about a structural degradation that has transformed the center of Mestre into a neglected suburb,” residents complain. “This part of the city is inhabited by families and children who cannot be left at the mercy of filth, broken glass, overflowing garbage, and drunken homeless people. We demand that the City Council intervene immediately with a clear ordinance on the sale of alcohol and a concrete revitalization plan for the empty spaces, starting with the former Telecom and the Post Office building, which today are a clear symbol of the failure of any urban policy.”
The residents of Via Carducci
(signed letter)
Source: La Voce di Venezia
Campaign For A Living Venice 