Author:
Stefanos Evripidou
NICOSIA MAYOR Constantinos Yiorkadjis has plans to attract and increase business and people to the heart of old Nicosia using shade, aesthetics and uniform rules for commerce in the pedestrianised areas.
Introducing change will take a delicate balancing act, as the merits have to be sold to traditionally conservative shopkeepers in the old town, both old (some more than half a century) and new.
For those who don't remember, when the decision was taken years back to pedestrianise the streets of Ledra and Onasagorou many shopkeepers were reluctant, fearing it would harm business. For a while it did, until shopkeepers adapted to the changing demands of the time and the pedestrian consumer.
When the Ledra Street checkpoint opened the old town to the north of the capital after decades of separation, many were apprehensive that business would be lost, but it wasn't.
In fact, the streets are now heaving with strollers, shoppers, teenagers, families, diners and serial ice-cream eaters. There are so many new eateries, that pedestrians have a hard time circumnavigating all the tables and chairs strewn along either side of the historic streets.
Old Nicosia even has its modest share of buskers. The white human statues and solo guitar strummer with his fixed repertoire of Beatles and Cat Stevens may not yet compare with the intricate acts of Covent Garden’s street performers but their presence is a welcome addition.
The new mayor now wants to put some order in the old town, ensuring a more aesthetically pleasing experience for pedestrians and a level-playing field for business.
When Yiorkadjis took office in January, the long hours and consensus-based decisions were working traits he was used to from his previous job in the private sector.
The obligatory after-hours attendance at social functions and openings were not. Neither was the slow, bureaucratic process of nurturing a decision from birth to fruition.
“I’ve been working in very high-pressured positions with great responsibilities all my life and the hours are similar, about 10 to 12 hours a day,” said the former marketing manager of CCHBC Cyprus (Lanitis Bros) which has the Coca-Cola bottling franchise in Cyprus.
“What is different is the hours that you need for ‘extra curriculum’ activities in the afternoon, the launches and openings… the social factor. This part is extra and it’s a lot. Before, you did whatever you liked (after work), now there are responsibilities on the social scene,” he said.
Speaking to the Sunday Mail from his municipality office, decorated with contemporary Cypriot paintings, the 44-year-old mayor shrugged off the suggestion that working by consensus in the municipal council differed greatly from the private sector world of action-reaction, decision-implementation.
“The private sector, like the large corporation I worked in, is consensus-based. Big multinationals work in groups and with inter-departmental teams so the consensus part was easy. What takes longer is the various processes, and bureaucracy is indeed more obvious in the public sector,” said Yiorkadjis.
“You have to learn to work with the system and make the system start producing for you,” he added.
The new mayor is dressed casually in a short-sleeved pink shirt with jeans. He offers a piece of kouloumbra (white turnip) - leftover from a breakfast of chopped fresh vegetables - as he turns to lunch, a plate of sliced fresh fruit.
Munching on the crunchy turnip, I notice an empty coffee cup and tin of diet cola on his desk (you can guess the brand), happy to note the mayor’s intake is not all sin-free.
Asked about efforts underway to enhance the old town, Yiorkadjis said the aim was two-fold: to attract new businesses and placate existing ones with new incentives and uniform rules applicable to all; and to lure more pedestrians by making the place comfortable to be in and pleasing to the eye.
“Our effort is to bring in new businesses with the decision taken not to require the purchase of parking places for new establishments in the pedestrian area,” he said, referring to the costly obligation to literally “buy” parking from the municipality even if your shop is inaccessible by road.
“And to invite new pedestrians, by trying to extend the time that is comfortable for someone to walk in the pedestrian area,” he added.
One way of doing this will be to create more shade for daytime walkers along Ledra and Onasagarou.
“We also want to issue a set of clear rules that will aim to aesthetically upgrade the street by asking the various owners to use, not the same, but a certain type of equipment and signage,” said Yiorkadjis.
The hope is that new establishments will have a more homogenous design code, in terms of shapes and colours, to choose from which existing shops will adopt when the time comes to replace their old signs, chairs, tables and umbrellas.
“Another reason to make the rule book is to make the pedestrianised areas attractive to visitors who need the space which will make access and movement easy and effortless.”
As things now stand, there is a rule which states that shopkeepers need to keep five metres of the street in width free from obstacles.
However, certain sections are so narrow, enforcing this rule would exclude some eateries from any outdoor space.
This is where the balancing act between interests and needs comes into play.
Last month, the fire service carried out a drill in the pedestrian area to calculate the minimum space needed to maintain a free safety corridor providing access to emergency vehicles. Whatever the fire service decides that minimum is will become the new enforceable exclusion zone for the sprawling tables.
“Our goal is to keep business people happy, because if businesses remain alive, the pedestrian areas remain alive. At the same time, we need to reduce some tension that exists now between various establishments due to the absence of very specific rules regarding external seating arrangements,” said Yiorkadjis.
He explained: “There are tensions in the sense that it's not clear where my area ends and where yours starts, so whenever there is such a grey area, there are tensions.”
Another problem that has created tension in the past is the perception of the ‘unjust’ way the municipality treats various types of outlets.
“We realised that people didn’t understand. People came and said, 'why are you so unfair, not allowing us to have tables outside?' We explained that this was because they didn’t apply for the necessary permits or meet the minimum requirements as everybody else.”
The mayor was at pains to stress that a lot of this tension boils down to a lack of knowledge of the way the system is set up.
“Let’s start by saying that not all outlets are the same. Based on the definition given by the Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO) some outlets like snack bars and restaurants are allowed on location dining provided they fulfil the criteria for the minimum area available in square metres, number of toilets (men, women, disabled), storage space etc.
“As you might expect these requirements increase substantially the required investment. These types of outlets are also allowed external seating, contrary to take-aways which are not.”
The reason being securing a take-away licence is much simpler and cheaper since they don't need as many square metres or toilets and so on.
However, preventing a popular ice-cream or sandwich take-away joint from providing a few chairs outside for passing customers does seem a bit mean-spirited and anti-business.
This is where Yiorkadjis flags his new 'cure for old town ills' rule book again. The mayor is working with the CTO to adapt the rules so that take-aways will have the right to put eight stools outside their premises, officially turning a grey area into black and white. If the take-aways want more, they'll have to upgrade their licence with the CTO (municipality).
“I feel tensions will subside if people understand the logic behind the rules and if these rules are clear and fair and people follow them. We are not for or against anyone. We want all businesses to thrive. For that to happen we need to be fair,” he said.
And what about the Cypriot tradition of seeking favours from elected and non-elected officials?
“But if something is very clear and out in the open for everyone to see, how can we make an exception since it will be there, obvious to everybody?”
A fair point, but one that rests on the assumption that public outrage (both anticipated and realised) acts as a deterrent to “obvious” violations of the rule book.
FROM GHOST TOWN TO BUZZING HANGOUT
ONE businessman in the old town, credited with bringing life and locals back to Laiki Yitonia, feels that the municipality's attitude works against successful businesses.
“This place was a ghost neighbourhood when I came, dirty and full of prostitutes. Cypriots were scared to even think of coming down here,” said 35-year-old Rami Suleiman.
In the 12 years since he first set up shop in Laiki Yitonia, Suleiman, or 'Rami' as he is known by all his customers, has taken over six shops and two storage facilites in the area.
“When I first opened a cafe and restaurant and invited my Cypriot friends and college lecturers, they all told me: 'Re you’re crazy to open in Laiki Yitonia, it's all prostitutes, we cannot bring our families there'. Today I work mainly with families and 95 per cent of my customers are Cypriot,” he said.
However, the popularity of his nargile cafe, restaurant and ice-cream parlour appear to have caught the eye of some green-eyed businesses, he said.
“I never had any problem with the municipality or CTO before, but now they come and book me for putting tables outside the ice-cream shop, or complain about the smoke from the nargile or the noise made by people playing tavli (backgammon).
“I love this area, the old houses, narrow roads. I gave a lot and suffered a lot for Laiki Yitonia,” said Rami, adding that he expects the municipality to support businesses, especially during an economic crisis, not work against them.
The Nicosia mayor refused to comment on specific cases, saying only that the new rule book the municipality is working on will create clarity and a level-playing field for all.