OUR Municipality of Athens made an offer to the Museum of the City of Athens – the Vouros Foundation – Eutaxia, to carry out the restoration of the complex of buildings in which prisoners have been kept since 2012. Cinemas “Attikon” and “Apollo”reveals me his statements in “K” mayor of Athens Kostas Bakoyannis.

The news came two weeks after article on the topic “K” where the (new) cul-de-sac into which the complex of buildings on Stadiou Street had fallen became apparent, prolonging the decade-long cul-de-sac in the center of the capital. As Mr. Bakoyannis explains, the proposal to the president of the Museum of the City of Athens, Antonis Vogiatzis, who is personally handling the case after the merger of the two institutions involved, was clear: “We will take full responsibility for the restoration of the building. provided that we manage its work for a reasonable period of time to cover the costs.”

I ask the mayor if the restoration work can be based on a study compiled by EKPA emeritus professor of architecture Ioannis Liakatas, which includes, among other things, the transformation of the Attikon into a theater hall and the construction of a hotel block on the side of Christou Lada Street. “Obviously, this needs to be studied. But that’s not the point. We must agree on a principle, agree on a framework. Unfortunately, the Fund refused.

Mr. Vogiatzis fully confirms the mayor’s words. “Why did you refuse?” was the inevitable question. “I’ll tell you clearly: we don’t know if Mr. Bakoyannis will be the next mayor of Athens.” That is: does the Foundation doubt his chances of re-election? “This is not the point. We have to thank Mr. Bakoyannis for making a decisive contribution to resolving the issue of merging the two institutions. And I am personally sure that he will be re-elected. But he will not be mayor forever. But where do we know what his successor will do?”

I wonder if there is a real risk of terminating the agreement that will exist between the country’s first municipality and the institution if at some point the tenant of the town hall on Kotsia Square changes? Here, Mr. Vogiatzis becomes absolutely clear: “We don’t have much confidence in the Greek state,” says the president of the Foundation, in whose hands the fate of the two ill-fated cinemas lies. This is also the reason why he himself turned to seeking a donation from a non-profit organization and, secondarily, to seeking a private investor. But if the Greek state has managed to unravel the incredible legal tangle of the two institutions involved, thus paving the way for the reopening of two historic halls, why not trust it with the only credible solution currently on the table? The question still remains. And the expected Stadiou street continues its journey through time…