Explosion at Harbour Club prompts Amsterdam Oost residents to challenge permit

Locals living near The Harbour Club on Cruquiusweg in Amsterdam-Oost have filed an objection against a new operating permit for the club granted on July 6. This follows an explosion at the club during the early hours of Wednesday morning.

The objection period against the club’s permit runs until August 17, so the locals were in time with their complaint, Parool reports. A spokesperson for the municipality's legal bureau could not say whether more complaints have been received.

The explosion happened at 2:45 a.m. on Wednesday. No one was in the building, so no one got hurt. But the explosive did cause significant damage to the club’s front door and windows. Witnesses saw two people fleeing the scene on a scooter.

The blast followed an explosive set off at cafe In the City on Kleine Gartmanplantsoen two days earlier, which also left no one hurt but caused significant damage to the bar’s facade.

The Amsterdam mayor and authorities are currently considering whether the two businesses need to close in order to restore public order. Both have previous incidents in their past that will weigh on the decision.

In July last year, there was an explosion and a fire at the Harbour Club Oost. In May 2019, a man on a scooter shot at the club. In 2017, there was an attempt on crime writer Martin Kok’s life as he left a gettogether at Harbour Club Kitchen. Kok was killed in Laren later that day. And a year earlier, a fire destroyed the Harbour Club location at the Olympic Stadium.

In 2017, Amsterdam closed cafe In the City for a period after someone threw a hand grenade into the bar. A teenager was arrested for the incident.