Drug use and dealing cause spike in public nuisance across Rotterdam

Complaints are mounting in multiple neighborhoods across Rotterdam as crack users and dealers increasingly take over sidewalks, terraces, and entryways, prompting comparisons to the city’s heroin epidemic of the 1990s, NOS reports.

In the Agniesebuurt, located near Rotterdam Centraal and city hall, residents say they’ve faced years of severe nuisance from drug users. “We had so much trouble with addicts—there were syringes, trash, they vomited, pissed, and defecated there,” Jan Ebeltjes, a local resident who now maintains a garden previously occupied by users, told NOS. “The last while it’s been quiet. Everything’s nicely trimmed, and they can’t hide in the bushes anymore.” A city cleaning employee was assaulted in the area, and a restaurant owner shut down his business after 18 break-ins.

The city has responded with targeted actions. In late June, Mayor Schouten announced a zero-tolerance policy, calling the situation intolerable. “The neighborhood is being terrorized by a group of dealers trying to control the area,” Schouten said. Since then, a camera has been installed, lighting added to dark spots, and more police have been deployed. Officials are also identifying individuals who may qualify for care or job training.

“Over the past few years, we’ve seen more people on the streets causing disturbances, including in Agniesebuurt,” said alderman Ronald Buijt, who acknowledged the persistence of the problem. One homeless man who had taken up residence in a parking garage has since left, and the garden now offers relief instead of danger.

But just two kilometers away in the Oude Westen, residents report no such improvement. The area around Museumpark allegedly remains plagued by visible addiction and social distress. “People are in really bad shape,” Carrie Jansen, a local resident, social attorney, and AD columnist, told NOS. “When I walk to the supermarket, I pass around seven people begging. They lie on pub terraces. In the morning, I’m afraid to take my trash out.”

The addicts are allegedly often former labor migrants who lost both jobs and housing. Alderman Buijt acknowledged the complaints and promised more enforcement: “We’ve also received those signals. We’ll need to step up our efforts there as well.”

The ongoing crisis reportedly reminds Jansen of the 1990s heroin epidemic. Back then, users left bloodied needles in the streets and turned to crime or sex work in tippelzones like the G.J. de Jonghweg and Keileweg. At one point, the controversial “Perron Nul” program allowed open drug use near the central station. Though initially praised, it later drew more addicts and spiraled out of control. After the program was shut down, the city and care providers removed 4,000 people from the streets, providing shelter and medical assistance.

Alderman Buijt insisted that history would not repeat itself. “Thankfully, we’re still far from that point. It will never get that bad again in Rotterdam, but that’s exactly why we need to act now,” he said. “There’s still a lot we can do—get more people who qualify off the street and crack down harder on drug dealers.”