Warsaw mayor vows support for Marywilska center merchants

At a press conference on Friday, Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski told reporters that he had spoken with the board of the Marywilska 44 shopping hall.

"We are working on making it possible to rebuild the hall itself. As the authorities, we will do everything to facilitate this process, but we have to wait until the area is made available to the company and analyses can be conducted," he said.

The mayor stressed that the authorities were working on finding temporary solutions. "The company has declared that it will cooperate with us in developing such temporary solutions, for instance, setting up a temporary town or a tent hall at the site of the tragedy. We will try to facilitate this process," he said.

Trzaskowski added that the city received a preliminary declaration from the merchants indicating that most of them were ready to resume their businesses.

"I responded to the merchants' requests which suggested that, during the period when the hall is not yet rebuilt, we should not charge lease fees, as this will also help and facilitate the company's efforts to rebuild the hall," the mayor said.

He added it was possible that some of the merchants would choose to go with other solutions.

"There have also been other requests for immediate assistance, regarding the possibility of introducing instalment or delayed payments for all those fees related either to ZUS (the state-run Social Insurance Institution) or VAT.

"I have had discussions with the voivode (chief of Masovian Vivodeship) and government representatives. I know that the authorities are currently working on such temporary solutions," Trzaskowski assured.

On May 12, a shopping center on Marywilska Street in Warsaw, with over 1,400 shops and service points, was entirely consumed by fire that broke out in early morning hours.

The prosecutor's office has launched an investigation to find out what caused the tragic accident.