Institutional portal - Municipality of Milan

Since the beginning of the year, 198 activities have been monitored by the COSAP inspection unit

Milan, 7 August 2020 – The COSAP investigation unit of the local police of Milan seized, on the morning of 5 August, 43 tables, chairs and umbrellas from a place which illegally occupied approximately 40 square meters of the central parterre of via Pacini, in Municipality 3.

The place had not been granted temporary occupation of public land for the provision of food and drinks - requested through the new simplified procedures which provide for the free COSAP tariff until 31 October - because it interfered with a bike sharing station and with pedestrian flows from Piazzale Piola.

Already in recent weeks, following a report from Municipality 3, local police officers, both from the COSAP investigation unit and from the decentralized command, had intervened on two occasions requesting the restoration of the places. It is therefore the repeated illicit conduct that led to the seizure operation for violation of the COSAP regulation.

“The simplified procedure promoted by the Administration helps to support those commercial activities that have suffered the most from the lockdown on an economic level – comments the deputy mayor and councilor for Security Anna Scavuzzo –, but obviously this does not mean 'everyone is free'. The assessments are carried out on a case-by-case basis and bars, restaurants and commercial establishments have the obligation to comply with the decisions communicated. Even more so in this case, in which we arrived at the fine and seizure after having repeatedly invited the operator to self-reform".

The control also extended to hygiene-health and worker protection standards. In addition to the violation of article 20 of the COSAP regulation ("Illegal occupation of public land": the expected sanction is 231,67 euros, plus an indemnity equal to the fee that would have been determined if the occupation had been authorized, increased by 30% ), the manager was also charged with two other provisions of a criminal nature: one relating to fraud on the market, for the use of frozen foods not indicated on the menu, and the other for the failure to indicate the signs indicating emergency exits and positioning of fire extinguishers. Furthermore, as regards health and hygiene regulations, administrative sanctions relating to food management (2000 euros) and non-compliant use of the waste collector (1000 euros) were contested.

Since the beginning of the year, 198 checks have been carried out by the COSAP inspection unit of the local police for non-standard or abusive occupations of public land, of which 88 since the first authorizations were issued via the simplified post-lockdown procedure.

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