A Berlin administrative court has ruled that the nightly closure of Görlitzer Park (a public green space in the Kreuzberg district, long associated with drug dealing and social disorder) was illegal, dealing a significant political setback to governing mayor Kai Wegner of the CDU. The court found that the Senate, which had overridden the local district authority to fence the park and impose closing hours from 10 p.m., had created its legal basis for the measure only after the fact. The ruling is the latest in a series of failures surrounding the policy: the park's gates were not fully operational until March 2025 — over a year behind schedule — and were repeatedly sabotaged, while key justifications for the fence, including claims about a gang rape in the park, were previously found to be inaccurate. With regional elections due in September, analysts expect the gates to remain open permanently, leaving the project as a symbol of failed law-and-order politics.