Here’s your quick update on Friday, February 20 - from urgent alerts to stories in the subreddit. Today we went through 210 sources so you don't have to.

🗞️ Help us keep Berlin informed. Sponsors make this independent briefing possible. Reach 4,000+ residents and show your support for the news they rely on. See our partner packages.

Know someone who’d love this? Share the email or send them the URL. Let's dive in.

---

🔒 Berlin's Görlitzer Park to Close Nightly

Starting March 1, Berlin’s Görlitzer Park will close nightly to combat crime. If you go through Görli at night, expect detours around the fenced entrances. The Senate administration confirmed that private security firms will lock the newly installed gates between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. during winter months, shifting to an 11 p.m. start time in summer. (rbb24)

The controversial project includes approximately 300 meters of additional fencing, 16 steel gates, and eight heavy-duty turnstiles designed to secure the area. While the physical construction costs remain around €2 million, the city has allocated an additional €800,000 annually specifically for the private personnel required to manage access and patrol the grounds. (Berliner Kurier)

Authorities argue this measure is necessary to dismantle the park's status as a retreat for drug dealers, though the district administration criticizes the plan as costly and purely symbolic. Local initiatives have threatened civil disobedience, and a lawsuit filed by the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district against the Senate remains pending at the Berlin Administrative Court. (Berliner Zeitung)

---

🚫 50+ Escalators Shut Down at Hauptbahnhof and Südkreuz

Deutsche Bahn has abruptly shut down more than 50 escalators across two major Berlin train stations following safety concerns. Officials took 42 units offline at Hauptbahnhof and 10 at Südkreuz after discovering potential transmission defects in a specific equipment model. The operator confirmed two escalators had previously stopped unexpectedly during operation. (rbb24)

Engineers are currently inspecting the machinery, though a timeline for restoring service remains unclear until a status update planned for Friday. While elevators remain functional, the closures significantly disrupt flows at Hauptbahnhof, which spans four vertical levels and serves approximately 330,000 daily passengers. Additional staff members have been deployed to assist travelers. (MOZ.de)

This mass outage highlights the vulnerability of critical infrastructure, as widespread defects in a single component type forced the preventive shutdown of nearly 80% of Hauptbahnhof's escalators. Reports indicate the malfunction might have caused steps to reverse direction, prompting immediate safety checks to prevent dangerous accidents in these high-traffic transit hubs. (Ntv)

---

🇩🇪 One in Five Germans Open to Authoritarian Ideas

The government-funded "Deutschland-Monitor 2025" reveals that 21% of Germans are open to authoritarian ideas, a figure rising to 26% in eastern states. Although 99% abstractly support democracy, researchers found significant approval for anti-democratic concepts like a single strong party representing the "people's will." (DIE ZEIT)

The study highlights a contradictory "gray area" where 31% of respondents favor a one-party system and 11% support a strong leader acting without parliamentary oversight. These anti-pluralist sentiments are most entrenched in structurally weak regions, particularly where residents report feeling economically "left behind" and undervalued. (FAZ)

Eastern Commissioner Elisabeth Kaiser warns that democratic coexistence is under pressure, explicitly linking populist attitudes to regional structural weaknesses. With satisfaction regarding the functioning of democracy at just 60% nationwide, experts fear this disconnect could support extremist parties in upcoming state elections in eastern Germany. (RND.de)

---

⚡ Quick Hits

🇩🇪 Several products contaminated with asbestos | Affected items include sand toys and stretch figures sold at Aldi Süd, Woolworth, and Hobbycraft. You can return them to the store for a full refund.

🇬🇧 Landlords charging illegally high rent in 94% of cases checked in Berlin | Berlin offers a free service to review your rental contract. Landlords charging 20 percent above the limit face fines up to 50.000 euros. Those charging 50 percent over the limit risk prison time.

🇬🇧 This year's Berlinale backlash explained | Jury President Wim Wenders sparked outrage by claiming the festival should remain apolitical regarding Gaza. Author Arundhati Roy withdrew in protest. Over 80 industry figures signed a letter on Tuesday criticizing the event's silence.

🇩🇪 Vacant offices – a solution to the housing shortage? | The shift toward hybrid work has left over 12 million square meters of office space vacant across Germany, while the country faces a shortage of 1.4 million apartments. A €360 million funding program for office conversions to new housing launches in Summer 2026.

🇩🇪 Child benefit to be paid automatically in future | Automatic payouts start in March 2027 for families with older children. First-time parents qualify in November 2027. The current benefit is €259 per month.

---

📅 Events Today

🎟️ Ice Disco with Bambule Soundsystem | February 20 | 18:00 - 22:00 | 6.00 € - 9.00 € | An outdoor ice rink transformed into a dance floor featuring a mix of musical genres.

🎟️ Tomorrow: Brazilian Carnival: Baile da Bossa | February 21 | 13:00 - 23:59 | 25.00€ | Celebrate Brazilian Carnival at Festsaal Kreuzberg. This family-friendly event features a full day of music, dance, and food.

🎟️ Tomorrow: Savoir Vivre Wine Fair | February 21-22, 2026 | Sample wines from 20+ winemakers at Charlottenburg Palace’s Great Orangery. This two-day fair features German and international selections plus spirits.

---

💬 What Berliners Are Talking About

🗣️ Blue card | People discuss long Berlin Blue Card processing times and what temporary options exist.

🗣️ What on earth is going on with the S Bahn, Tram and Bus Störungen this morning? | Frustrated Berliners trade jokes and politics while blaming chronic underfunding for transit chaos.

🗣️ Intimate cooking + shared dinner (for people tired of loud bars and networking meetups) | Redditors debate a cozy, intentional supper club idea, mostly questioning pricing and details.

---

📊 Chart of the Day

---

🗺️ Word of the Day: Speisekarte | Literal: Food-map | Meaning: A restaurant menu. | Example: Entschuldigung, könnten wir bitte die Speisekarte haben? (Excuse me, could we please have the food-map?)

---

👋 That's a wrap! Thank you for reading.

Got feedback? Write us at news@berlindaily.org.

☕ Enjoying the read? Support Berlin News Daily with a Coffee.

---

How did you like today's newsletter?

• 👍 Loved it!
• 🤷 It was okay
• 👎 Not for me