By Jack Beresford
Senior Reporter
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Thousands have signed an online petition calling for a halt to the dismantling of an iconic bridge in The Netherlands which is being taken apart so Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' new superyacht can pass through.
The historic Koningshavenbrug, also known as De Hef, in Rotterdam, is being temporarily deconstructed so Bezos' 417-foot Y721 yacht, which is valued at nearly $500 million, can pass through when it sets sail in June.
Though De Hef is no longer in commission, as Newsweek previously reported it is considered something of a historical landmark, with some local citizens voicing their opposition to the plans.
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As many as 4,000 people are planning to protest the move by throwing rotten eggs at the yacht when it travels through the city later in the year. Now, an online petition has been launched calling for the dismantlement plans to be stopped entirely that has already amassed over 40,000 signatures.
The petition states that when De Hef was renovated in 2017 "the municipality of Rotterdam promised that the bridge would never be dismantled again" but that promise "seems bound to be broken."
While organizers acknowledged Bezos has promised to pay for the costs incurred and that the bridge will be put back in place, they feel it still sends a message that "as long as you are rich enough, there are no restrictions whatsoever."
"Monuments can be modified and rules—that apply to everyone—lifted," they noted, going on to contrast "the eagerness with which Bezos' request is being indulged" to his "rigidness and refusal in providing basic human rights to his warehouse workers."
The petition also highlighted the fact that, without the sails and mast in place, the ship would fit perfectly under the bridge and rebuffed the idea of the construction being of particular benefit to the local economy, noting Oceano, the company producing the ship near Alblasserdam, is owned by Dr Mohammed Al Barwani, a billionaire from Oman who made his money in oil.
"All of this, happens consecutively to the year in which Bezos made his joytrip to space, on a day on which many of the east-coast of the U.S. was smothered in suffocating wildfire smoke and—of course—in the middle of the pandemic," the petition adds. At the time of writing, it has amassed 40,892 signatures.
Newsweek has contacted Amazon, Oceano and the author of the petition for comment.
Several local groups have also expressed reservations about Bezos' plans with Ton Wesselink of the local history society, Historisch Genootschap Roterodamum, telling Dutch News: "Jobs are important, but there are limits with what you can and should do with our industrial heritage."
According to Rotterdam Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb, for the dismantlement to commence, the city would need to decide whether or not to issue a permit. However, NL Times reported on February 4 that it had yet to receive a permit application.
Once it comes in, the city will weigh the involved interests before making a decision. "The economical, especially the maritime image of our region, and the technical: is it possible without damage?" Aboutaleb told the news outlet. "And we want to know whether the buyer will indeed reimburse the costs."
According to Forbes, Bezos' net wealth rose a staggering $64 billion last year to reach $177 billion. Last July, he traveled into space with a select group of friends and associates aboard his self-funded Blue Origin space shuttle in a venture that drew criticism on social media.
Bezos' wealth has previously been branded "morally obscene" by Bernie Sanders, while New Jersey congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman hit out at his "atrocious greed" in 2020 while sharing a report that claimed Amazon was planning to end hazard pay for employees by the end of May of that year despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
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