Encuentro Beach Shacks Bulldozed today in Cabarete

Seamonkey

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Oct 6, 2009
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A very sad day. Going there to watch the surfers was really peaceful and it felt like another era. I would always bring visitors to check it out and all were blown away by its beauty and some even took surfing lessons. The police said that the beach will be open again tomorrow to the public. They said their order came from Colonel Cito, which seems his order came from the Minister of Tourism as windeguy said.
 

ctrob

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Nov 9, 2006
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So what was the reason for the demo? Being located in the 60 mtr setback?
 

windeguy

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Jul 10, 2004
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There is a rumor that a certain religious group likes the area as they like the area west of Sosua and a resort they renovated in Sosua a short time ago. I hope the rumor is just a rumor, since that spot remaining public would be great and Tom Cruz's buddies would not be a better situation.

A person collected rent for those shacks, which were illegal, so collecting the rent was also not legal. He has been in the news before, but seems to have been absent today.
 

AlterEgo

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Jan 9, 2009
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So what was the reason for the demo? Being located in the 60 mtr setback?

I’d like to know that too. The beach on our corner started off lovely, now it’s full of shacks, mostly frituras, so less and less places to sit. We can only hope they’ll bulldoze it all, definitely in the 60 mtr setback. It’s been rumored for awhile.
 

windeguy

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Jul 10, 2004
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I’d like to know that too. The beach on our corner started off lovely, now it’s full of shacks, mostly frituras, so less and less places to sit. We can only hope they’ll bulldoze it all, definitely in the 60 mtr setback. It’s been rumored for awhile.

Similar to the cleaning of Sosua beach as been a plan for a long time.

As for Encuentro, it is supposed to be open for the public as early as tomorrow.
 

lifeisgreat

Enjoying Life
May 7, 2016
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I was told encuentro was to be bull dozed in January for some reason it didn’t happen then didn’t give it much thought after ...Sosua is on list too...there is new format and perception government wants for Sosua and current nightlife ain’t on curriculum.. going to be interesting 5 yrs ...
 

Tom0910

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Sep 28, 2015
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I was told encuentro was to be bull dozed in January for some reason it didn’t happen then didn’t give it much thought after ...Sosua is on list too...there is new format and perception government wants for Sosua and current nightlife ain’t on curriculum.. going to be interesting 5 yrs ...
Just my opinion but isn't the situation at Encuentro and Sosua entirely different. The shacks at Encuentro were on private property illegally and there are a lot more businesses at playa Sosua,I would think that there would be rioting in the streets if they bulldozed the businesses on Playa Sosua.
 

ChelseaRose

Active member
Jul 16, 2017
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This move makes absolutely no sense to me. The surf shacks and the vitality they brought to that stretch of the beach were good for the area, good for the locals working there, and a great draw for tourists who aren't looking for just drinks and all-inclusives on the beach. And they kept that part of the beach relatively clean! It seems like if the real problem is that they were too close to the water, well, then wouldn't it be better to help them relocate across the road? If they were dismantled because they were on private land, its too bad an agreement couldn't have been reached to legalize them, pay some rent, or whatever. All seems short sighted to me!
 

lifeisgreat

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May 7, 2016
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Just my opinion but isn't the situation at Encuentro and Sosua entirely different. The shacks at Encuentro were on private property illegally and there are a lot more businesses at playa Sosua,I would think that there would be rioting in the streets if they bulldozed the businesses on Playa Sosua.
Agreed ..but I was told they want to change things .. Encuentro was squatters , beach is public, land opposite is private ..
Not sure how for shacks on Sosua but really doesn’t matter government does what they want when they want...
 

ROLLOUT

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Jan 30, 2012
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This move makes absolutely no sense to me. The surf shacks and the vitality they brought to that stretch of the beach were good for the area, good for the locals working there, and a great draw for tourists who aren't looking for just drinks and all-inclusives on the beach. And they kept that part of the beach relatively clean! It seems like if the real problem is that they were too close to the water, well, then wouldn't it be better to help them relocate across the road? If they were dismantled because they were on private land, its too bad an agreement couldn't have been reached to legalize them, pay some rent, or whatever. All seems short sighted to me!

I suspect that your grasp of the typical dominican mindset is limited.
 

ctrob

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Nov 9, 2006
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It seems like if the real problem is that they were too close to the water, well, then wouldn't it be better to help them relocate across the road? QUOTE]

No. Since when is it the govt's responsibility to help squatters find a legal place to rent? They're squatters. Move or get moved.

Agreed ..but I was told they want to change things .. Encuentro was squatters , beach is public, land opposite is private ..
Not sure how for shacks on Sosua but really doesn’t matter government does what they want when they want...

Playa Sosua is also squatters. They will be bulldozed in due time. But Sosua is on a different schedule. When the timing is right, the private land there will be developed. That's when you'll see that pig sty village come down.
 

chico bill

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May 6, 2016
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Today Paradise put up a parking lot. Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you lost till it's gone
 

drstock

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Oct 29, 2010
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Cabarete
It's a great shame, but I guess it's the same as what happened at Las Terrenas where they destroyed illegal bars on the beach.
 

ctrob

Silver
Nov 9, 2006
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I do feel sorry for these people, they are just trying to eek out a living for their families. And they are probably thinking that they've been there so long that no one will bother them. But things change.

And it seems with both Cab and Sosua they got plenty of advance warning.
 

JD Jones

Moderator:North Coast,Santo Domingo,SW Coast,Covid
Jan 7, 2016
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There is a rumor that a certain religious group likes the area as they like the area west of Sosua and a resort they renovated in Sosua a short time ago. I hope the rumor is just a rumor, since that spot remaining public would be great and Tom Cruz's buddies would not be a better situation.

A person collected rent for those shacks, which were illegal, so collecting the rent was also not legal. He has been in the news before, but seems to have been absent today.

What resort area did they renovate in Sosua?