Ferentari is a neighbourhood in the 5th district (sector) of Bucharest, Romania.
It stretches from between Sălaj Street (westernmost point), Progresului Street in the North West, The border between the 5th and 4th district in the South West, Prelungirea Ferentari in the East and Bucharest City Limits in the South. It is bordered by Rahova , Pieptănări , and Giurgiului neighbourhoods.
The population of the neighbourhood is around 120,000, 80% of which are part of the Rroma minority. It has been assigned the lowest quota on local taxes (it is zoned as 4 on a scale of 1 to 4, with 4 being the lowest), equal only to the farmlands surrounding the city source: Local Tax Direction of The 5th District.
It has a very bad reputation in the city as the base of drug dealers, prostitution and mob operations in Bucharest. This is confirmed by the arrests of the Cămătaru mob clan, and by the recent raids done in the Zabrăuţi section of neighbourhood after some drug-related incidents. It is the only neighbourhood with 2 police precincts and 2 "jandarmerie" precincts in the city, police presence in Ferentari being twice the one in the rest of the city.
Some taxi companies (as of 2003) have a registered ban on Ferentari at the Mayor's office (they will not transport customers in that area). Very little public transport (3 bus lines and 3 tram lines compared to 11 tram lines, 22 bus lines and 1 trolleybus line in equally sized Rahova). Locals refer to Ferentari as Ferentexas or Ghettoland (Ghetoulanda) due to the fact that it is the only place where dilapidated Communist blocks, with no windows, and partly burnt by improvized heating, resembling ghettos can be seen. It is also referred to as Romania's Bronx.
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Last updated: 08-20-2005 22:24:07
