European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 6, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Iii i h. A8�&Quot of St sir athenians to make room for Trees to improve their air and relieve the Stark cityscape. Athens has Only 2.8 percent Green space a less than any other european capital. The mayor who has been in office since Jan. To has been talking to garbage workers and gardeners and not least Bankers and business executives to raise Money. He is of course not the first mayor pledging to clean up the capital others have promised but tripped Over Nur aies that say As much about Greece As about the Job. In the land of the ancient City state today a Metropolis a has virtually no Power and no income. An administrator said Athens does not even get to keep Antonis Tritsis the new mayor of Athens is pushing a master plan under which tha remains of the ancient City will cease to be ringed by Asp att and noise above the acropolis. Its parking fines. A. The culture ministry jumps in if plans Are made in the. Vicinity of one of the dozens of ancient monuments. The health ministry has a say in basics like where to. 1 dump garbage a almost All the funds depend on the finance minister. Some residents suggest that getting anything  a. Feat for any mayor in Greece s antagonistic political climate where rivals readily thwart each other s projects. Al have a double edged problem a , who has taken office at a moment in which Greece is almost broke. Quot i need extra financing from the government and at the same time t need to fight for More  a yet he said he believed that by rehabilitating the past he can enhance the present. An archaeological Park in the Center will provide a breathing space he believes and bring in visitors who avoid this bad tempered City and treat it merely As an Airport on the Way to the islands. A Ahe said he wanted to link All the Sites from classic to roman to byzantine Greece. He plans to close roads and build new plazas and pedestrian ways associates describe the tenacious planner As the main engine behind the transformation of Plaka the old and rundown zone below the acropolis. It is now cleaned up restored and brimming with restaurants. A v ,. When Tritsis was minister of environment and planning one Friend recalled people told him that taming Plaka would be impossible. I. Y a Quot. But enlisting the police he saw to it that in one night 93 places were shut including seedy nightclubs and fronts for drug dealing that had ignored official deadlines to a  a a Quot Quot by / a %. He referred in jest to 1984, when he was dismissed As environment minister apparently because Hel ought with the real estate lobby and refused to Compromise. Quot the difference is Quot he said Quot i can t be fired now for. Four years 1. A Quot. A a a Athens mayor tackles City s survival by Marlise Simons new York times i n Athens a City of breathtaking ruins and some of the nastier Urban tangles of modern times an ambitious planner has taken office impatient to mobilize barriers and bulldozers and Start changing the face of the capital. He is the new mayor of Athens Antonis Tritsis an architect Engineer and town planner trained in Chicago and the  to come to this Job with a far reaching. New master plan for the town Center in More than 150 years Quot it s a matter of survival Quot said the mayor who has gained a reputation for creating controversy. He said that unless Athens changes Quot it will be a Jungle in 10 years Quot if Tritsis gets his Way main avenues May become passable again and quiet electric streetcars will end the Era of the belching and roaring bus. The remains of the ancient City will cease to be ringed by Asphalt and noise but United Irv a Large archaeological Park linking the main Sites and monuments. Which other City in Europe has a soul More than 3.000 years old the mayor asked. _ Quot we must reveal and recapture this historic  As an epicentre of Western thought Athens May be among the oldest and most evocative of places. Yet Ever since the turks left and the first modern King called in bavarian architects in the 1830s to draw up a Street plan the town at the foot of the acropolis has been straining at its Leash the City doubled in size in the last three decades greater Athens today is Home to almost 4 million of the nation s 10 million people. A the View from the mayors office offered the monotonous Concrete look that gives Athens More in common with the sprawl of Amman Jordan or Mexico City than with the Brick and Stone of old european cities the horizon was blurred by the Nefos the nefarious Brown smog that lingers whenever the wind is weak All around sat a Thicket of billboards and television aerials Quot look at those Quot Antsis said frowning and declaring that the crass signs and the thousands of antennas would have to be replaced then to tors 54, sat Down to explain his plans. One Calls for Banning a portion of the 1 million buses and private cars from Pereni Alty jammed Down town streets instead he wants to bring in streetcars. A former environment minister Tritsis has been prodding the government to deliver cleaner fuel and is asking readers action Lin Post allowance How is it determined for some  been concerned that the Post allowance and possibly the living quarters Ai Lowance la for Days department of the army civilians in Italy have not kept Pace with the changing Exchange rate or the general increase in the Cost of living. It is our understanding that Post Ai Lowance for Italy was first authorized in january 1990. For some unknown reason it was not paid to eligible  the end. Of May 1990 but was hot retroactive to january. A we would like to know How the Post allowance is Quot determined. In  Post allowance is nearly three times the amount paid in Italy. Our experience is that nearly everything is just As expensive if not More. Expensive in Italy than in Germany. Also the authorized la has not changed much Over the past several years whereas the rents and Utility costs have increased substantially during the same period. We would like to  the la rates Are. Determined. We at justification is necessary who has the responsibility for submitting the required data How often must this data be submitted and to whom7 _. A. A . Bob Jennings civilian personnel division he Usa eur replies the writer wanted to know How Post allowances Rales Are established and an explanation of Why the rate s for Maly Are lower than for  countries. A the Secretary of state establishes Post Ai Lowance Levels  states citizen employees who work for the . Government in a foreign area. The purpose of a the Post allowance is to offset the difference Between the Cost of jiving in the overseas area and the Cost of living in the Washington d c., area. A a Posta Ilow Ance rates Are not Only based on the Cost of local retail goods and services but also on the Cost at special Purchase facilities such As commissaries and Post exchanges available to some or All employees at the Post. A. A a Cost of living Survey is conducted annually by most posts receiving a Post allowance and submitted to the stale department the Price and living pattern data along with data on the currency Exchange rate and inflation a rate is used by the state department to establish Post allowance rates. A. A a a. _ the state department reviews and adjusts pop St and. Living quarters allowance rates bimonthly to entire. Adequacy. Since the Post allowance rates for Italy As in. Germany vary from Post to Post a comparison of the rates Between the countries cannot be made a a a to write us a a readers action line is the readers Quot court of last resort s driving to ans wer some of the questions about life overseas in a military environment or questions about policies and guidelines when other avenues for answers Are not readily available. If you have a question and Don t know where to turn for the answer write to readers action line  the stars a and stripes. Apo 09211-4211. All letters must be signed and preference Wilt be Given to those seeking information of general interest to our readers. Page 16 a # the stars and stripes wednesday March 6, 1991