"Our customers feel very uncomfortable," says Glam House employee Sienna Abeyta. "People come up to their cars, come up to them when they're outside. It's scary."
"It's always something here," says one business owner. "It doesn't seem like there's an end in sight. It's just become part of daily business. It's something that we now have to deal with every day, and it's an added stress on our plate. I've had staff say, 'I just don't feel comfortable working here,' but more so, customers saying things like, 'I don't feel comfortable coming here at night' or 'This area just doesn't feel safe to me.' We've had public reviews made about that. Where it's just like the business is taking a hit for the [state of the] neighborhood. Worst it's ever been."
The Denver Police Department's crime map, which uses National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) data, shows at least ten reports of crimes being committed in January alone, with the most recent call coming into the DPD on January 25 for drugs and alcohol — the area's most common complaint.
In their comments on the Westword Instagram post of the Ogden Street story, readers debate whether the action just goes with the territory along Colfax, or the city needs to do more to improve the block. Says cocacola:
This is Colfax. It’s always been Colfax.Responds mikeliss:
Colfax could be a cultural beacon and pride of the city. Instead, it’s this. Clean it the fuck up. This isn’t culture. This isn’t “locals” who have been here all along. It’s trash. And trash needs to be taken out.Counters CJryan:
Colfax is not actually dangerous, but I guess to transplants it is. Do they really believe they’re entitled because they moved here with their irrelevant business ideas? A yoga studio off Colfax...really? Colfax rejected you, byeSuggests r.o.c.h.e:
I used to live over there, and it is truly tragic. The bottom line is we need affordable housing to get these people off the streets and on the road to recovery. If you were homeless, you probably wouldn’t want to be sober, either. This is such a lose-lose situation for everyone involved — hoping @mikejohnstonco will continue his work of getting people off streets and into homes so we can all have a city we feel safe in.Notes santomarco:
Denver has gone soft on crime and this is the predictable result. Demand a higher standard of protection from our elected officials.Wonders jzane:
Has no one been to a big city? You live in an urban environment, yet you expect it to be the suburbs.Concludes sleepyhead:
Westword is a bunch of irrelevant yuppie gentrifier snitches.What do you think about what's going along the 1400 block of Ogden Street? Post a comment or share your thoughts at [email protected].
