HISTORY
 

Emerson Street Neighborhood Concerns
 

Since the recent shooting on April 19th behind Emerson Uptown Lofts, neighborhood awareness and concern for safety has been growing.   The Perrneoud, Uptown 21, 1755 Emerson and Briargate home owner's associations have been working together to increase community awareness and learn how we can work together with the Denver Police to help solve these problems.   Emerson Uptown Lofts and Swallow Hill residents have also expressed concern.   This is the third violent incident in just over a year: The fatal shooting of a wanted criminal by a Colorado Dept. of Corrections Parole Officer inside 1746 Emerson in May 2008.   See Denver Post story A near-fatal stabbing in the 1700-block of Emerson in March 2008.  The victim walked over and collapsed in front of WaterCourse Foods.   The picture of the suspect released by police was taken from the security camera in the courtyard of 1746 Emerson. No arrests have been made in the April 19th shooting around 2:30am.   The victim apparently lived in the neighborhood and had been out to a nearby bar/restaurant and was shot one time in the chest after some type of dispute.

Denver Police investigate shooting by Parole Officer at 1746 Emerson in May 2008 (Denver Post)

1746 Emerson Street

We are particularly concerned with the "Emerson Place" low income housing at 1746 Emerson.   Neighbors are reporting what appears to be a significant amount of drug activity and loitering in vehicles near this address.   Denver Police statistics show the number of calls for service have escalated in the last 12 months.   We compiled them into this chart which paints a picture of how the problems are getting worse.  For example,

Firefighters wash blood off the sidewalk in front of WaterCourse Foods after victim collapses from near-fatal stabbing in March 2008         March 2008 Stabbing suspect photograph released by police from a security camera at 1746 Emerson

75% of all the narcotics calls, 60% of the overdoses, 60% of the disturbances, 60% of the domestic calls and 50% of the suspicious party calls over the 40-month period have all occurred in the last 12 months.   There have been disturbances for the last 11 consecutive months with a high of 4 in April.  There have been 3 weapons calls in the last 12 months, none prior.   40-month high of 27 calls for police/fire/EMS assistance in April 2009. The statistics also show a reported stabbing in May 2006 & May 2008 and a shooting in January 2007.   It's not clear if these reports were substantiated.  These statistics are of concern because they point to a worsening problem.   Keep in mind that the problems generated by this address are probably much worse than these numbers portray because they represent only the calls dispatched to a single address, 1746 Emerson.  The actual responses are likely higher as callers may give neighboring addresses or intersections when calling 911.  We also caution neighbors to not blame this address for all the neighborhood problems as there are certainly other challenges for us to overcome.

What Can You Do?
 

The best thing you can do is keep your eyes and ears open.   If you see anyone suspicious, Call the Police.   If you have a feeling something might not be right with someone, you're probably right.   The Police can't help us unless we help them.   The police dispatch number is 720-913-2000 or 911 in an emergency.   Be prepared to give them a description of the people and a license plate number, if possible.   You can remain anonymous and don't be afraid to call often.  These problems don't exist in other neighborhoods because the residents won't stand for it.   If one of these suspicious vehicles we routinely see in the 1700 block of Emerson pulled up in Cherry Creek there would be 15 people on the phone to 911 before the people had time to get out of their car.   We need to send a message to these people that crime and drug activity is not welcome in Capitol Hill anymore! Join our email list above or by sending a message to info@uptownhoa.com.  We will keep you informed about our efforts.

Click to see Police Call Statistics for 1746 Emerson

Contact the property owner, police and community leaders and share your concerns.   The police and community leaders all share our same goals and are happy to visit with you about these problems:

• Call Mark & Debbie Yoder at Granite Realty (property owner) and tell them the neighborhood is fed-up and ask them to clean up the problems at 1746 Emerson -- 303-831-0797 or 303-832-4097

• Mark Jacobson, District 6's Community Resource Officer 720-913-2906 or mark.jacobson@denvergov.org.   Mark is also happy to meet with HOA's and property owners to do a walk-through of your property and learn what you can do to increase security and safety.

• Commander Deborah Dilley 720-913-2900 or deborah.dilley@denvergov.org

• City Councilwoman Carla Madison at 303-298-7641 or carla.madison@denvergov.org

• Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey at 720-913-9000 and ask his office to investigate why they have been unable to file Nuisance Abatement action against this property with so many calls for service and obvious narcotics, weapons and disturbance problems.

• Mayor Hickenlooper at 311 or john.hickenlooper@denvergov.org

• Roger Armstrong, Executive Director of CHUN at rogerarmstrong@chundenver.org

• Call District 6 and ask for more patrols 720-913-2800

Attend the Neighborhood Meeting on July 7th at 6pm with Cmdr. Deborah Dilley and Councilwoman Madison at the Perrenoud, 836 E 17th Avenue.

Get the Word Out!  Tell Your Neighbors and Friends.   Send them this website or Print and Distribute these Flyers in Your Building.

Uptown and restaurant row along 17th Avenue has become a wonderful destination for dining, grabbing a drink with friends and shopping.   Parking is at a premium and patrons must often park and walk a block or two.   It's important they feel comfortable and are not afraid of walking at night.   The last thing we want is a reputation as an unsafe neighborhood.  Increases in violent crimes, such as those we have been experiencing in recent months can be particularly troubling to a business's bottom line.

Robert Greenbaum, assistant professor of public policy and management at Ohio State University and co-author of a study on the affects of violent crimes points out, “It is not just the levels of crime, but the fear of crime that affects the decisions people make."

“The fact that violent crime is rare in low-crime areas makes any increase all the more shocking and frightening. Customers are less likely to visit businesses in the neighborhood, and entrepreneurs are less likely to open a new business.”   The study also points out, “There are secondary costs of violence – when violence happens in low-crime neighborhoods, businesses close, retail business contracts, people lose jobs.".   “It has a far-reaching economic impact beyond loss of life to homicide," he said.

Violent crimes can also make it more difficult for businesses to attract and retain good employees.  When a business or one of it's employees are affected by a violent crime or mugging, the effects can be devastating and long-lasting.    We  encourage businesses in the area to get involved in our efforts to solve these problems before things get worse.   We are at a turning point.   One more particularly violent incident could start turning people's heads. 

 

Nuisance Abatement Action?

Many of you have asked about Nuisance Abatement action and why the city has not applied this law to this problem property.  This is a good question.   How many disturbances, how many shootings, how many weapons calls, how many narcotics calls does it take before the city will take action?   This law is somewhat complicated and requires a specific set of parameters be met before the nuisance abatement statue can be employed.   It's obvious that the problems have risen to the point of a public nuisance.  However, the city may not have enough arrests or signed complaints to meet the statute's requirements and move forward with nuisance abatement.  This is something that we will be working with Cmdr. Dilley and District Attorney Mitch Morrissey's office in the weeks and months to come to review and better understand how this can be applied to help us clean up our neighborhood.   And this is another reason we all need to be calling the police when we see any problems there.

Do you have a story you would like to share?    Please email us at info@uptownhoa.com

The concern for safety in our neighborhood has brought us together.  It is our hope this will give us an opportunity to meet our neighbors and create a better, more cooperative neighborhood for the future.

Some of the information on this website has been provided by third parties and may or may not be accurate or complete and may represent the opinions
of individuals and contributors to this website.   We recommend that you keep these factors in mind as you review this information.