Aurora Venezuelan gang, landlord debate spills into Denver

Moon Wittstruck of Denver addresses the Denver City Council.Photo byDenver 8/City and County of Denver

The debate over how to handle Venezuelan gangs and problem landlords in Aurora spilled into Denver Monday.

Several people who addressed the Denver City Council during public comment period spoke about the gang issue. Moon Wittstruck said there are no gangs.

Peter Svaldi said he is a former tenant of CBZ Management property. That’s the property manager for a handful of Aurora apartment buildings where Venezuelan gangs have been reported. The larger problem, according to city officials, is the landlord. Svaldi agreed that the landlord is a problem but he said cities’ lax policies regarding rentals have allowed bad property owners to flourish.

“The events in Aurora are just the tip of the iceberg,” Svaldi said. “What have you been doing in the short term and what will you do in the long term so CBZ constituents don’t end up like the tenants in Aurora or like me?” Members of the dais don’t respond to comments made during public remarks, but Denver has a rental inspection program aimed at keeping properties in the city up to code.

“This is a statement in solidarity with displaced tenants in Aurora,” Svaldi said. “I empathize with you deeply and wish you all godspeed as you seek to start over, and I apologize for the political rhetoric under way at the expense of your pain.”

Like President Trump, “I agree mass deportation is needed,” Svaldi said with sarcasm. “Mass deportations of slumlords who have taken over.”

Peter Svaldi addresses the Denver City Council.Photo byDenver 8/City and County of Denver

Svaldi said a property at 1399 Vine St. has gone downhill since the Google Street View photo was taken. “Drive by, that’s what you have let Denver become under your watch,” Svaldi told the council.

Displaced tenants living on the street

Wittstruck said migrants evicted from the CBZ property on Nome Street in Aurora, which the city condemned, now are living on the street. “I have direct firsthand experience dealing with this issue so I hope I can act as a resource to all of you,” Wittstruck said. “The first thing to know is there are no gangs. The residents here say themselves there is no gang activity. There clearly is gang activity happening in Aurora but residents of CBZ say there is no gang activity.”

Wittstruck said organizations such as Housekeys Action Network Denver, or HAND, and East Colfax Community Collective were able to house displaced Nome families for about a month, but now money has run out. “Please use your funds to get these people into homes,” she pleaded with the council.

Police, the mayor and city council members have said Venezuelan gangs are operating in the city, but maintain buildings have not been “taken over.” The Nome Street building was shut down due to multiple violations not related to gangs, they said. An attorney for CBZ outlined multiple problems with the gangs in a letter to the city.