Message From the President
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
I hope this email finds you healthy, safe, and in good spirits considering these trying times and difficult circumstances. The April 2020 edition of the Urban Dweller, Capitol Hill United Neighborhoods' (CHUN) monthly e-newsletter, is available online. Here is the latest from your registered neighborhood organization and advocate: NEIGHBORS STAND READY TO HELP: In times of crisis, neighbors must stick together (even if virtually) to help those in need. Last month, CHUN disseminated a few salient communications. The first asked members and e-subscribers to support other organizations through ColoradoGives. The second encourages all of us to share great ideas about how, and to what extent, neighbors can help others in the community. Here is a sampling of those ideas:
GOOD NEIGHBORS WORK TOGETHER: At the request of St. Francis Center, a mediator convened and facilitated the development of a Good Neighbor Agreement for St Francis Center’s Warren Residences which will be located at 1630 East 14th Avenue. St Francis Center, Capitol Hill United Neighborhoods, Warren Village, individual neighbors, and other groups were involved in the process. We met in person and exchanged numerous emails to make certain everyone’s concerns were identified and resolved to the best of our ability. Special thanks to Kevin Kelly, Megan Whelan, Randle Loeb, Bruce Caughey, Brian Henderson, Sarah Wells, Jim Slotta, Michael Henry, Adam Larkey, Nancy McMahon and many others for participating in these conversations. FINANCIAL HEALTH REMAINS SOUND: These are challenging times for us all and we want to assure everyone we are taking steps to assist the community in the best--and most financially feasible--way possible. CHUN's financial position remains solid due to steady growth in our membership program, the generosity of benefactors, recurring investment income, and prudent financial management. Special thanks to our finance team for actively monitoring our income and expenses. CHUN is still primarily volunteer driven with limited, part-time staffing. Consider making a gift to CHUN today. You can also sign up as a member, HERE. TEARS-MCFARLANE PROPERTY REZONING: City and County of Denver public meetings and rezoning hearings are postponed until further notice. This has delayed our efforts to rezone the Tears-McFarlane Property at 1290 Williams. That said, local HOAs and Cheesman Park residents continue to sign on and support our plan. If you are interested in joining our efforts to bring renewed vitality and beautification to our home, you can call me directly at 303-817-5744. CHUN is eager to collaborate with you. MOVING IMPORTANT ISSUES FORWARD: In January, we heard from Denver Urban Renewal Authority about the redevelopment and revitalization of a property at 18th and Grant. Subsequent to this review, CHUN announced its support for the redevelopment and revitalization of Denver's Historic Cathedral High School, Sister of Charity Convent Building and The Oscar Malo Jr. Memorial Hall Gymnasium located at 1840 Grant Street. This is a partnership between DURA Housing Rehabilitation , OZ Architecture, and others. Congratulations to all! We look forward to seeing this project completed. Also, the Denver Turnverein requested a letter of support for a grant application for continued restoration and preservation of the property. As an historic landmark, and past recipient of a SEED Award, we issued our support because it was consistent with our values and mission. Copies of both letters can be found HERE. Capitol Hill United Neighborhoods is still at work and successfully delivering on its mission. The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted all of us...some more than others. But this pandemic will not deter us from getting important things done. If you, your loved ones, or your respective organizations need anything, please let CHUN know. In the meantime, stay well, focus on those things that are most important, and be kind to others. For Denver, our community, and in good health... Travis Leiker, MPA President Capitol Hill United Neighborhoods, Inc. A message from Councilman Chris Hinds
A Perfect 10 COVID-19 Update
During these trying times, changes are happening on an hourly basis. We'll be updating you frequently with the latest from Denver and beyond so that you can stay well informed. We'll also provide a little glimpse into how Denver's Perfect 10 community is doing. Understandably, we've heard from a lot of you who have questions and concerns. We've researched many of them, you'll find links for information about a range of issues in our newsletter. Our office remains open, but we are working remotely without the same access to resources as we usually have. Our contacts inside Denver and elsewhere are often also working remotely, slowing their responses to us. If you have a concern that needs to be addressed, please email your neighborhood liaison directly:
Member of the Month
Upcoming Events (Virtual, Of Course)Brave Embodiment Counseling
Follow us on Facebook for free daily tips for coping and navigating our strange new world. www.facebook.com/bravecounseling
Downtown Denver Partnership Upcoming Events
The Downtown Denver Partnership and Denver Community Planning Development Virtual Town Hall
The Downtown Denver Partnership is working with The City and County of Denver on many levels to ensure public health and safety measures are in place to help curb the spread of COVID-19. Meanwhile, Community Planning and Development staff are continuing to work from home on long-term planning projects and reviewing plans submitted online from home offices around the city. The department’s construction inspectors are continuing to perform inspections at job sites while remaining at least six feet away from others.
April 1 was "Start by Believing Day"; Kicks Off Sexual Assault Awareness Month
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month; April 1 was "Start by Believing Day". To ensure that we all Start By Believing and to change the conversation around sexual violence in our community, The Blue Bench has launched Changing the Conversation 2020 (#CTC2020).
Changing the Conversation 2020 includes a series of webinars on topics ranging from talking to youth about consent to responding to disclosures of sexual assault. To learn more, visit their #CTC2020 website HERE. Join your friends and neighbors on the virtual blue bench to help create positive social change in our community! CHUN Committee Updates
CHUN History Matters Commitee
The History Matters Committee had a joint meeting and forum in partnership with the Urban Planning Committee on February 11th where we were graced with two speakers. For the History Matters portion, Beth Glandon gave a fantastic presentation about her work at Discover Denver. Discover Denver goes street by street through Denver neighborhoods and takes inventory of significant buildings and then makes a record of the history of the buildings that show promise. This is an excellent way to learn about buildings in the CHUN neighborhood, you can see their current work, including neighborhood surveys at https://www.discoverdenver.co/documents. Beth also showed us some houses we might have missed (including the original home of Mrs. Stover's Bungalow Candies, which is now Russell Stover, at 960 Detroit!). None of these properties are currently protected and this creates a fantastic road map of where History Matters can start to help. Discover Denver will be hosting volunteer trainings for both the walking and the research needs.
Please contact Beth Glandon at bglandon@historicdenver.org if you would like to find out about volunteering. They still need help and most of the work can be done with social distancing in mind! The committee members met for the last half of the meeting to discuss our goals and work for the year. We later combined our brainstorming efforts in our committee work meeting on February 20th. Our 2020 goals that we are hoping to ratify with the rest of the board are outlined here: Four History Matters Focus Areas 2020 (DRAFT)
Phone Meeting on Friday, April 3rd: CHUN History Matters participated in a call with the owners of the purple building on 17th Avenue at Clarkson, formerly Tony P's. The owners have applied for demolition eligibility and the phone call was facilitated by Historic Denver to determine our next steps. The ownership group explained that the building (formerly Tony P's and JR's before) is part of a parcel of buildings that includes the salon next door, Beast + Bottle and the 2 story residential building at 1723 Clarkson. The total footprint is 28,800 square feet. Beast + Bottle's lease is up 2021 and the salon is even sooner. All 4 buildings would be razed in the current ideas for the project which is a 5 story multi-family development. Only 777 E 17th is left to be designated eligible for demo, the other buildings were approved previously. The plans that were submitted were filed by Corum, the developer that they have lined up. Bellamy has a long history with the neighborhood, redesigning over 20 buildings in the area, along with the property in question in 1983 after a trip to New Orleans, in partnership with Emerson Design and Construction. His original vision was an improvement to 17th Avenue, adding trees and historic light fixtures. Bellamy does not see this building as a "historic" property. Neighbor Concerns Included:
CHUN Climate Action Committee
Jim Slotta and Stephen Polk facilitated a conference call with other climate change advocates to brainstorm ways to tackle climate on the local level. In the near term, CHUN will host an electronics recycling event at the Tears-McFarlane House. This was scheduled for May 8th; unfortunately, it will be postponed until later in the Summer. CHUN will continue to provide infrastructure--printing, copies, meeting space (when permissible) etc. to the Accelerate Neighborhood Climate Action group. Other great ideas were discussed and will put those into action once social/public gathering restrictions are lifted.
CHUN Urban Planning Committee (CHUN UP)
The CHUN Urban Planning Committee (CHUN UP) met on February 20th. Attendees included Sarah Wells, Frank Locantore, Dmitrii Zavorotny, Amanda Klahr, Joel Brown, and Jace Davis. Colorado State Representative Steven Woodrow (District 6 - roughly the southeast section of the CHUN boundaries) sat with us and commented at how impressed he was with our group.
The following action items resulted from the discussions:
Latest e-communications from the City of Denver:
COVID-19 Updates, Assistance, and OutreachIn a crisis, neighbors are ready to help...
Email your needs-list, thoughts, and ideas to chun@chundenver.org. We will be compiling these over the next few weeks and sharing them via social media, email, and on our website. These are unprecedented times. Let us DO OUR PART and stand READY TO HELP.
City and County of Denver Preparedness Updates & Resources
The City and County of Denver is working with local, state, and federal partners to provide accurate information about the Coronavirus (COVID-19) to the public. Help us spread facts, not fear.
You can get COVID-19 information on relief support & resources including medical supplies for organizations, opportunities to donate and volunteer, safety information on the virus, details on the 'Stay At Home' order and more! COVID-19 Updates from the Downtown Denver Partnership
We know that our community will get through this unprecedented time as long as we continue to support each other, the Denver Police Department and the community at large. We will continue to work, in partnership with others, the planning that will strengthen our economic resilience.
As a follow up to the Board Briefing today, please find the link to the Payroll Protection Program (PPP) Application (PDF) we discussed. In addition, attached you will find the Business Resource overview that Randy walked us through. The Partnership has created this document to guide businesses on how best to leverage Federal, State and local relief resources. We look forward to connecting with you again next Wednesday, April 8th at 11am, for our next Joint Board Briefing. We will hear from Mayor Michael Hancock and Senator Michael Bennet. Case Data:
CARES Act Loan Application Assistance Project
The CARES Act Loan Application Assistance project is a collaboration by the Colorado Nonprofit Association and We the Action. We launched this new initiative to keep nonprofits in Colorado from laying off staff and closing their business, creating many gaps in the social safety net for our most vulnerable communities.
We are proud to announce the launch of the CARES Act Loan Application Assistance project, a no-cost lawyer match program for Colorado Nonprofit Association members providing a resource for much-needed support navigating the federal relief and response funding. The CARES Act includes the Paycheck Protection Program and Expanded Emergency Grants. Top Neighborhood News Stories
The Goods Restaurant Closes, Refocuses on Feeding Community
The Congress Park restaurant is using its remaining inventory to prepare free heat-and-eat meals for laid-off workers and others in need.
Volunteers and staff members prepare free meals at the Goods Restaurant. Photo courtesy of the Goods Restaurant.
While many Colorado restaurants are offering carryout and delivery service in hopes of staying afloat during the coronavirus pandemic, three-and-a-half-year-old Goods Restaurant is taking a different approach: giving meals away for free.
Restaurant staffers are preparing heat-and-eat meals with the Goods’ remaining inventory, then working with a grassroots volunteer network to distribute the food to organizations and people in need. The restaurant’s 23 employees, who are now unemployed for the foreseeable future, are also taking the meals home to feed their families, says co-owner Mark Whistler. “This is a really hard place for me to be because of the uncertainty of our own financial picture,” Whistler says. “But even if it means we don’t come back in business, I’ll know that we did the right thing.” Read the full article by SARAH KUTA at 5280.com Howling, dancing and a supermoon: Cheesman Park slips into the fairy realm
Heather Farley whips a hula hoop around her body in Cheesman Park. April 7, 2020. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
The howling began at 8 p.m. sharp, like every night. But Tuesday was different.
“This is the night to howl,” a man said as he hoofed it up 11th Avenue toward Cheesman Park. An enormous full moon rose over the horizon as dusk set in. In this fourth week of mandated social distancing and work-from-home — for those who can — it seemed like the park and streets became places to find peace and normalcy. But it felt extra normal, almost supernatural in the darkness. Like the woods in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” the Cheesman neighborhood seemed to drift into the fairy realm. Read the full article by Kevin Beaty at denverite.com National Jewish Develops COVID-19 Test, Results in 24 Hours
DENVER (CBS4)– National Jewish Health is now testing patients for suspected COVID-19. The hospital developed the diagnostic test in its in-house laboratories and National Jewish has created a clinic to evaluate sick patients. The hope is it will help take some pressure off emergency facilities.
Read the full article on denver.cbslocal.com Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day, Leverage a $20K Matching Fund to Plant Trees
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