Welcome to Cole

Two folks I met through this blog (Shocked, actually, I guess I don't offend EVERYONE) bought an awesome home in Cole recently, and moved in a couple of weeks ago... and were immediately burglarized...

Yes, bummer. Not a great welcome to a couple of really nice folks willing to chance it in Cole.

Have we been burglarized in three plus years here? Nope, at least not yet. Have any of our friends? Yes... I guess... in a way.

Why do I say that? Because each time it included some very interesting circumstances:

1. A nice girl that lived across the street had her car stolen from right in front of her house. Turns out she had left her keys sitting out on the front porch overnight. (Incidentally, the guy on our block with "connections" to the local crack-heads was able to get her car to mysteriously re-appear within a couple days... interesting).

2. That same girl had a guy crawl in her doggy door. Yes, her doggy door was big enough for a man to fit through. Need I say more?

3. Ironically enough, this same girl, who just sold her house to move back to the midwest, came by a couple weeks ago to clean out her house for the new owners, and left her weed-whacker out unattended in her front yard, with the gate open. Poof! Weed-Whacker gone. Imagine that. Is this the city or something?

4. Our neighbors up the street had a pallet of sod stolen. Turns out they had parked it out back of their property in the alley, and in all honesty, in the 'hood, that means typically it's up for grabs. Now I wouldn't normally think anyone would give away a pallet of sod, but that is the custom around here. They ended up finding the guy in the next alley up the block laying the sod in his yard. He of course denied any wrongdoing, but they got it back, and it now grows happily in their back yard.

5. Our neighbors across the street had a Playstation and some other electronics stolen from their home. Someone actually kicked in their back door and stole the items, as if they knew exactly when they were gone, and where the items were. They initially blamed it on a kid up the street who is a bit shady--But we later learned that it was one of their nephews who had a drug problem.

My point? (And I'm likely jinxing ourselves by saying this...) We have a pretty darned good block, all things considered. Most everything that has happened here has a story behind it besides just random, urban crime.

And, thinking outloud, betting that the person that robbed these folks is right on their block right now, typing away on their laptop...

To my new friends in Cole, here's hoping it gets better for you guys, and definitely check out the Cole Neighborhood Association when you get settled.

Cheers,

CNM

Playing Operator in Cole--With Very Negative Consequences

Remember that game you played in school where you whispered a phrase into someone's ear, and they whispered it in someone else's, and so on and so forth around the room, until it came back to you, inevitably altered beyond belief? What was it called... Operator?

Tonight there was some hubbub at the Down-and-Out (Downing) Super that drew about six police cars, an ambulance, and a fire truck. I thought it was an accident, and didn't think much of it. When after almost an hour there were still officers there, and police tape up, I decided to see what was happening.

I decided to walk the dogs to have a legitimate reason to walk by the scene. The minute I exited my house, our neighbor, a 18-year-old long-time neighborhood resident, known for being the block gossip and exaggerator, called to me.

"You hear what happened? They robbed the liquor store. Somebody got shot!" As much as I should know better than believe her, I thought, crap, that's going to suck, if there was just a shooting on our block.

Who are they you ask? Well, Them, of course.

She was already on her cell phone calling all her friends to share the "news" as I walked away and towards two of the police cars blockading the street. As I approached the car, I asked the officers what just had happened.

"Oh, it was an Ag Assault. Two homeless guys got in a fight."

I asked, "Is everyone OK?"

"Yes."

"So there was no robbery, or shooting?"

The officer laughed. "Nope..."

I laughed as well. "Can't wait to share this with my neighbor. She told me there was a robbery and shooting at the liquor store."

He laughed again. "Nope..."

So in under 1/2 hour, two homeless guys in a fight (or some other weapon) was transformed into "They (again, who are they? Them, of course) robbed the liquor store, and somebody got shot". Who knows what the story will be tomorrow, or next week?

Why do I care? Well, this neighbor was the same person that told us the other day that "The Police Are Being Racial Again..." after a traffic stop on our block. She claimed that an innocent Hispanic family, including a pregnant woman, were stopped, yanked from their car, hand-cuffed, and thrown down on the sidewalk, face down. Of course, they were completely innocent and were only pulled over because they were Hispanic. She also claimed that when one of our neighbors came out with a camera to film the event, the police aggressively grabbed it from her and broke it.

How many people has she shared that likely gross distortion of facts with? Any wonder why some minority residents still think the police are out to get them? Or why so many people still feel that Cole is an unsafe place to live? We have enough of a challenge changing perceptions in Cole, without someone undoing all our progress by being careless with the facts, in the interest of being an expert or sounding cool with your friends.

What WE can do NOW

I was thinking more about the comment that came into this site recently claiming that "the best way to fight crime in Cole is to oppose illegal immigration", and thought that I should elaborate on my point that there are many things we can do NOW to fight crime and improve the situation in Cole. Again, I agree that illegal immigration is a HUGE issue right now, and at the root of many of Denver's and society in general's various ills. But I think that ones energies can be much more productive by getting involved in your neighborhood TODAY with something very simple rather than waiting for Washington (or even the Denver State Capitol) to figure that complex issue out.

So, for what it's worth, here are my Action items for anyone living in a gentrifying, redeveloping urban neighborhood like Cole:

1. Get to know your neighbors! No matter how good the police in your area are, they can't watch your block 24/7. Only your neighbors collectively can do that. While I haven't been able to get enough of our block unified to create a neighborhood watch, I know at least 9 of our block households by name. How many of you can say that? Likely not many, because honestly, I wasn't good about doing it myself for over a year here. Do it sooner rather than later. Your neighbors and you might not see eye to eye on some things, but at the bare minimum you should be able to be on good terms with them and look out for each others' properties.


2. Get to know your police officers. Whether it's your neighborhood police officers (We have great ones in Cole, email me for their contact information) that can handle ongoing, chronic issues, the District 2 direct non-emergency number (720.913.1000) or just the Denver non-emergency dispatch line (720.913.2000) we've got a tremendous asset in terms of a police force that is active, approachable, and willing to assist residents with the issues that are important to them (us).


3. Befriend your neighborhood kids. It's a shame, but 99% of the crap that happens in our neighborhood I think is perpetrated by kids; in particular graffiti, vandalism, and just the stuff that kids do (as I did) like throwing rocks through windows and stuff. If they're not doing it, they probably know who is. Not only are you selfishly building relationships that could potentially again protect your "stuff", many of these kids unfortunately clearly don't have a supportive, loving home environment. Just saying hi to them by name, being friendly, and pumping up their football when they need it is making a positive contribution to their lives and to your block.


4. Clean up your block! If you wait for your neighbors to clean up their portion of the street, your block will always be dirty. I know it sucks picking up others' trash, but it's part of living in the city I've come to understand. And I don't care what the civil libertarians say, I've seen first-hand that if you pick up trash on your block, it sets a positive example for your neighbors and others in the area--Others will be less likely to throw trash, and less likely to commit more serious crimes simply because it's clear someone cares about and is watching over your block. I've seen it make a difference first-hand. Will it entirely fix the problem? Of course not. But it all helps.


5. Same thing with Graffiti. Contact Cole-Whittier Against Crime for dumpster paint or worst case scenario report the graffiti to the City of Denver and get that crap covered up as soon as you see it. Again, if you leave that crap up, the losers that put it there will learn which block they can do the deed without getting caught, or on which blocks they can tag where it stays up the longest.


6. Get involved with your neighborhood in a more global sense. (Here's where I've fallen short as of late due to a hectic home/work schedule and an unexplained apathy relative to "meetings") Participate in your local neighborhood association, crime prevention group, or neighborhood watch meetings. Cole and Whittier each have active neighborhood associations (http://whittierneighborhood.org/, Cole doesn't have a website yet that I know of) and of course there is Cole-Whittier Against Crime. There's no doubt we have to get more involved to ensure the success of our neighborhood than the average suburbanite--But I think that's a good thing.
7. Keep your eyes open and don't be afraid to call the city. See someone selling crack up the street? Call the police. Abandoned house becoming a nuisance, or just overgrown with weeds? Call neighborhood inspection services. Or, as C-WAC writes today, notice that your corner store is catering to the bad guys by selling crack pipes? Talk to them about it, or call your neighborhood police officer to get their take and/or assistance.

But more than anything, do what you can, even if it's just one of the above points. The recent positive changes in this area aren't happening by accident--They're due to a growing number of engaged residents, and allies at the police and city, that are working hard to forge the future in Cole. If we're not part of the solution, we're part of the problem.