Your Guide to Community, Politics, Arts and Culture in North Denver DenverNor thStar.com
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Volume 2, Issue 1
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October 15 - November 14, 2020
Harvest Season:
Nonprofit Sells $1 Donated Land for $1.2 Million. Community Cries Foul
Denver Urban Gardens Selling Community Garden, Says Organization Will Close if They Don't
A DINING North Denver Distillery PAGE 7
POLITICS Denver Voter Guide PAGE 8
ARTS & CULTURE
Book Review: The Boy in the Field PAGE 13
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See STUDENT, Page 6
PHOTO BY DAVID SABADOS
Community members objecting to the sale of El Oasis have been putting up signs in the Highland neighborhood to raise awareness
By David Sabados ndy Karsian has been gardening at El Oasis for 16 years and isn’t going to give up his plot without a fight. “This is a community that wants to save the last piece of undeveloped land in the neighborhood.” Karsian and other gardeners were shocked to learn that the El Oasis was being sold to a developer. They were more shocked to learn the deal was already inked when they were told. Denver Urban Gardens (DUG), a nonprofit organization based in Denver, operates more than 180 gardens in the metro area, including El Oasis on 35th Avenue in the Highland neighborhood, one of their largest and oldest. “This was not a decision that was made lightly,” said Ramonna Robinson, board chair for DUG and a North Denver resident. “It's not a decision that anyone wants.” Robinson said while approximately 2/3 of the land will be sold, the remaining 1/3 will be preserved as a garden. The sale, according to Robinson, is to pay off a $500,000 line of credit for which the land was used as collateral. She explained that the organization has been struggling financially and the sale is their last resort for stabilizing their organization. Over the last few years, they’ve lost grant funding they couldn’t make up with private or corporate donations, with their debt increasing for most of the last decade. “If this sale doesn’t close, Denver Urban Gardens will cease to exist,” added Robinson.
To Vote or Not to Vote: There Is Only One Choice
See GARDENS, Page 5
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STUDENT VOICES
A $1 SALE AND A $1.2 MILLION SALE Rohn Hyde worked as a developer in North Denver during the 1980s. He purchased the land for approximately $65,000 and was interested in building senior housing, but, after the city wouldn’t approve the project he wanted, decided to give back to the community that he worked in by donating it as public space to the new, fledgling organization. He sold the land to Denver Urban Gardens for $1.
Mural Challenge
Halloween Guide
ALWAYS FREE!
By Shaina Walsh s the days pass and the leaves change, we as a community, and nation, are seeing election day quickly approach. This rather extraordinary November day will be a defining factor for what life will look like for the future. As a North High School senior, I am a budding, young adult. As a member of the next generation able to vote I have hope for what may occur. I, like most people, want to see my beliefs and values reflected in our democracy. I want to see the impacts of all generations and be a part of the voices that speak out for change. I will not be able to actually cast my vote this year because I am only seventeen, but this is my plea for all of you readers to do so. As we move towards one of the most pertinent elections in history it's important to understand the implications of voting and how truly dire it is to participate. Recently the nation has been in a fragile position. The basic integrities of democratic institutions have been perpetually under assault. We have seen the nation divided, and it’s soul in peril. With the shattering loss of prominent leaders like Ruth Bader Ginsberg and John Lewis, both tireless advocates of equality and social justice, society is coming to terms with what it means moving forward. These groundbreaking activists for change have left behind a legacy for us to continue. Their generation was the first to start chipping away at the societal constructs that so deeply divided us. Since the 1950s they have fought for voting rights, equality and against the oppression of minorities. Their support for the rights of women, people of color and the LGBTQ communities have spanned over six decades. Martin Luther King Jr. famously said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” Without the laws and rulings Ginsburg and Lewis passed, and the hearts they infiltrated, life would be a wilderness we wouldn’t quite recognize. Since the days of their death, it poses the question of what it means for democracy tomorrow. How will we carry on their mission of equality and how will we use our vote to see our values reflected in the upcoming election? As this election rolls around we see the passing of the torch onto yet another generation of voters. Whether you are 18 or 80 this vote means something for all of us. Speaking as a student who just barely misses the age requirement for voting in this election, I know the innate desire to be a part of the change. My peers, too, hold very similar values. I asked fellow classmates if they were eligible to vote and what it would mean to them. Eighteen-year-old Bella Robison, said “Yes, I will be voting this election year, because it means that for the first time ever I will finally get to have a say in the decisions in our country. I will be a contributor to change, and I will be able to proudly say I did something to actively affect my future.” For another student on the other
COMMUNITY
COMMUNITY
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That news was also surprising to several of the gardners interviewed, who expressed frustration that the organization continued to grow and bring on additional projects without secure funding, putting existing projects at risk. Several said the organization’s leadership never approached members about the situation they were in, saying if they had done so members would have stepped up to help more. Others questioned the doomsday messaging that the sale must be done immediately. “It was like being pushed off a cliff,” said Karsian, frustrated that members had “no opportunity to engage in alternative options.” Asked if she believes DUG handled the situation appropriately, Robinson said “Hindsight is 2020 on anything like that. Knowing how emotional this is for the gardners, I don't know when the right time would have been.”