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   > Colorado is a shithole, just like San Francisco.  Who cares what   
   they do to their citizens?  Fuck them.   
      
   Mercury Cafe, Triangle Bar, British Bulldog, Cheese Meat Board and   
   LAZ Parking all report revenue losses, uptick in crime as City of   
   Denver struggles to control homeless encampments around them   
      
   DENVER — A growing list of downtown Denver businesses say their   
   sales are in a downward spiral because of a growing line of homeless   
   encampments surrounding them on almost all sides now.   
      
   Two weeks after Denver7 exposed the issues with growing encampments   
   at Broadway and California Street, business owners say the issue   
   continues to scare away customers and potential employees.   
      
   Recent Stories from denver7.com   
      
   “They’re scared,” said Danny Newman, owner of Mercury Café at the   
   corner of 22nd and California streets. “They’re uncomfortable. It’s   
   hard to get people motivated to walk through that.”   
      
   “There is no direct way to park and get to our entrance without   
   walking through a homeless encampment right now,” said Scott Coors,   
   owner of Triangle Bar on Broadway.   
      
   Business owners here say attacks are also becoming more frequent.   
      
   Denver7 obtained video of one incident caught on camera as a man   
   tried to steal a woman’s bag, dragging her violently on the sidewalk   
   near Broadway and 21st as she held on for dear life. In the video, a   
   man then comes to the woman’s defense and is able to defuse the   
   situation and get the woman her bag back.   
      
   “It’s everywhere,” said Mark Berzins, owner of British Bulldog. “We   
   had another assault in front of our bar where a passer-by was hit   
   with a baseball bat just this past weekend.”   
      
   Berzins says City Councilman Darrell Watson did respond after   
   Denver7’s initial report two weeks ago.   
      
   “His office reached out shortly after you ran your last story and he   
   met with us right away,” Berzins said. “He came down personally. He   
   actually arrived solo, so he got to experience the deep discomfort   
   firsthand.”   
      
   But at this point, the toll is mounting. Newman says he’s paying   
   off-duty officers $90 an hour at Mercury Café.   
      
   “Months at a time where we were paying the officers themselves more   
   than we were bringing in revenue,” Newman said.   
      
   Coors at Triangle Bar recently surveyed his customers. More than 500   
   responded.   
      
   “And 74% of our respondents said they are coming less frequently or   
   much less frequently than last year,” Coors said. “And of all those,   
   62% cited the homeless encampments and safety concerns getting to   
   and from the bar as a primary reason.”   
      
   Those respondents also cited parking as a concern.   
      
   “It has just fallen off a cliff and gotten to a point where I don’t   
   know what these poor businesses are going to do and how they’re   
   going to survive out here,” said Adam Herbert who has managed   
   parking lots for LAZ Parking for the past 10 years in downtown.   
   “I’ve never seen things this bad.”   
      
   Herbert manages the parking lot on the same block and behind   
   Triangle Bar, Cheese Meat Board charcuterie shop, and the British   
   Bulldog. He was injured trying to move boulders placed on the   
   sidewalks by someone else to keep the encampments out.   
      
   “I ended up getting my finger caught between the boulders and broke   
   it,” Herbert said. “So, we’re fighting this on all ends.”   
      
   And with the city promising action within six months, these   
   businesses say give us a break.   
      
   “We won’t last six months,” Coors said.   
      
   “Six months, no one’s going to make it six months,” Berzins said.   
      
   “It’s next to impossible at this point to run a customer-facing   
   business in this neighborhood,” Newman said. “I never thought we   
   would be in a situation this long. It’s getting worse, not better.”   
      
   “Anytime we’re in our own parking lot, we don’t ever feel safe,”   
   Herbert said.   
      
   Denver7 reached out to Councilman Watson who said he is meeting with   
   the businesses at this time and after that, he would reach back out.   
      
   https://www.denver7.com/news/local-news/downtown-denver-businesses-   
   say-revenue-losses-are-mounting-as-encampments-engulf-streets-   
   around-them   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)