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WEEK OF OCTOBER 10, 2024
VOLUME 97 | ISSUE 45
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What does it mean to be a good neighbor in Denver?
LGBTQ+ senior-housing proposal moves to City Council BY LONDON LYLE SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
Being neighborly can involve grand gestures or small acts of kindness. This Denver resident’s adorned fence could be considered PHOTO BY KATHRYN WHITE both.
Study shows that being one is good for your health BY JACQUI SOMEN SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
Your favorite TV sitcom probably has one — the nosy man peering over their fence or the goofy guy across the hall who turns into a lifelong friend. These characters are often exaggerated personalities, but portray a piece of reality. The people who live next door are central characters in our lives, and they have the potential to be co-stars or villains. What does it take to be one of the good ones? Being good or bad at anything is highly subjective, so we
asked Denverites what it means to them to be a good neighbor. “Different ages, ethnicities, experiences. Coming together and laughing and sharing. That’s a community for me,” said Ashly Ligouri, a resident of Whittier/Five Points, after describing a recent multigenerational, after-school, garden-picking-turned-water fight experience. David Portillo, of the Strengthening Neighborhoods program at The Denver Foundation, said being a good neighbor is about “giving people the opportunity to tell their story.” According to Portillo, asking questions and getting to know people better creates a “neighborliness that allows you to be friendly, but also to explore and count on each other.” He went on to describe his neighbor who helps straighten the
VOICES: 8 | LIFE: 10 | CALENDAR: 12
trash bins in the alley to ensure they get picked up on time. One Sloan’s Lake Nextdoor channel respondent said, “Be kind & caring, being both intentional & random. Let them know your [sic] looking out for them and that they can call on you if needed.” Another respondent from the same platform had a different opinion: “Mind your own business unless asked for your opinion. Never assume your opinion is law of the land.” Being a good neighbor might also mean following the rules, whether determined by the city, HOA or community. Good neighbors are likely to keep the noise down, the trash in the right place and maintain their spaces within public view. SEE NEIGHBOR, P5
An attempt to rezone a 31-acre property at 3821-3897 Steele St. and 3800-3840 York St. in Denver has, after much discussion at the city’s Land Use, Transportation and Infrastructure Committee (LUTI), moved on for consideration by Denver City Council. At stake is the future of a proposed LGBTQ+-affirming, affordable, senior-housing development and a new, mixed-use zoning designation for York Street Yards. The rezoning, if approved, paves the way for a land swap between York Street Yards and Fred Glick, an adjacent resident and property owner, to free up space for an approximately 75unit housing development on the northeastern-most portion of what is now York Street Yards. At its Aug. 27 and Sept. 10 meetings, LUTI members discussed at length the drawbacks of the rezoning, with City Council President Amanda Sandoval citing concerns that approving an I-MX-5 rezoning – which opens the entire York Street Yards property to future residential development, despite no plans by current owners to pursue it – could short-circuit City Council’s long-term equity goals of mitigating displacement and gentrification. The proposed housing project has received overwhelming community support, with 76 of 78 letters sent to the city endorsing the proposal. SEE HOUSING, P7
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