Denver, CO

Parking lot battle puts two Denver restaurants at odds

Published

2 years ago

August 23, 2024

Parking lot battle puts two Denver restaurants at odds

Parking is rarely easy in Denver, but it’s causing a larger problem for business owners and their customers along Denver’s West 29th Avenue, where CôNu’s Corner Cafe & Bánh Mì Sandwiches owns a parking lot that is the focal point of neighborhood drama.

The tension exploded earlier this month when a bicyclist was videotaped cursing and yelling at the sandwich shop’s staff over parking issues, calling owner Thuc-Nhu Hoang “an ugly, nasty piece of garbage” on top of race-related slurs.

“I don’t feel safe anymore,” Hoang said in a phone interview with The Denver Post. She called the incident “very racist.” CôNu’s Corner posted footage of the rant on its Instagram page.

Her shop sits at the corner of Tennyson Street and West 29th, where the Sloan’s Lake neighborhood transitions into West Highland. CôNu’s Corner Cafe, 4400 W. 29th Ave., is just one business along a small corridor (where bike lanes have already caused some agitation) that includes Quarterback Liquors, Leroy’s Bagels and SloHi Coffee + Bike.

On a recent Tuesday, only a few of the dozen-plus spaces in front of CôNu’s were available. Posted signs warned drivers that only customers are welcome and violators will be towed.

For over four years, that wasn’t the case. When Hoang’s business operated solely as a convenience store, she said she let it slide when her neighbors’ patrons parked there. That changed once she opened the sandwich shop last year.

There wasn’t enough room for her customers to park, too, Hoang said, and she worried about the potential for lawsuits during snowy months if clients of other businesses slipped and fell in her lot.

But once Hoang began booting and towing violators, she experienced harassment. Her shop is currently rated 4.7 stars out of five on Google reviews, but Hoang says she’s contended with “fake” one-star reviews written by parking offenders.

“They lie,” Hoang said. “It’s really hurt our business.”

Quarterback Liquors now pays to share several spaces in the lot, but other business owners haven’t agreed to the offer. Hoang declined to provide the cost for monthly parking rent.

“I don’t know what else to do,” she said. “They should let their customers know. That’s their job to do that.”

“Being able to be neighborly again”

Sarah Green, the owner of Leroy’s Bagels, works in her shop on 29th Avenue in Denver on Aug. 20, 2024. Green along with a few other businesses in the area are upset with the owners of CôNu’s Corner Càfê nearby who made their parking lot accessible only for CôNu’s Corner Càfê customers. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)

Sarah Green, who owns Leroy’s Bagels, 4432 W. 29th Ave., depicted the turmoil as uncharacteristic of their community. “We’re all small businesses, and we’ve all been able to coexist really peacefully over the years,” she said. The shop opened in 2015.

In Green’s opinion, the neighborhood rift started with a lack of signage at CôNu’s, which left drivers in the dark about the towing risk. Local business owners met to discuss the issue and asked Hoang to put up signs, Green said.

“There was a good amount of time that there were no signs, and there was still a lot of towing happening, which felt unfair,” Green said.

During that waiting period, entrepreneurs posted their own notices in their storefront windows to notify customers. Green said she’s never encouraged her patrons to park in the lot, adding that she can’t afford to pay the cost to rent the allotted spots.

Future talks are planned between the parties, which Green hopes “will at least be able to get us to a point of being able to be neighborly again.” Representatives of SloHi Coffee + Bike didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Regardless of the strain between neighbors, Green shames the person who berated Hoang and hopes for accountability.

“No one should ever, ever be able to say something like that to another person, especially seeing that in our corridor, because we always have been tightknit,” Green said.

Originally Published: August 23, 2024 at 6:00 a.m.

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Denver, CO

Family identifies teenage victim of deadly shooting at recreation center in Denver

Published

6 hours ago

May 22, 2026

Press Room

Family identifies teenage victim of deadly shooting at recreation center in Denver

Family members have identified the teenage victim of the deadly shooting at Denver’s Montbello Recreation Center as 14-year-old Mikail Nasir Khalid Payne, who went by Nasir. According to the family, Nasir was standing up for his older brother in an altercation when the shooting happened.

The shooting happened Thursday night at the Montbello Recreation Center off E. 53rd Ave in northeast Denver. Denver Police say a boy has since been arrested and is being held in custody for investigation of first-degree murder.

Nasir’s uncle, Sareef Aleem, said his two nephews went to the rec center on Thursday night. He said Nasir’s older brother was there when the shooting happened and witnessed it.

“Two kids confronted Hassan, and they put their hands on him, and as soon as Nasir stood up, another kid, a third kid that was on the side, blindsided him, and just shot him,” said Aleem. “It’s very difficult. I got the call late last night, we’re just shocked.”

Mikail Nasir Khalid Payne

Sareef Aleem

Police say those involved knew one another, and the victim, Nasir, died at the scene. Police also say it was an isolated incident.

A recreation center is known to be a safe space for many kids after school or during the summer, Nasir’s family says.

“They were created to be a safe place for our kids to go, where they didn’t have to worry about getting shot or assaulted,” said Aleem. “We need to check our kids, check their bags, check their rooms and make sure that they’re taking basketballs to the rec center and not pistols.”

Jolon Clark, Executive Director of Parks and Recreation, said in a statement, “Recreation centers are more than facilities. They are gathering places where community is built, where young people learn and grow and where families come together. They have long been and remain the safest place for our youth to gather, which makes today so much harder.”

Aleem said his nephew, Nasir, was one month away from turning 15. He added that Nasir was respectful, kind, and had an entrepreneurial spirit.

“He used to help his family with their landscaping business on a regular basis. He also used to sell little perfume oils right here in this neighborhood and at the car wash over there. People knew him and respected him,” said Aleem.

“He was well-mannered, courteous, excellent character,” said Imam Abdur-Rahim Ali.

Abdur-Rahim Ali and others gathered at an Islamic Center on Friday, a day of worship for the Islamic community, where Nasir and his family visit often.

“I knew him from coming here for services. He was very intelligent, respectful individual. He came in and made prayer on a frequent basis, and just a respectful youth,” said Abdur-Rahim Ali. “The main day of worship for us is on Fridays, so many people came today, and we told them what happened. Of course, it’s a shock.”

Aleem said in Islamic tradition, family members try to bury their loved ones within 24 hours. As Memorial Day Weekend is just ahead, he added it’s been a burden on the family to take care of before the holiday.

“His family is distraught right now. They’re trying to process what happened. His family just wants everybody to know that he was a good kid, and he didn’t deserve this,” said Aleem. “It’s just a shame that he’s not around to fulfill his dreams.”

The family is also raising money to cover funeral costs.

As the investigation is underway, the Montbello Recreation Center is also closed until further notice.

In a statement from Mayor Mike Johnston, he said, “No statement can capture the grief we feel today. Our hearts are broken. To the family of the victim and the entire Montbello community, know that you have our deepest sympathies and our unwavering support.”

In a statement from the Denver City Council, they said: “The Denver City Council joins Mayor Mike Johnston in extending heartfelt sympathies to the victim’s family, Montbello residents, young people, and the staff at the Montbello Recreation Center following Thursday’s tragic shooting.”

Denver Police are asking anyone with information about the shooting to call 720‑913‑7867.

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Denver, CO

Agency releases claim on $5 million of $7.5 million owed for new Broncos stadium

Published

19 hours ago

May 22, 2026

Press Room

Agency releases claim on million of .5 million owed for new Broncos stadium

When the Colorado Department of Transportation’s investment arm had the chance to buy the idle Burnham Yard from Union Pacific in early 2021 for $50 million, money was tight.

CDOT turned to the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade for a $7.5 million loan, which, together with a $7.5 million down payment from the High Performance Transportation Enterprise or HPTE, allowed a $35 million commercial bank loan to move forward in May of that year.

The deal was touted as a once-in-a-generation opportunity that would allow Interstate 25 between Colfax and Santa Fe to be widened and straightened. The purchase could improve transit access, including serving as a potential hub for a Front Range Passenger Rail line.

Not only would frustrated commuters gain back the countless hours of time they were losing to a poor road design, but chances were good that CDOT could make money on flipping the land it didn’t need.

Definitely enough to repay OEDIT, Shoshana Lew, CDOT’s executive director at the time, reassured commissioners.

None of that is happening.

CDOT will sell the 58 acres of Burnham Yard to the Denver Broncos, who are looking to build a new stadium on the site, for $45.8 million, less than what it paid.

After a deeper dive, CDOT nixed its original plans for transit improvements and found the land was more contaminated than expected. It also realized that straightening out I-25 was going to cost billions of dollars it didn’t have.

But not all was lost. A $4 billion football stadium and entertainment district will go into the area, with transit upgrades to serve that new use.

And as for the $7.5 million loan that is owed to OEDIT, only $2.5 million will go back into the state’s Strategic Fund, which is used to recruit employers and fund economic development programs across the state.

The fund has about $3.8 million left.

“What we are asking for today is to convert $5 million of the $7.5 million overall loan into a grant to make the rest of the infrastructure commitments that we’ve made happen,” Lisa Kaufmann, strategic adviser to Gov. Jared Polis, told the Economic Development Commission on Thursday morning.

The money would help fund a relocation of the main rail line, improve road access from Interstate 25, and eliminate three at-grade rail crossings.

For the “modest investment” in public infrastructure, the state would get billions of dollars in private investment, Kaufmann said.

And if that weren’t enough to sway the commissioners, Kaufmann reminded them that the reason the Strategic Fund even had the dollars to lend out was that she had lobbied to get $40 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds in there.

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