Volume 38, Issue 32 - May 4, 2016

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mymetmedia.com

The Student Voice of MSU Denver

Volume 38, Issue 32

May 4, 2016

Ivory Ana Wafield, 4, is lifted out of a hole by her neighbor Shia Brooks, 14, in Elyria-Swansea which is located right next to I-70. The neighborhood kids play in the abandoned house’s yard on April 7. Photo by Alyson McClaran • amcclara@msudenver.edu

Meet Denver’s stepchildren Globeville and Elyria-Swansea:

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the highway that bisects Elyria-Swansea and Globeville to 10 lanes. Community members have banded together and in March announced a lawsuit against The Environmental Protection Agency over parameters of the project. Dominique Diaz, a resident of Globeville, said she calls Globeville and Elyria-Swansea the easily ignored and problematic stepchildren of Denver. Diaz said people will call Globeville River North out of ignorance of the neighborhood’s identity. Globeville and Elyria-Swansea are neighborhoods known for high crime and poverty rates. According to a 2014 Denvergov report, the household income in Elyria-Swansea is $44,700, and in Globeville it is $39,200, both

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significantly lower than Denver’s average of $73,100. Globeville has one of the highest crime rates in Denver, with about 288 incidents per 1,000 people — more incidents per person than Five Points. Resident Elias Alfaro has lived in Swansea on Race Street for 20 years, and in this time he has witnessed changes in the neighborhood for the better, and noticed the crime rates decreasing. Alfaro, a bus driver for RTD, moved to Swansea in ’96 with his two children and wife. The Alfaro family has expanded and they all live together, three generations. Alfaro now gets along well with his neighbors, but recalled less than pleasant times living in Swansea. In ’97, their neighbor’s 18-year-old son

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On a typical weekend, kids and dogs rule the streets of Elyria-Swansea. Swansea Park comes alive with laughter, a rubber basketball slapping blacktop, bicycle tires scratching gravel and the occasional yelling and uproar over an elementary-age fist fight. In the 23-mile stretch across this neighborhood of northeast Denver, yards are a patchwork of varying maintenance. One yard has neatly manicured grass, unseasonably green. Its neighbor is a fenced in dirt trench, and another neighbor is a Little Tikes graveyard, covered in tricycles and colorful plastic toys. Many yards sport white signs, “Mi barrio no está en venta,” “My neighborhood is not for sale.” The signs refer to Denver’s I-70 expansion plan, which would enlarge

News

Part one of an ongoing series

mnewton5@msudenver.edu

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By Mary-Kate Newton

was murdered at Swansea Park. The police never found the person responsible. Three houses down from the Alfaros, one of the neighbors was busted for dealing cocaine. Property damage and theft have been big concerns since the Alfaros moved to Swansea. “People would come in and cross the yards,” Alfaro said. “They would steal tires, rims. They go to the cars and steal things.” Alfaro and community members of Swansea held a meeting with the Denver Police, asking for regular patrolling of the neighborhood, and Alfaro said it improved the safety of the neighborhood. “It’s much better now,” he said. “You can walk in alleys now and no one will bother you.”

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Softball wins RMAC title

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Volume 38, Issue 32 - May 4, 2016 by Met Media - Issuu