DENVER (KDVR) — A Lower Downtown business owner says he didn’t receive city grant funding meant to mitigate the financial effects of nearby homeless encampments, despite meeting all of the requirements.
Recently the city of Denver dispersed a million dollars to local businesses impacted by homeless encampments. The businesses mostly are in Five Points and LoDo — areas where sidewalks have been sites of encampments for years.
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In all, 69 businesses received grants ranging from $7,500-$15,000. But one of the applicants, One Shot Back, a cocktail and golf bar, said the city overlooked them.
One Shot Back owner Jason Danielsen said the nearby homeless encampments have cost them dearly.
“We’ve lost thousands of dollars from this encampment,” Danielsen said. “We’ve had people’s mirrors ripped off, we’ve had mufflers stolen, we’ve had the homeless smoking crack or whatever they’re smoking and dropping their pipes outside, and I found needles outside I’ve had to clean before we opened, feces all in our parking lot.”