A man was killed after being hit by two vehicles in a hit-and-run crash in Fort Worth’s northside Sunday evening, police said.
Officers responded to the crash at the intersection of Ephriham Avenue and NW 24th Street at 6:14 p.m. Sunday. . The man was hit by two vehicles, one of which fled the scene, police said.
First responders performed CPR on the man but he was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, according to Fort Worth police.
Ciara McCarthy covers health and wellness as part of the Star-Telegram’s Crossroads Lab. She came to Fort Worth after three years in Victoria, Texas, where she worked at the Victoria Advocate. Ciara is focused on equipping people and communities with information they need to make decisions about their lives and well-being. Please reach out with your questions about public health or the health care system. Email cmccarthy@star-telegram.com or call or text 817-203-4391.
Signature-gathering to officially change the name of Columbus Park to La Raza Park became something of a civic party. July 24, 2020.
Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
This Sunday afternoon, Aug. 25, marks the sixth annual La Raza Park Day – a celebration of Chicano culture and community that began with a conflict.
Back in 2019, a local news story focused on complaints about loud cars and “cruising” in Barnum, a historically Latino neighborhood. But cruising along Federal Boulevard is a longstanding part of local culture — and many neighbors weren’t pleased to see it attacked.
That’s when Ben Chavez, now La Raza Park Day’s lead organizer, stepped in.
He acknowledged folks who aren’t familiar with Latino culture often view cruising as a disturbance or an activity for “troublemakers” because they don’t understand its cultural significance.
So he worked with Councilwoman Amanda Sandoval, Councilwoman Jamie Torres, Councilwoman Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez and his wife, Senator Julie Gonzalez, to respond to this complaint with an act of community pride.
At the same time, Jolt of Guerilla Garden and Evan Weissman, the executive director of Warm Cookies of the Revolution, had similar ideas. Instead of dividing community with three separate events, they banded together to produce one collective affair.
Joe O’Connell and his ’48 Chevy Fleetline at his home in Brighton. July 6, 2023.Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
Chavez described the practice as “creating art on wheels” and noted many lowriders and classic cars used for cruising are award-winning and worth upwards of a hundred thousand dollars.
Here’s what’s planned for this year’s La Raza Park Day.
The event will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. this Sunday, Aug. 25, at La Raza Park, 1501 W. 38th Ave. Admission is free of charge.
For starters, it’s the first year the event has a theme: youth violence prevention.
Chavez said the La Raza Park Planning Committee will bring in nonprofits that specialize in violence interruption, respond to active shootings and get families mental health services, as well as organizations that provide support for individuals and families after violence occurs.
La Raza Park Day will also feature a four directions blessing ceremony and a Mexika Danza program, both of which are meant to educate and entertain.
From there, Chavez said, the rest of the programming is “good vibes.” That includes a youth breakdancing crew and youth mariachi, live graffiti art, DJs, music from Los Mocochetes and food – including a taco eating contest – from Chivis Tacos.
“La Raza Park Day is for everybody, not just Chicanos,” Chavez said. “It is a community event that is for family and friends and fun.”
But up until 2020, the park was only informally known as “La Raza”. Officially speaking, the park “was underneath the colonizer’s name – Columbus Park,” Chavez said. “We fought for decades to have that name changed.”
Today, the renamed park serves as a reminder of Chicano culture on Denver’s Northside. It features a prominent kiosko (aka a garden pavilion), shaped like ceremonial areas atop Aztec and Mayan stepped pyramids, and a sculpture that pays tribute to the city’s Chicano activists. These elements remind longtime Northsiders, and those new to the neighborhood, that Chicano culture has, does and will continue to exist in the area.
Artist Emanuel Martinez unveils his new sculpture, a tribute to La Raza Park and the city’s Chicano activists. Sunnyside, June 20, 2021.Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
The neighborhood has “changed multiple times with the demographic of individuals that live there,” Chavez continued. “But one thing that we’re doing is we’re pushing back against gentrification, saying, ‘Not all of us have left. Not all of us are priced out. We’re still here — and our culture matters.’”
La Raza Park Day doesn’t have an official cruise. But…
That doesn’t mean no cruise.
What usually happens is, “after the day we’re like, ‘Hey, let’s go cruise.’ It’s not formal,” Chavez explained.
“Hopefully we all end up in the same place. We usually hit Federal Boulevard and end up at Grandpa’s Burger Haven, and some folks may split off and go somewhere else. But usually, Grandpa’s is pretty jumping down on South Federal. That’s a staple in community where lowriders come together and families have fun and eat cheeseburgers and onion rings and all hang out with each other.”
Less than a decade ago, quaint single-family homes sat on the Northside block of 26th Avenue and Alcott Street in Denver’s working-class Jefferson Park neighborhood.
It was the sort of community where a teacher could afford to live.
Across town, Denver property values were rising fast. The Latino Northside community was being rebranded as “the Highlands,” as dense luxury apartments, duplexes and condos rose.
Through the change, longtime neighbors, including many Latino families, were priced out. More white and wealthier individuals moved in.
Former Coloado Poet Laureate Bobby LeFebre wrote an entire play about the gentrification of the Northside. History Colorado created a Northside Memory Project to preserve the legacy of the largely demolished Latino neighborhood.
A view of Mile High Stadium from the new Skyline at Highlands apartment building in Jefferson Park. June 26, 2024.
Different neighborhoods looked to the Highlands as a cautionary tale of how development can destroy naturally affordable housing and displace longtime residents.
Others promised that more supply would bring prices down, something that has not panned out in the short-term, and something that many former Northsiders who left the city will never enjoy.
Fast forward to 2024, and the homes at 26th Avenue and Alcott Street are now gone, replaced with luxury apartments dubbed Skyline at Highlands.
The largest multifamily apartment building to open in the city since 2021, Skyline at Highlands is bringing 533 units to the neighborhood.
New residents will enjoy “gourmet kitchens,” “luxurious finishes,” “scenic mountain views” and “intelligent smart features.”
The pool at the new Skyline at Highlands apartment building in Jefferson Park.
The building includes a large pool and hot tub; gathering spaces with hammocks, chairs and barbeque grills; a small dog park; rentable video-game consoles and outdoor equipment; a movie room and a music room with instruments and a turntable to play; a fitness center and a separate Pilates room; personal trainers; concierge service; and stylish apartments.
Renting at Skyline at Highlands looks like a great life — for those who can afford it
You can rent a studio apartment for a mere $1,899. A one-bedroom starting at $2,049 a month. Two bedrooms start at $3,189.
The new Skyline at Highlands apartment building in Jefferson Park. June 26, 2024.
A family would need a gross income of roughly $126,000 a year, according to Rent Cafe’s Rent Affordability Calculator, which estimates how much rent a household can afford if they spend the recommended max of 30 percent on housing a month.
That’s nearly $9,000 higher than the area median income for a Denver family of three: $117,360.
The developer, Grand Peaks, acknowledged housing affordability is a big issue in Denver with a free rent lottery.
The company gave 10 Denver teachers free rent for a year. The homes were divvied out through a lottery between 218 teachers in their first three years of service who applied.
In total, roughly 1,200 received the invitation. The district employs around 15,000 educators, most of whom were not eligible.
Those educators in their first three years on the job make between $63,586 and $72,422 a year. That’s far below the $91,280 area median income for a single person in Denver or $117,360 for a family of three.
A music room in the new Skyline at Highlands apartment building.
“I think it’s no secret that there’s an affordability housing crisis right now in Denver,” said the foundation’s CEO Sara Hazel. “I also know is that Denver benefits from having our leaders like our teachers living in the communities that they serve.”
The ten lucky teachers living rent-free could pay off debt, or save for a downpayment on a house.
“I heard from one educator yesterday that I notified that she won,” Hazel said. “And she responded right away, just saying this was this was life-changing for her and her family, this opportunity. And so I think that being able to provide that, at this scale, and hopefully bigger scales in the future is just really powerful.”
Mayor Mike Johnston and Superintendent Alex Marrero came out to cut the ribbon on the building.
Marrero praised Grand Peaks for its “innovative” approach in housing 10 teachers.
While he’s aware of developers focused on workforce housing for educators he has never heard of a market-rate developer offering free rent to teachers.
Johnston described Denver as a world-class city where young people want to move. But it also has a housing affordability crisis he attributes to a lack of housing.
Skyline at Highlands is now open on 26th Avenue in Jefferson Park. June 26, 2024.Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
Even the creation of market-rate housing, he argued, has the potential to lower prices in the long term.
“When you have a real shortage of housing, when you build more units, even market-rate units, that has a dramatic effect of immediately opening up more affordable units,” he said.
He described this phenomenon as the “moving chain effect.”
“These 500 units are going to be incredible for folks to move here,” he said. “They’re gonna be incredible for that teachers will be able to live and work in their neighborhood. They’ll also be incredible for the other 400 units that open up around the city that create more affordability around them.”
The TULU “vending machine” for tents and Nintendos.
A rooftop dog park at the new Skyline at Highlands.
School Board Director Scott Esserman said “it’s hard” for Denver teachers to afford to stay in the city.
While some can afford Aurora, they are burdened with long commutes and often decide to leave the city or the profession altogether.
The question the city has to answer beyond the 10 who now have a year of free rent: “How can we make living in the city more affordable for educators?”
An apartment in the new Skyline at Highlands apartment building in Jefferson Park. June 26, 2024.
A statewide conversation about housing affordability for teachers is happening across Colorado.
School Board President Carrie Olson, who serves on the Colorado Association of School Boards, said that the organization is in a constant conversation about how to make housing affordable for teachers — especially in mountain towns.
“This is what we need to be doing to make sure we’re supporting our teachers, especially our first, second and third year teachers — making it affordable for them to be able to live and work in their community,” Olson said. “Because when teachers are a part of the community, it just makes it different. They know their families better. They know the places that their families shop and live and worship — whatever there they do inside and out of school.”
The gym at the new Skyline at Highlands apartment building.
Her peer group is made up of teachers, and many in her community are struggling to stay in town.
“Ten for free is a drop in the bucket,” she said. “But all of the units that are here are going to serve more than 10. So teachers can still access affordable housing, and I think this is something that DPS is going to continue to work with.”
The main courtyard at the new Skyline at Highlands apartment building in Jefferson Park. June 26, 2024.
