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Daily Mail
2 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Irate neighbors stage sick protest after landmark home left in disrepair is ravaged by vagrants
Residents of a Colorado neighborhood have resorted to a disgusting act of protest after a neglected landmark house has invited squatters and rodents to the area. Neighbors of a vacant historic home in Denver have started chucking bags of dog poop onto the front steps of the 120-year-old property. 'A poop protest, that's it,' Mimi Garrison, who has lived next door to the home in distress for about 50 years, told CBS. Located in the city's East 7th Avenue Historic District, the house has been abandoned and left to deteriorate mid-renovation for six years. The no-deteriorated house was last purchased in 2015. At first, the owner, Flavia Montecinos, rented it out to tenants. But trouble arose when she decided to give the more than a century-old home a makeover in 2019 - only to never complete the project. Renovations stopped a few months later, CBS reported. Since then, the once-lovely home transformed into something better resembling a haunted house. Its windows were boarded up and the weeds became overgrown - not to mention the eyesore of the metal construction fence lining the 9,000-square-foot land plot. The fence has not kept out vagrants, community members claim. Ever since the house became disregarded, it has become a hub for unwelcome guests. Garrison recalled to CBS one particular instance, during which homeless people broke into the landmark and lived in the garage. Along with safety concerns, residents have complained to the city that living so close to the devastated home could bring down their own properties' values. Last year, Denver's Community Planning and Development Agency added the property to the city's 'neglected and derelict' building list. 'It's disgraceful,' Garrison told the outlet, adding that a Colorado senator used to live across the street and a previous Governor lived just two doors down from the fallen home. The East 7th Avenue Historic District is packed with homes built primarily between the 1890's and the 1930's, according to the Denver Public Library. It original residents were professionals, soldiers and laborers that were considered wealthy or middle class. The district is famously known for the Doud-Eisenhower Home, where the 34th US President Dwight D. Eisenhower and his wife Mamie Doud got married in the living room in 1916. During his administration, the home became the Summer White House and the family was well-established within the community. The Doud-Eisenhower Home is just about a five minute drive from the despaired - and now poop-covered - property. This 'poop protest' started with neighbors walking by with their furry friends and being absolutely sickened by what they saw. It has at least been going on since July 2024, when an inspector first made note of it. This unsanitary and smelly form of rebellion has caught traction, and now the entire front of the home is littered with a colorful variety if feces-filled doggy bags. In May, an inspector made note of this, writing: 'The neighborhood is angry with this resident and a lot of them throw dog poop bags full of excrement over the fence into the yard.' Denver's Community Planning and Development Agency has had roughly 40 complaints about the property since 2019 when the revamp project abruptly halted. There have been five complaints in 2025 about the 'neglected condition of the house.' Poop-filled bags have been being thrown on the property since at least last year 'I think the neighbors are making a statement - Clean it up. Clean up your mess,' Garrison told CBS. She did, however, admit the downside to this bizarre community effort. 'That's a lot of poop, and it smells,' she told the outlet as she observed dozens of bags. Alexandra Foster of the Community Planning and Development agency confirmed to the outlet that the owner 'secured a permit for an addition in 2019 but abandoned the project halfway through during the pandemic.' The owner of the vacant home responded to the sickening situation in a statement to CBS. 'Third parties have engaged in illegal dumping of dog feces, food waste and other garbage on the property,' Montecinos wrote. 'The property owner has discussed this matter with the City and County of Denver and continues to address this issue by regularly disposing of this waste.' Residents resorted to chucking feces on the property after feeling unheard by the city (pictured: a man walking past the house with his dog) City records reviewed by the outlet suggest there is a residential construction permit for the home 'in progress.' Neighbors, such as Garrison, are hopeful, but will not be truly satisfied until they see improvements. 'To have it go on such a long time is what's the worst part,' she told CBS. 'A lot of the neighbors are affected by all this.' Until then, the lawn, steps and side of the historic home remain covered in poop.
CBS News
3 days ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Stalled renovation on Denver landmark home leads to "poop protest"
A landmark home on Denver's historic 7th Avenue Parkway has sat vacant for the better part of six years, attracting weeds, rodents, the homeless and an unusual form of protest from neighbors frustrated by the eyesore. "A poop protest, that's it," said Mimi Garrison, who has lived next door to the home at 2725 East Seventh Ave. for nearly 50 years. The 120-year-old home was sold in 2015, and the new owner rented it out at first, later beginning a renovation project which stalled out in 2019. It has sat vacant since then and fallen into disrepair, with windows boarded up, doors removed, weeds dotting the 9,000-square-foot parcel and a metal construction fencing erected around the property. Garrison jokes that the home should be used as a Haunted House at Halloween. It's been no laughing matter to other neighbors and the city. Denver's Community Planning and Development Agency said in 2024 the home landed on the city's "neglected and derelict" building list. "It is disgraceful," said Garrison, who noted a Colorado Senator lives across the street and a former Governor once lived two doors away from the decaying property. She said people have broken into the vacant home, and some homeless individuals were living in the garage at one point. Neighbors walking by began expressing their displeasure with the eyesore by tossing their dog's poop bags onto the front steps of the vacant home. Now, Garrison says, it happens with regularity, with dozens of brightly colored bags littering the front of the house. "I think the neighbors are making a statement," said Garrison. The statement? "Clean it up. Clean up your mess," she said. On a recent visit, there were dozens of bags on the front steps of the home. "That's a lot of poop, and it smells," said the neighbor. CBS News tracked down the owner of the home, Flavia Montecinos, who owns other Denver properties according to city records. She declined to be interviewed but sent a written statement indicating she got the message. "Third parties have engaged in illegal dumping of dog feces, food waste and other garbage on the property," wrote Montecinos. "The property owner has discussed this matter with the City and County of Denver and continues to address this issue by regularly disposing of this waste," said Montecinos. Alexandra Foster with Denver's Community Planning and Development agency said, "This is a landmark property that does have a history of complaints. The owner secured a permit for an addition in 2019 but abandoned the project halfway through during the pandemic". Foster said the agency had received five complaints in 2025 related to the "neglected conditions of the house," and about 40 complaints and citations associated with the house since 2019. In May, one inspector noted on a report that a caller to the city stated, "The neighborhood is angry with this resident and a lot of them throw dog poop bags full of excrement over the fence into the yard." Two months prior, a caller to the city complained that the home "is neglected and bringing the value of her house down." In February 2024, a city inspector wrote that the "abandoned job site" qualifies as a "nuisance" property. A city inspector checked out the property in July 2024 and wrote, "There are also dog poop bags being thrown over the fence on the south side/front of the house." But even as the poop bags continue to pile up, there may be a glimmer of hope for exasperated neighbors. City records show a residential construction permit for the property is "in progress," allowing for the construction of a "small addition" and interior and exterior remodeling. "To have it go on such a long time is what's the worst part," said Mimi Garrison. "A lot of the neighbors are affected by all this."
