Denver closes Sonny Lawson and La Alma-Lincoln parks due to drugs and violence

Denver Parks and Recreation has cordoned off parts of Sonny Lawson Park and La Alma-Lincoln Park, the agency said Friday as its latest move to curb rising drug trafficking, violence and vandalism in those areas.

In response to these behaviors, a patch of grass and trees near the intersection of West 14th Avenue and Kalamath Street was also cordoned off this week, said Stephanie Figueroa, a spokeswoman for the department. The closures will remain in place for at least 30 days.

The parks administration worked with the city's Department of Transportation and Infrastructure, Department of Public Health and Environment, City Council members, Denver Police and the nonprofit Denver Dream Center to coordinate the closures, Figueroa said in an email Friday.

“The decision was made due to the increase in drug dealing, violent incidents and vandalism,” she wrote. “(Denver Parks and Recreation) tried other interventions before deciding to close, but the problem persisted.”

News of the closures was first reported by Denverite on Thursday. The park administration does not appear to have announced the closures on its website or social media pages.

The president of the La Alma-Lincoln Park Neighborhood Association said Friday that the organization has received numerous complaints about conditions in the park in recent months. Representatives of a charter school in the neighborhood raised concerns in July about open drug use and dealing across the street from the school building on the west side of the park. Human waste and frequent physical altercations in the park also worried school officials, emails show.

In another email to the organization, a mother shared pictures of syringes scattered in the grass. She had taken her children to the park to play on the playground but left after finding the drug paraphernalia and seeing a large group of people using needles and smoking substances from pieces of foil.

Still, Nolan Hahn, president of the neighborhood organization, said he was disappointed with the steps park and public safety officials have taken in response to those concerns. In addition to erecting fencing, city officials have also removed portable toilets from the park, he said.

He would have liked to see more targeted measures, such as a large-scale rollout of the city's Support Team Assisted Response program, which sends paramedics and psychologists to emergency calls instead of armed police. This would help to get the area's problems under control before the park is taken away from all users in a poorer part of the city.

“I don't want to say Denver Parks didn't try anything. I think they definitely tried,” he said. “It's just unfortunate that two of the methods they tried resulted in the park becoming worse and less useful for everyone in the neighborhood.”

City authorities work “incredibly well together”

City Councilwoman Jamie Torres represents the part of West Denver that includes La Alma-Lincoln Park and Paco Sánchez Park, another area she said has seen an increase in crowds in recent months. The parks department has also put up barriers in part of the park, she said.

The crowding and drug-related behavior in west Denver is linked to Mayor Mike Johnston's “All In Mile High” homeless initiative, Torres said. As of Friday, the program has provided shelter for 1,872 people for at least one night. However, parts of downtown known for homeless encampments have also been closed to people sleeping outside, spreading the behavior to other parts of the city.

The program is a necessary boost to resources for people who want to stabilize their lives and may only need short-term support, Torres says. But the most difficult people to reach are those who are left out, including people with serious addictions.

From Torres' perspective, conditions at La Alma-Lincoln Park have actually improved significantly compared to early summer.

“I don't think our departments work in isolation like they used to,” she said. “Parks and DPD work incredibly well together in the two areas I have (in my district) where there is a lot of work to be done.”

Denver police have increased patrols in La Alma-Lincoln and Sonny Lawson parks in response to “an increase in community complaints in these areas related to illegal drug use, assaults and disturbances,” a department spokesperson wrote in an email Friday. However, all decisions regarding park closures rest with the park administration.

Selected activities will continue to be permitted at both Sonny Lawson, 2301 Welton Street in the Five Points neighborhood, and La Alma-Lincoln Park, the center of the neighborhood of the same name at 1265 Mariposa Street.

The dog park and playground at Sonny Lawson will remain open — at least for now, Figueroa said. Individuals and organizations that already have permits for events and activities on certain days will also be allowed to use the parks during those hours if they wish to continue to do so.

“Permitted uses include league baseball games, farmers markets and concerts,” Figueroa wrote in her email. “DPR has reached out to permit holders to notify them of the closure and to work with them should they wish to modify their permit.”

Not the first time parks have been closed

Closing public parks to prevent potentially dangerous and harmful behavior is not a new approach for the city.

La Alma-Lincoln Park and its recreation center were closed intermittently for nearly five months between December 2021 and April 2022 due to a series of shootings that included someone firing a shot at the open recreation center, park officials said at the time.

The final shutdown, a week-long lockdown that began on April 28, 2022, following a fatal shooting at the park. Gary Arellano, 63, was killed while trying to break up a fight in the park. A 24-year-old man from outside the neighborhood was arrested for Arellano's killing.

Civic Center Park in the heart of the city at the intersection of Broadway and Colfax Avenue was also closed for an extended period from September 2021 to May 2022. The park administration enforced the closure in part to restore the lawn and improve safety, but also to stop the rampant drug use and sale there.

Figueroa noted in her email Friday that the city has restricted access to Civic Center Park until 2023, even after the broader lockdown is lifted. This was done to ensure safety and was considered a success.