Businessman At Odds With City Over Health Hazards – CBS Denver

DENVER (CBS4)– One businessman in Denver’s Five Points neighborhood is being fined by the city for his refusal to pick up human waste. He believes the problem goes deeper than just what’s happening on the sidewalk outside his business.

Jawaid Bazyar has seen it all out side of his business near Curtis St. and 24th in Denver’s Five Points Neighborhood.

“There’s food, trash, drug deals. In the alley, we get the defecation, drug needles,” he told CBS’s Dominic Garcia.

It’s an issue that now has him at odds with the City of Denver. Bazyar, president and an owner of FORETHOUGHT.net, says he and his staff have stopped cleaning up the mess. He calls it a health hazard that they’re not equipped to deal with. Bazyar says the problem stems from the city not enforcing laws so they should clean it up.

“If the city’s not going to enforce laws against trespassing, or camping, or public defecation and just make me bare the cost of these problems that’s just not right,” he told CBS4.

But the City of Denver disagrees and has recently cited Bazyar. A city spokesperson says if it’s on his property, it’s his responsibility. They added that he can receive additional citations for each day the debris is not cleaned up.

Bazyar says he plans to fight the citation in court. His hearing is scheduled for Dec. 18.

“I’m going to go to court and do my best to argue that the City’s treatment of this unfair. This is a public crime issue and a public health issue and the city is the organization that’s responsible for that.”