The Two Elijahs... · Elijah Gurule
I’m including this brief presentation about Mr. Gurule here because there is a mystery for me since one day I was renewing a lease with him and mentioned to him that the building’s callbox was never set up for me and I had been there a year. He said he’d take care of it, and he did... well, sort of. The system was programmed incorrectly so my phone number connected to a random person’s personal number. I went back in to the leasing office and told him and I never saw him again.
I realize that the error seems like it could’ve been unintentional but there was purposeful actions utilized by the managers to lure me back into their office repeatedly. There could be no other explanation since otherwise they were just so incompetent that they wouldn’t be able to do anything correctly. They’d deliberately harass me and I’d repeatedly explain to them that I’m on disability and a housing assistance program through the Veterans Administration. What would also repeatedly happen is that once a, usually younger, manager understood my situation and treat me normally, like they’d treat anyone else there, they would suddenly not ever be there again.
I wanted to include him here because I’m not sure what had happened to him. I honestly don’t think he moved on to a better position somewhere, or some other reasonable explanation for his disappearance. I have an account with an online phonebook too, and his address was never changed in the last two years. His supervisor at the apartment complex, the woman that wouldn’t keep my account correct so that I could use the online payment system (was the main problem I was having there), was weird and probably impossible for him to work with.
To support my allegations of the manager’s impropriety, and the injustice against the young man as a subordinate employee of the business, I will include the three page newsletter that she wrote and posted to every door in mid February of 2024 where she includes his name.
Plain text of newsletter:
Hello Vina Residents, it’s been a while since I sent out a newsletter and there are some changes, concerns and cleanups that need to be addressed or clarified. So please bear with me as this might be a long one.
I hope all of you had very Happy Holidays and the New Year is off to a good one. Today is Valentines Day, so Happy Valentines Day to you all. Hug your loved ones, we never know what tomorrow brings.
Lots of things to cover so here I go.......
Electric bills are coming from Conservice, do not pay Conservice, please make a money
order to Vina for your electricity bills. You should have received 2 of them by now and a 3 one for usage from 12/23/2023 - 2/01/2024 is on its way. They are delivered by USPS, so check your mailboxes. Remember these bills are a bit higher than usual as they are a 45 day period, it was definitely colder in December, and all those Christmas lights, kids home on vacation, etc....all add up. So please keep thatin mind when looking at the amount. If you haven’t already, do go on to their website (address at the top of the bill) and from there you can see your usage, your account, how much is charged per KW, etc., it is a very helpful tool. Also, a message board for communication.
Vina has added 4 special parking permits right in front of the bldg. These four parking spots are the first four from the crosswalk down. You must have a special permit parking pass tag hanging from your rearview mirror to park in these spots. These parking spots are a first come first serve reasonable accommodation spot for our residents with mobility impairments and they must be approved. So please refrain from parking in those areas, as you will be towed. They are clearly marked with new Special Parking Signs and yellow paint. HDCP parking is available in the parking lot.
Rent-Due on the 1% late on the 2". Late fees are accessed on the 8" of each month and
the late fee is $50. I have no control over these late fees. If there is a rent balance on your account a late fee will be kicked in.
Lately, we have had several kids running in the hallways, playing ding dong door ditch,
etc...some of them live here, but mostly, they are kids from across the way. They are
starting to be destructive. They are stealing ring cameras, our little nic nacs outside our doors, they flooded our lobby one Saturday morning, some of our residents have caught them on top of the mailboxes, and vandalizing our kitchen area. I am asking for everyone’s help with these kids. Catch them. Call the cops, etc.. they are going to tell you they are visiting their grandma, or a friend on the 3" floor. They range from 8-13 yrs old. As for our kids, this is a reminder that anyone under the age of 16 are not allowed in the fitness center or lobby unless accompanied by an adult. Also, absolutely no scooters or motorized bikes, etc. are to be rode in the hallway or lobby Our hallways & lobby are not romper room.
Parking lot. We are experiencing vandalism and stolen vehicles from our lot. Thisis a
crime, and all crimes should be reported to DPD. Please call and report this as it could
help with additional patrols. If your vehicle has been vandalized or stolen, please stop by and tell me when and if it was vandalized or stolen. I’m making my own report for the
owners. I, too, have called the DPD and they tell me that this is happening everywhere, not just our parking lot.
If you have a broken down vehicle in the parking lot, I’’m giving you 10 days from today to have it removed or fixed. Absolutely no broken down vehicles are allowed in the parking lot. Currently, there is a Mercury Ford Colorado Plate ALK-T71, Chevy Spark GXE-R04 - Florida plates, and a Honda Accord BIB-702 Colorado Plate. These vehicles must be removed from the parking lot or they will be towed.
Security, in addition to Front Range Patrol, I have added a second security with 4 additional random patrols per night they are “got your six security” phone # is 303-500-9617. Please use them.
Trash rooms are still being abused. Again, the left chute is for household trash bags, not the great big black bags, remember, this chute is for anything that can be compacted down as this chute goes directly into the compactor. If something too big like a tv or a computer monitor, what have you, goes into this chute, it does nothing but jam the compactor and backs up the trash chutes all the way to the top causing an overflow into the trash rooms. The right side chute is for items like tv’s, big boxes, metal things, etc.....Please help us out and take the time to dispose your trash properly. Again, when sending kids to the trash room, let them know which chute to use. Everyone helping out is HUGE! I appreciate it and I know maintenance appreciates it as well.
Pets, AGAIN, we have dog stations with poop bags, why is there still dog poop everywhere. This is unacceptable. Justthe other day, I caught a little boy taking his cute little puppy into the courtyard to do his thing, with no poop bag nothing. | asked the little guy about a poop bag and he looked at me like I was stupid. Please, use the bags, they are there for a reason. Also, I have learned that no dogs are allowed in the courtyard.
Denver Human Rights and Community Projects/Aging Division will be conducting older
adult computer classes, the flier is attached. I do believe they will be giving everyone who attends their own laptop to use during the classes. Sign up sheets are in my office and I believe you must be 55 + to attend. To all my seniors, this is FREE and could be so helpful as everything in today’s world is all about technology.
We had a staff change, Elijah is no longer with Vina, so please be patient with me on getting back to you in a timely fashion, I do have a temp assisting me, but I am still basically running solo until a new hire is hired.
The office will be closed, Monday, Feb. 19, 2024 for Presidents Day. I will see you all on Tuesday, Feb. 20th. 9:00 a.m. sharp.
On a personal note, I do want to thank all of you for welcoming me to Vina, hard to believe I’ve been here over 8 months already. I’ve made some great friendships here and do appreciate the casual "good mornings" or "Hi’s" as you pass by. It’s nice to see you all occasionally. We all live here, and we all need to watch out for each other and keep our families safe and it takes all of us to do this. With that said, stop blocking the back doors open!!!
Respectfully,
Janet Coupens
Your Community Manager
She lived in the building, a mid-aged single woman with a small dog she’d have in the office with her. The dog barked at me when I went to pay my rent which is just about irritating as hell for me. Mainly because of the people I knew who worked in social services field would take time out to explain to me that the attitude of people like her is degrading to people in my demographic. People would have large dogs off-leash right outside the building’s rear egress and I wasn’t ever supposed to have one iota of a problem with that. She’d include reminders in her newsletters (but what does that do?)
Here is a screencapture of Elijah Gurule's Facebook profile page. It hasn’t changed in two years now! Oh, I suppose I could mention the other reason I moved to the same apartment complex that he lived at (but moved out of during the month I was preparing to move) was that I was familiar with the area since I grew up nearby. The other annoyance I was experiencing with the young man personally was that the management condoned outside groups to post flyers and solicit the residences. There gets to be a weird double-standard with people in regards to lower-income housing complexes where the stigma & stereotype is of like an inherent toughness and maliciousness that is contradictory to any idea that the demographic includes disadvantaged and vulnerable people, i.e., elderly and disabled, etc., and survivors of domestic violence too, so allowing just anyone to walk around the building knocking on doors to recruit for tenant unions and the like isn’t being security conscious. There would be armed security around too, but not necessarily at the same time. It gets to be like everything needs to be the opposite of what is realistic. Bad people always look exactly like bad people are supposed to look, type thing, and if they don’t than it’s time to blame the person who points out the discordance.
If men were angels, no government would be necessary.
~ James Madison