AURORA, Colo. — Attorneys for embattled property management company CBZ Management filed a new motion in court this week in its legal battle with the City of Aurora, accusing city officials of antisemitism.
CBZ, which is based in New York, has been accused of neglecting several apartment buildings in the Denver metro—forcing some, like the notorious Edge of Lowry complex in Aurora, to shut down.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE:
- Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman calls CBZ Management an 'out-of-state slumlord,' says company 'exploiting' crisis
- Troubled property owner CBZ Management has history of citations across Denver metro properties
- Judge orders William Penn apartments, a derelict CBZ property in Denver, to be closed
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Co-owner Zev Baumgarten is facing several code enforcement violation charges. In the affirmative defense motion filed Thursday, Baumgarten said he is not the owner of the Denver metro buildings in question, but instead he is "related to family members with controlling interests in some of the buildings."
The motion goes on to say Baumgarten has been unfairly targeted by the city because of his Jewish faith, which "has not gone unnoticed by the City and may even be the motivating factor behind its aggressive enforcement of municipal ordinances against Mr. Baumgarten."
The filing even alleges that Breezy Maynes, supervisor of Aurora's code enforcement officers, was asked to explain why she was "being so hard" on Baumgarten and responded, "Because you are an Orthodox Jew."
Continuing a CBZ argument dating back to last year, the motion argues gang activity is what caused the problems at the buildings.
The City of Aurora responded to the filing and accusations in a statement sent to Denver7:
"As you know, the city has compiled extensive documentation over the last several years to validate the numerous problems at the properties connected to CBZ Management and its principals including Mr. Baumgarten. We have shared those records publicly. The city only learned of Mr. Baumgarten’s latest accusations against the city in the last 18 hours. Despite many interactions with Mr. Baumgarten and his teams of attorneys over the years, this is the first time the city has heard these new claims. We have no indication that any of them hold any merit."
Last month, a Denver judge issued an arrest warrant for Baumgarten for failing to appear in court.
In a social media post that shared a link to the recent filing, CBZ Management said, "Due to ongoing litigation, we won’t be commenting or conducting interviews."
You can read the court filing in the document below.
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