A shed painted to support LGBTQ residents at a community garden in Aurora was destroyed recently after someone smashed it with a pickup truck.
Police are investigating it as a potential hate crime, and organizers of the garden believe the damage was intentional.
Known as El Jardin, the garden near North Union and Claim streets included a fence and a rainbow-painted shed that was revitalized in May. Organizer Ellie Esparza said she was inspired to paint the shed to honor the LGBTQ community that Esparza said is often harshly judged in the neighborhood.
Last week, someone knocked the garden’s fence down. Esparza originally thought it was an accidental hit-and-run. Now, Esparza believes the damage was intentional after a second incident occurred Wednesday.
Video footage from a neighbor’s security camera shows someone driving a pickup truck Wednesday into the shed twice, once around 8:45 p.m. and again at 9:22 p.m., Esparza said.
Aurora police spokesman Paris Lewbel said police officers responded after someone reported the incident around 10:25 p.m. Police are looking for information about a pickup truck that witnesses described as a dark-colored Dodge Ram that struck the shed before continuing back down Union Street.
“We have not ruled it out as a hate crime,” Lewbel said Friday afternoon.
Esparza, who owns Concrete Rose Studios, said that after growing up in Aurora, she wanted to decrease violence by giving kids something to do during the day. El Jardin community garden was then created in the spring of 2017 but fell by the wayside, in part because there is no running water at the site, she said.
In May, Esparza, with the help of other community supporters, revitalized the community garden. The food grown there has been donated to the Aurora Area Interfaith Food Pantry.
The space has hosted several free events, such as a Zumba class planned for Saturday which had to be canceled due to the recent damage.
“The colors were in reference to hate in the community against LGBTQ people in the neighborhood from people with strong religious backgrounds,” Esparza said of the shed at the garden. “We wanted to be the change and help others feel more confident.”
Now, she worries people will feel discouraged from having the confidence to express their identity.
“Now, someone might be hesitant to come out to their dad because the person driving (the pickup truck) could have been someone’s dad,” Esparza said.
After receiving an outpouring of support, Esparza said she plans to rebuild the shed and is looking for community donations to create a more durable structure out of wood and metal. She said the Aurora arts community is ready and waiting to paint rainbows on the shed.
While a sign that said “From the Concrete Grew A Rose” at the garden was damaged, Esparza said a new sign will be constructed that reads “Hate Will Never Win.”
“We don’t want to lose sight of the people who are relying on us to stay strong, keep it together and know they can love anyone and be confident in that love,” Esparza said.
