Jewish ‘slum landlord’ exploits anti-immigrant sentiment to drop building code violation charges

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Aurora, Colo. – A Jewish “slumlord” facing criminal charges related to one of his apartment complexes has had his charges dropped by city officials after he hired a public relations firm to spread claims that the violations were the work of a Venezuelan gang that had taken over the complex.

These claims were amplified by conservative media outlets including the NYPost, Daily Mail, and Fox News, as well as several social media influencers on X/Twitter and even former President Donald Trump.

Zev Baumgarten’s LinkedIn profile lists his experience as a rabbi at Chabad Lubavitch in the Hamptons.

CBZ Management, owned by Rabbi Zev Baumgarten, oversees numerous properties in New York and Colorado.

Baumgarten faced 81 charges related to code violations at his Aspen Grove apartment complex in Aurora, Colorado. The violations date back to 2020 and include rat infestations, sewer overflows and overflowing trash cans. He also faced two dozen charges related to illegal vehicles.

On August 13, the city closed Aspen Grove due to unresolved code violations, displacing more than 300 residents, most of whom were recent Venezuelan migrants. Two other Baumgarten properties, The Edge at Lowry and Whispering Pines Apartments, were also slated for closure. Both complexes house primarily Venezuelan migrants.

The case was originally scheduled to go to jury trial on August 27, with a second date set for September 5. However, Baumgarten’s legal team managed to get both hearings rescheduled for a preliminary hearing on February 14, 2025, giving Baumgarten time to resolve the charges out of court with Aurora’s prosecutors.

However, Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman, a Republican who has previously called Baumgarten a “slumlord,” announced last week that the city would now work with Baumgarten to address the problems rather than proceed with the closures.

Since then, authorities in Aurora have dropped all charges related to Aspen Grove in exchange for Baumgarten selling, leasing or “similar disposition” of the property.

The dropping of the charges against CBZ Management followed sensational claims made by Red Banyan, a Florida-based PR firm hired by Baumgarten’s management company, that propelled Aurora into national attention.

Red Bryan’s founder and CEO is Evan Nierman, who is Jewish. His LinkedIn says he worked for the prominent Israel lobby group AIPAC.

Nierman appeared on the Armstrong Williams Show in 2020 to complain about the spread of racism and anti-Semitism on the internet. However, it appears that Nierman, like the rest of the Jewish community, has become more concerned about anti-Semitism on the left in recent years.

In 2023, he released a book titled “Cancel Culture Curse: From Rage to Redemption in a World Gone Mad” and even gave a sermon at his temple condemning cancel culture.

Nierman’s LinkedIn page shows that he worked at AIPAC in the early 2000s.

On August 5, Red Banyan released a statement alleging that Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang, had chased away the property managers, causing the complex to fall into serious disrepair.

These claims continued to circulate online, with a viral video purportedly showing armed members of Tren de Aragua taking over another of Baumgarten’s apartment complexes in Aurora.

Although NewsNation confirmed that the men in the video were members of Tren de Aragua, Aurora police found no evidence that the gang took over the apartment complex.

Interim Police Chief Heather Morris said, “We’ve been talking to the residents here and learning from them to figure out exactly what’s going on, and the picture is definitely different.”

Morris continued, “I’m not saying there aren’t gang members in this community, but what we’re learning here is that gang members have not taken over this complex… We truly believe they’re sincere and we’re standing here, and I can tell you that gang members have not taken over this apartment complex.”

Tenants at Aspen Grove filed a class action lawsuit against CBZ management shortly after they were evicted in August, alleging unsafe and inappropriate living conditions. Residents of the apartment complex believe property managers reported gang activity as an excuse to avoid building maintenance.

Aspen Grove was originally purchased in December 2019, and the city has documented a decline in health and safety standards at the complex since 2021.

Some people online are speculating that the claims of a takeover of Baumgarten’s properties by a gang of immigrants are a cynical hoax designed to exploit anti-immigrant sentiment in the country and avoid a jury trial.

Right-wing shock jock Michael Peinovich took to X/Twitter to say that “Zev and Shmaryahu Baumgarten own the management of CBZ, which owns and operates the property. They filled the place with illegals from Venezuela. Not surprisingly, it became a dump. The city came in to enforce the code, resulting in dozens of code violations against CBZ and the eviction of many of the tenants, who then filed a class action lawsuit against CBZ.”

Peinovich continued: “At this point, Zev Baumgarten began spreading the story that the building had been taken over by Venezuelan gangs sent by Maduro. It worked, and he was able to delay a hearing on his charges until February and avoid a jury trial.”

Peinovich would end by saying, “None of these Jews are against immigration. They’re happy to profit from it, and they abuse the status of their tenants to avoid having to do maintenance on the building. And then when it gets to them, they enlist the political help of brainless conservative donkeys by screaming about Venezuelan gangs. Typical.”

While the specific claim that Tren de Aragua took over Baumgarten’s apartment complexes appears to be untrue, there has been an increase in violence and gang activity in Aurora due to the influx of illegal migrants from Venezuela.

Last week, the city arrested ten suspected members of Tren de Aragua for various crimes, including assault and attempted murder.

Two of the suspected gang members were released from custody on $1,000 bail, despite ICE requesting that they both be held. However, deportation officers from ICE’s Denver office were able to track down and arrest Nixon and Dixon, and both are now in federal custody.

Concerns about mass immigration have taken center stage in recent weeks, with conservative influencers spreading claims about Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, eating pets.

While the claims remain unsubstantiated, Haitian migrants have committed numerous crimes across the country. Last week, a Haitian migrant was charged in Massachusetts with molesting his 10-year-old neighbor in the 84% white town of Mansfield, Massachusetts.