Protesters outside El Paso City Hall seek to save Duranguito neighborhood

Dozens of people protested outside El Paso City Hall Tuesday, while City Council representatives met inside the building.

The group Paso del Sur organized the protest to oppose City Council’s decision to again consider the Duranguito neighborhood as a possible site for the downtown arena.

“Because the El Paso City Council cannot make a decision about the arena that is in the best interest of all of us, we ask that all the citizens of El Paso make the decision for them,” the group said in a news release. “Paso del Sur, a grassroots organization who works with barrio residents to defend their neighborhoods and their right to respect and dignity, announces today that they are initiating a citywide citizen’s initiative to exclude Barrio Duranguito from the city’s eminent domain demolition plan.”

The group gathered signatures outside city hall during the protest to put a potential ordinance on the ballot in May that would protect the Duranguito neighborhood from consideration during the site selection for the arena.

Earlier this month, City Council approved a feasibility study that will look at areas within a 1,000-foot radius of the Downtown Convention Center as a possible site for the downtown arena.

The feasibility study includes the Duranguito neighborhood, which was taken off the list of potential sites in the wake of an uproar from the community. The study will not take the Abraham Chavez Theater into consideration.

City Rep. Lily Limon has said that she did not understand why the city would reconsider an option that is not feasible.

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. What kind of leadership is that?” Limon said.

Rep. Michel Noe asked the Council to consider looking at all potential arena locations within 1,000 feet of the convention center, including the original site: the Duranguito neighborhood.

“I think the taxpayers deserve that we look at all options and not just tie our hands,” Noe said.

“We believe the recent actions of our dysfunctional City Council to reverse the decision that initially excluded Barrio Duranguito from the demolition block clearly demonstrates that they cannot be trusted to represent the interests of anyone other than a small minority of binational developers, land speculators and hoteliers who want it at Union Plaza for their own financial benefit,” Paso del Sur said.