Oakland small business owner details the devastation the city is facing if city’s leaders don’t step up
Derreck Johnson, owner of The Home of Chicken and Waffles in Oakland, California said many citizens’ and business owners’ livelihoods are on the line as crime continues to skyrocket.
A business owner in crime-ridden Oakland, Calif., said she's had her car broken into so many times that she now leaves her windows down so thieves don't break the glass when her vehicle is inevitably carjacked.
Suzane Loi, who has run The Coffee Mill on Grand Avenue for the past 27 years, said she doesn't like the crime she witnesses on the street outside her café, the Daily Mail reported.
In addition to her café, which she said has been broken into three times in six months, masked car thieves allegedly smash car windows outside her business several times a week.
"When I park my car outside I leave the windows down enough to fit your hand through and unlock it so they don't smash the glass," she told the Daily Mail.
Loi said she thinks it is a better alternative than having to replace her broken car window every time it happens.
A car with a broken windshield remains parked on the 1700 block of 6th Avenue in Oakland, California. (Photo By Paul Chinn/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
Oakland has seen a rise in violent crime and theft with smash-and-grab robberies and reports of assaults on employees soaring in recent years. According to Oakland police, the city’s entire violent crime category increased 21% between 2022 and 2023.
In addition, Oakland residents are increasingly buying bulletproof glass to protect themselves.
"My business is down 40% this year because people are too afraid to go out to eat in downtown," Loi said. "Their cars will just get smashed or stolen or broken into. We had two break-ins outside just this week."
Loi said the burglars are often 15-year-old kids, pre-teens, or even girls, which doesn't fit the typical gender profile for crime.
"This used to be the place to be, but now everything is closing," she said. "We have no fine dining. Shops are closing. Even CVS is trying to close."
A vandalized in Oakland, California. (Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images)
"Honestly, someone needs to be held accountable for it," she added. "I don't know what to do; the government isn't doing anything. Why did we even vote for them?"
Crime is an ongoing problem in Oakland. In September, dozens of business owners in the city planned a strike in response to the rampant crime in the city.
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"We are all dying figuratively and literally," one restauranteur said of the city's condition. "The business community has just gotten to the breaking point where everyday someone is having to choose to close their doors because they can no longer stay in business."
Fox News Digital's Jeffrey Clark contributed to this report.
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