Oakland Now Invoicing Burglary Victims: Business Owner

Businesses with windows destroyed by thieves overnight are at risk of receiving letters issued by the City of Oakland warning owners of impending charges, according to a local business owner.

“It seems totally irrational,” Andres Giraldo Florez, owner of the Snail Bar, said in a video posted by Alameda County Supervisor candidate Chris Moore Jan. 21 on X, formerly Twitter. “And it’s literally the definition of kicking someone when they’re down.”

After his small wine bar was burglarized around 2 a.m., police responded and subsequently requested the city’s public works agency get involved, the chef and business owner said.

Later, he said he found a “notice of services rendered” document signed by the city’s public works agency taped to his businesses’ boarded up windows on Jan. 20.

The notice said the agency attempted to contact the business owner at approximately 3 a.m., but when no contact was made, they used plywood to cover the broken panels.

Such was done to make the property secure and “eliminate possible liability for you and the City of Oakland,” according to the notice.

No estimate was provided, but the document promised an invoice to arrive later.

Crime in the vicinity has been impacting local businesses, with at least 10 targeted by thieves in recent months, according to Mr. Giraldo Florez.

“Honestly, I feel like we’re failing to protect a lot of the small businesses in the area,” he said in the video. “It’s getting really old.”

Mr. Moore, the supervisor candidate for election, said the lack of security in the area is detrimental to tax-paying businesses.

“It’s just the obscenity of how the city’s not protecting our businesses, and now they’re charging them to do work,” he told The Epoch Times Jan. 26. “We pay our property taxes, and now you’re charging us for the damage that’s happening because you’re not protecting us.”

With the community impacted by theft and high levels of crime, business owners and community advocates have repeatedly requested the last year for city leaders to declare a state of emergency to address the issue.

Additionally, rising crime and fear for the safety of employees and customers has resulted in some business owners choosing to leave the city.

California burger giant In-N-Out recently announced it is closing its only location in Oakland due to public safety issues. The closure is the first time in company history that a store has shut down permanently.

The city’s public works agency did not respond to requests for comment on deadline.