Business owners in San Francisco’s Chinatown said they are sick and tired of getting broken into.
Asia Star Fantasy owner Nancy Yu said Friday that her business was the recent shop in the community that was targeted by robbers. She showed NBC Bay Area the most recent surveillance video of an organized burglary that took place at the business.
“It seems like 'oh, it’s my turn?' That’s how I feel about it,” she said. “I feel like we are the targeted one and that’s something that’s not comfortable.”
Yu added that she arrived find a mess and a big loss at her shop.
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“The cash register itself, the cash inside and the door and things, about $4,000,” she said.
A couple of weeks before, Sherman Hung’s restaurant was targeted.
Hung, who is a chef of Bow Hon said he’s been targeted four times in more than a year. The last time, Hung said that someone broke his elevator that carries dishes upstairs.
San Francisco police said in June, there were five burglaries and three robberies in Chinatown. Last month, six burglaries and four robberies and those were just the ones reported.
Many business owners showed up at a meeting Friday to address the recent crime in the area.
“What are they doing there? What is their purpose?” Yu said.
Resources for the city’s vandalism relief program and ways to deter break-ins were shared during the meeting.
Police said they have started patrolling the area 24 hours a day and have foot patrols.
“It is frustrating and the best thing we can do is give it our best effort on a daily basis,” Sgt. Dennis O'Mahony with the San Francisco Police Department.
But the question remains if those moves will help quell frustrations and stop the business owners from being hit again.
“I don’t want people to scare of coming into Chinatown because all these crimes, but it is happening almost every day,” Yu said.
One of the solutions is to get alarm systems. Many business owners said they simply can’t afford an installation and pay a monthly fee. There is an alarm company working with the shop owners to make sure cost isn’t a barrier.
