‘Oakland has to love us back': Business owners fed up with crime call on city leaders to take action

The frustration is growing for Bay Area businesses fed up with crime. 

In Oakland, some business owners now say spikes in robberies, car thefts, and burglaries are all making it extremely hard to even convince people to come to the city. 

“It is getting worse by the minute, you have to something and you have to do something now,” said Chef Michele McQueen of the Town Fare Cafe at the Oakland Museum.

“We are not here bashing our leadership, what we want you to do, is do your job,” said Derreck Johnson, owner of Home of Chicken and Waffles on Embarcadero.

Those are the types of conversations that are happening among business owners in Oakland almost daily as they look for ways to address the increasing impact that crime is having on their livelihood.  

“People don’t want to come downtown,” said Johnson. 

Car jackings, break-ins, robberies and vandalism are constant concerns for Johnson.  

He is working with other businesses to demand leaders from the city to the state focus on ways to bring safety back to the streets of Oakland. 

“Maybe give us a business credit or exemption for paying city tax and county taxes and let us hire security because our businesses have to thrive,” he said. “You can't come in here and rob me every day for $1,000 and think I'm going to stay open.”

New businesses like Town Bar and Lounge on Broadway are trying to survive their first year but say they’re finding it hard to make their customers and staff feel safe.

“It's like make it or break it kind of thing, you know? That’s why I don’t know it's disheartening, it really is,” said Joshua Huynh, the owner of Town Bar and Lounge. “I have had staff robbed at gunpoint around the corner, patrons' windows constantly broken, some special guest last week got robbed by gunpoint.”

McQueen says that even with security, crime still impacts her restaurant. She wants to open more businesses, but says they won't be in Oakland.

“Rents are high, property tax is high, so tell me the benefit,” she said. “What is the benefit of staying here?”

Mayor Sheng Thao has previously said she is focusing on prevention and accountability efforts.  But these business owners say they’re looking for policy changes at every level. 

"Safety is a top priority for Mayor Thao’s Administration. Her budget added resources to bring back OPD foot patrols and community ambassadors in business districts. She worked with City Council to fund new community ambassadors, partnered with CHP to support the City’s efforts, and is working closely with Business Improvement Districts to leverage technology to deter crime," said the mayor's office in a statement to NBC Bay Area.

Even owners who say they back District Attorney Pamela Price and her reform efforts, now say tougher prosecution is necessary. 

The district attorney’s office declined to comment. 

“What we wanted was someone who was fair, not someone who was easy. They have got to figure it out,” said McQueen. “We want to be in Oakland which is why we opened in Oakland, because we love Oakland, but Oakland has to love us back. And that’s what we are not having. It's like a toxic relationship.”

The group plans to gather as many businesses as possible and write a letter to city, county and state leaders to push for immediate action and more safety measures. 

The Oakland Police Department said they’re taking a “comprehensive and holistic approach” to address the uptick in crime.

Read their statement bellow:

Each day, we access our data for a 24-hour period to best inform our strategic deployment of where our violent crime increases are occurring citywide.

We are deploying our Violent Crime Operations team to engage in focused, intelligence-driven enforcement, working to identify and apprehend individuals harming our community. We are also using our Crime Gun Intelligence Center for firearm tracing and ballistic analysis.

We leverage our Ceasefire strategy and teams to focus enforcement efforts on the individuals associated with the most active gangs and groups. We know that working with our community partners and law enforcement stakeholders, the Ceasefire strategy is effective at reducing gun violence.

We will continue to partner with Oakland’s Department of Violence Prevention, who engage in intervention strategies, including violence interruption, life coaching, and mentoring.

We are also working with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to include collaboration on investigations and enforcement. We maintain strong relationships through our local and federal task force.