Willow Glen is known as San Jose’s local treasure. But lately, families say it's been a destination for thieves.
“On videos you see people coming in your driveway, checking the doors, the house doors, checking your car doors,” said resident Jody Walker.
Families say it's become a daily problem.
“I’ve been here 20 years, this is the worst I've ever seen it,” said resident Chris Dickie.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
Both Willow Glen residents, living blocks apart, were hit this weekend. Luckily neither had anything of value, other than sunglasses.
“The people that go up and down our street are frightening, they’re frightening,” said Walker.
She said that not too long ago, she was confronted by a woman armed with a rifle.
Local
“This area’s been really bad lately with everyone living in the creek,” she said.
The other problem residents talked about is a growing homeless encampment taking up the bike trail near Willow Street.
They wonder if this is connected to what they are seeing in their Ring cameras.
“Right now there's nowhere for people to go, this is the problem, and our approach has failed us, it has been too slow, too expensive,” said San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan.
The mayor said he’s also concerned about the situation, but says encampment abatement is not the solution.
“We need to end the era of encampments and the only way we're going to do that is by building basic safe shelter and requiring people to come inside,” he said.
With no short term solution in sight, residents say they’ll keep alerting each other, or consider a more significant move -- one that’ll take them out of state.
