SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — San Francisco Mayor London Breed has deemed public safety a top priority in a recent blog post, but one restaurant owner disagrees with her due to recent crimes in the city.
On Monday around 4 a.m., thieves broke into David Lee’s restaurant, Tacorea, on Bush Street. “They broke in, stole my register with 200 to 300 bucks in it. That’s not a problem but the window itself is $1,700 to fix. They stole my tablets,” said Lee.
He said the crimes have gotten worse and noticed other restaurants and cafes have boarded up their shops in the neighborhood. “It started with little things. My parklet would be damaged, people would pick up my locks or bang on my window,” said Lee.
When Lee saw Mayor Breed’s Twitter post, he replied to her through his Tacorea account.
In Lee’s reply he said, “Mayor Breed, what is happening with our city? When are the residents going to be protected. My car windows been shatter multiple times and my restaurant got broken into today. There is absolutely no protection for us in this lawless city. Why must we experience this everyday?”
In a statement to KRON4, a spokesperson from Mayor London Breed’s office said in part:
“Addressing public safety is a top priority for Mayor Breed and a vital part of the City’s Economic Recovery. She understands people are fed up and shares their frustrations, which is why the City’s new budget increased public safety investments to fill 200 vacant police officer positions.”
The statement went on to say Mayor Breed is partnering with District Attorney Brooke Jenkins who is taking a more aggressive stance on public safety, including holding repeat offenders accountable and targeting and addressing theft.
The mayor’s spokesperson said the Office of Small Business contacted Lee to offer support.
“They were offering me grants and all that. I’m very thankful for that but that’s not why I did it. Just maybe I want to be the voice for all the Nob Hill restaurants that’s been broken into. We need help. We need protection. We need security,” said Lee.
He said the crimes are also threatening the status of his insurance.
“It comes to a point where even if I want to file a claim with insurance, they warn me. They say, ‘You can file this, but you might not get picked up the next time insurance comes around. They’re going to drop you because your shop had these incidents and they’re going to look somewhere else,'” said Lee.
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Lee is a Bay Area native and has lived in San Francisco for the past 12 years. He said he is grateful for his restaurant but hopes to see better days.
“At the end of the day when I close my shop, I don’t want my window to be broken, that’s something I shouldn’t be worried about right now,” said Lee. “I don’t want this to get overlooked”.
