By Ademar Barrera
OAKLAND–On Sept. 26, 2023, Oakland restaurant owners in Oakland agreed to go on strike due to the increasing vehicle, pedestrian, and business crime in the city, causing them to lose customers and business hour readjustments.
Le Cheval, a restaurant in Uptown Oakland, became the center of congregation for many business owners this past week, and they came to the agreement to close their restaurants on Tuesday as a way to send a strong message to the Oakland City Hall, according to the ABC 7 news report. These restaurant owners are demanding policies to make vehicle and foot traffic more frequent and safer, as they are currently experiencing high levels of vehicle break-ins and theft.
As these businesses are recovering from the pandemic, they have begun to notice less customer frequency due to the increasing number of vehicle break-ins. According to police reports provided to CBS Bay Area News, there have been a total of 10,176 vehicle burglary cases so far in the year, that is 46% higher than 2022 reports. Reduced pedestrian traffic has also reduced, and robbery has increased 30% from last year.
These impacted business owners are requesting more officers on foot to patrol high traffic areas, especially near restaurants. According to this CBS Bay Area News interview, the city council president says “the police department will soon expand on the number of foot patrol officers.” A definite date has yet to be determined.
In the meantime, restaurant owners and businesses remain hopeful they will return to normal operating hours without worrying about their customers’ belongings being damaged or stolen. Le Cheval restaurant owner says he “does not want to lose another customer” to crime and violence. Le Cheval restaurant is expected to close in the next month.
Ademar Barrera is a writer for the Vanguard as well as the Vanguard at Berkeley’s Prison Reform Editor.
