PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) – Residents of the high-rise Harbor Tower Apartments woke up recently to broken glass scattered around the Harbor Court Parking Garage, and it’s left them frustrated with the city of Portsmouth for not having safety measures in place to deter the vehicle break-ins.
“I came out to my front passenger window being busted out and my car being ransacked,” Janice Davis said.
Davis said she doesn’t feel safe. She said it’s caused a huge headache for her. She had to get her car towed and she’s left using a rental car.
“I still don’t know what it’s going to take to repair it or how long. It’s inconvenient,” Davis said.
She wasn’t the only one affected. A spokesperson for the City of Portsmouth told 10 On Your Side nine cars were involved.
“It’s just a repeated thing,” said resident David Stevenson.
Another long-time resident of the high-rise apartment, Troy Robinson, said his car has been vandalized multiple times.
“Had the back window busted out of my Corvette,” Robinson said. “Had the license plates taken from my SUV plus the back window knocked out.”
Robinson said he’s spent thousands of dollars to fix his 23-year-old Corvette.
Now, he and other residents want the city to make their parking garage safe.
“The only thing we are asking as residents is the city take responsibility of their property,” Robinson said.
He said it starts with fixing the entrance gate.
“That would slow the traffic down and lightning. Cameras outside the entryways to see who comes in and who comes out,” Robinson said.
The City of Portsmouth told 10 On Your Side it is working on it.
“The Police Department and the city are currently working to identify vendors to have new cameras put into a number of city-owned parking garages,” according to a city spokesperson. “In the meantime, the Police Department has increased patrols in those areas to deter future events of this nature from happening. We also continue to investigate this most recent incident that involved 9 vehicles and ask anyone with information to contact the Police Department.”
Davis hopes those cameras will make her feel safe again.
“A sense of security, period,” she said, “and for the crime to go away.”