ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Businesses around Albuquerque have been struggling lately. They are dealing with a wide variety of crimes, including trespassing and vandalism.
“Like, is it still worth doing business again?”
Ed Wolfe, owner of Culligan Bottled Water, is running out of options. His business, located near San Mateo and Maspalomas, is dealing with one problem after another, like bullet holes found in his work vehicle and weekly vandalism to trucks.
“We just left it there because every time we went to draw it, it was like a giant white billboard for other people to come up and say, ‘Hey, you know what? I’m going to practice my art of marking. ‘”
Bulbs were stolen from light fixtures, security cameras were taken down and even city-issued “No Trespassing” signs were removed from walls.
“Anything you put outside the building, you can also just say it’s gone within the next 24-48 hours.”
The latest problem occurred last Thursday when the company was broken into. Wolfe claims someone smashed through the front door and took only $8 in change, leaving more than $13,000 in damages. It’s something that many Albuquerque businesses are all too familiar with.
“We’re all dealing with the same thing. The frustration is high.”
Wolf blamed the homeless, who had camped outside his back door, leaving behind trash and feces. He has reported the problems to 311 six times since the beginning of the year. The city government did not respond, he said. While he’s growing frustrated, Wolfe says the issues won’t stop him from doing business.
“I feel for my customers, they are part of my family. I don’t want to let my family down, so I will do everything in my power to fix this.”
