To keep crime and squatters out, this London, Ont., business owner is fencing himself in
Nemat Karimy estimates he's suffered $10K in damages since last year
The owner of a London, Ont., auto shop says crime, homelessness and drug use has become so out of control in the city's downtown, he's building a 7½-foot-high fence with barbed wire to keep to squatters off his property.
Nemat Karimy took over the auto shop located at 575 York Street four years ago. Ever since then, he's been battling never-ending problems with squatters, vandals, drug users and thieves.
"I've had them so many times break into my shop and stole my tools," he told CBC News on Friday.
Karimy said he keeps several cars parked outside his business to harvest their spare parts. At night, people sleep, defecate and use drugs in them, leaving behind dirty needles in the car and all through his parking lot.
Auto shop has lost $10K to crime in last year
He's had catalytic converters, parts made from aluminum, and documents such as ownership and insurance papers stolen from the cars, and if he leaves a customer's car in his lot overnight, he risks having it broken into.
"I end up paying for the repair of the cars and sometimes I end up arguing with the customers."
On Thursday, Karimy awoke to a call from the London Police Service. An officer informed him that someone had lit a fire in one of his parts cars. The London Fire Department was able to put it out, but the car was severely damaged. Karimy was forced to sell the 2014 Nissan Sentra he bought for $1,200 to the scrap yard for $400.
"I end up junking them at Zubick's," he said of the cars he's lost. "I sell them for one-third of the price."
Karimy said the thieves are also getting bolder. Just last week, his wife came to visit him at the auto shop, and while she was inside the building, someone tried to break into her car to steal the loose change from the centre console.
"Change. While we were right here on the property," he said, noting thieves also recently broke into his shop washroom and cut away insulation in order to try to steal copper water pipes along the wall.
"If they cut those pipes, do you know how much damage it would be for me? Water is going to be running out and everything is going to be flooded, for two dollars of copper."
The damage, break-ins and crime have become so bad, he can no longer make claims on his insurance because his insurer is threatening to raise rates by more than 30 per cent.
'Nobody is helping'
So Karimy has to pay out of pocket, something he estimates he's done to the tune of $10,000 in the last year alone.
He said building a fence around his business has now become the only viable option because of what he said is a lack of support from police, city hall and local leaders.
The new fence will ring his property and come complete with barbed wire, automated gate with keypad entry and six surveillance cameras, at a cost of almost $45,000.
"Nobody is helping," he said. "I'm barely covering my costs. I have lots of customers yes, but they're not paying me enough to cover all my costs.
"If our leaders don't clean up these problems, they're not going away. If I was from Toronto or something and I came to downtown London, I would be ashamed.
"This is a good location, downtown," he said. "Now I'm regretting my decision, but it's too late. I can't quit. Me, my wife and my kids we're all suffering."
No response from civic leaders, police
A spokesperson for London Mayor Ed Holder's office said he wasn't available for comment Friday. Neither the city's deputy mayor, Josh Morgan, nor the councillor for the neighbourhood, Arielle Kayabaga, responded to an email asking for a comment from CBC News on Friday.
The LPS, located only two blocks north of Karimy's business, also had no response on Friday.
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