Owner/Broker of Astoria Asset Management Lorelei Talbot said she’s hoping the recent rash of break-ins at the properties the company manages will soon come to an end.
“Last year was pretty challenging for us,” Talbot said. “Several of the parkades were broken into at the properties that we manage. This is the worst I’ve seen it in ten years. We saw the majority of it in December 2014. We had damages on both sides of the city, both east and west. It’s not one specific building, it’s not one specific area.”
According to Talbot, the culprits used a variety of methods to gain access to the buildings, including following residents in through doors or following cars entering the parkades. In some cases doors to the buildings or parkades were jimmied with crowbars.
“We had three vehicles stolen out of parkades, and several vehicles were broken into,” she said. “At some of the properties, residents are allowed to store tires in their parking stalls in the parkade, and (the cultprits) stole the tires. There was a generator stolen out of the back of a pick-up truck in a parkade. Some of the parkades have chain link storage units and they actually took the ends of the walls off.”
“We’ve had post office boxes pried open, more than once. We’re trying to work with Canada Post to work on that to ensure they’re secure. It’s not a quick fix.”
Talbot said she encourages renters to take valuables out of their vehicles or store them out of sight, and to remove remote garage door openers.
At least one of the break-ins involved vandalism instead of theft. At the Sage Condominiums, at 140 Sagewood Boulevard, vandals gained access to the building’s lobby on Dec. 30, 2014 and set off a number of fire extinguishers.
“At approximately 3 a.m., they discharged several fire extinguishers in the lobby of one of the properties. This did not just create an absolute mess to the area but also caused significant damage to the actual fire system that had to be cleaned out,” Talbot said. “Not only was the fire department called at the time, using resources that could be used elsewhere, but the RCMP also had to attend.”
The cost to clean and fix the fire system was $2,000, according to Talbot. The vandals also stabbed and slashed some of the furniture in the building’s lobby, which Talbot said will have to be replaced. She’s said she’s exasperated that municipal resources were “wasted” on the incident.
“RCMP is not here to go out and deal with somebody blowing off fire extinguishers. They’re here to deal with theft and that sort of thing,” she said.
Though some of the buildings have video surveillance systems, they don’t always help when it comes to solving the crimes, according to Talbot, who said she’s frustrated by the continued break-ins and vandalism.
Curtis said anyone who becomes a victim to a break-in should contact RCMP. “If you see something that’s suspicious, report it to RCMP,” Talbot said.
“If you see something out of the ordinary, or the same person scoping something out, call us or call RCMP, talk to bylaw. It’s all about block watch, really.”
