NEW ORLEANS — Like many folks in New Orleans, city councilman Jay Banks is fed up with scenes like this.
“This is just totally frustrating,” said Banks. “This is going on way too much and the frequency of it seems to be increasing.”
Tuesday morning, a member of Banks’ family was added to the list of car break-in victims. Luckily, Banks says there were no weapons in the car, but keys were stolen.
“I don’t know if you’ve ever had to do this but changing locks isn’t exactly the most inexpensive thing to do,” said Banks.
Overnight, about a dozen cars were hit in Mid-City around Banks and S. Olympia Streets.
“We don’t know if there were others in Gentilly or in Lower Nine or in Algiers because I haven’t talked to anybody over there, but we do know that this problem is growing, and it seems to be across-the-board. There is no place that seems to be immune,” said Banks.
Banks represents a large portion of Uptown, where break-ins are also a problem.
He’s even been the victim of a break-in three times already. The break-ins in Mid City fall into councilman Joe Giarrusso’s district. These two city leaders now plan to host a public meeting with the NOPD superintendent and district chiefs.
“This is something that I know we’ve got to be intentional about trying to address,” said Banks.
Recent reports from Eyewitness News highlighted the problem in the Uptown and Treme areas, where folks like Venus Masakowski live.
“We can’t keep living like this,” said Masakowski. “I know that the police department is understaffed, and they don’t have enough people and they’re busy with the violent crimes and all but this is taking a real toll on our citizens.”
On walks with her dog, Masakowski has found personal belongings of victims on the street, which she returned. As frustrating as break-ins are, Banks says it’s important to never leave a weapon in a car.
“A weapon will make this problem exponentially worse,” said Banks.
As city leaders take steps to publicly address the problem, they know getting a handle on it won’t be easy.
Banks hopes to have that public meeting within the next couple of weeks and says community input will be welcomed.
