NEW ORLEANS — In his six years driving for Uber in New Orleans, John Gualtieri said he’s seen a lot of crime.
“I’ve seen it getting really bad in these past couple of years,” Gualtieri said.
After dropping a passenger off in the French Quarter last week, something caught his eye in a parking lot on N. Peters Street.
“I had noticed there was a window missing on one of the cars in there,” Gualtieri said.
He then realized there were more, and more, and more.
“You go through these lots and there’s shattered glass like everywhere,” Gualtieri said. “You can see the sparkle of the glass in the lot.”
By the time he was done driving around early Tuesday morning, he estimates more than 30 busted windows along streets and in parking lots all over the French Quarter.
Some were premium parking lots operated by a national company that was unreachable Tuesday.
“People are paying good money to park in these parking spots and there’s no security. They have cameras but they don’t use them to catch anybody,” Gualtieri said.
Claire Jett and her daughter parked in one of those lots Tuesday.
“Even though I’m paying premium dollar I really don’t feel like I am safer than if I just parked out on the street,” Jett said. “I just feel like the only reason we park here is because it’s guaranteed parking.”
Living in the city Jett knows how much of a problem car break-ins are.
“When we do have friends that come visit, it is something that we definitely warn them about and to be careful,” Jett said.
Documenting all the break-ins, Gualtieri posts findings on social media.
He said he gets a lot of online responses, but the response he wants to see is from the city.
“New Orleans is a great city. New Orleans has potential to be an even better city and when you love something you hold it accountable,” Gualtieri said.
Eyewitness News reached out to NOPD about these break-ins.
The department was working to provide information but was unable to complete the request as of Tuesday evening.
Police always advise to never leave anything in plain sight inside your car to make it a target and never leave a weapon inside your car.