Cathedral City businesses complain of vandalism from nearby homeless community

CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. (KESQ) - Business owners along E. Palm Canyon Drive in Cathedral City say vandalism from nearby homeless communities is costing them thousands in repairs and driving away customers.

Owner Michael Azzarella of the Desert Jewelry Mart Plaza says he had two windows smashed in last week, he alleges by homeless individuals who congregate around the nearby Circle K. Beyond the damage, Azzarella says he is cleaning needles and urine near his store almost daily.

"As the new buildings go in with the Circle K open 24 hours, selling alcohol day and night, the homeless come around every day. They leave all their trash in front of our building, they break into our water, our trash," Azzarella said.

He claims he's spent $5,000 this year on repairs and cleaning, with $1,250 just last week to replace two shattered windows.

Azzarella's not the only one. At Napa Auto Parts just steps away, employees say they've also suffered damage for the same reasons.

"It's more of an inconvenience. I mean, thankfully, they don't mess with any of our customers up front, but they do create quite a bit of property damage," one employee said.

News Channel 3 reached out to Cathedral City Police who say they arrested someone for breaking several windows on E. Palm Canyon, as well as the police station's.

While they've responded to several nuisance calls at the plaza, officers say sometimes the scene is empty when they get there. They also claim there isn't much they can do about homeless sleeping in the area.

As they commit to more patrols in the area, Azzarella says he doubts how effective it will be at solving the real issue.

"I filled out a trespassing report with the local police, so they could charge them with trespassing if they come over here but they never do. They come over and they ask them to leave, and then they're back the following night," he said.