Grasshopper Thai Restaurant staff member Romnick Alejo said a rough sleeper stole his backpack containing his passport and wallet from his workplace. Photo / Lincoln Tan
Grasshopper Thai Restaurant staff member Romnick Alejo said a rough sleeper stole his backpack containing his passport and wallet from his workplace. Photo / Lincoln Tan
Businesses on Albert St, already struggling with years of disruption from the City Rail Link construction, say they are facing a new problem - rough sleepers.
Romnick Alejo, a waiting staff at Grasshopper Thai Restaurant, lost his passport, wallet and credit card as he was finishing his shift last Saturday when a rough sleeper walked into the restaurant and took off with his backpack.
Restaurant owner Bow Manoonpong said her businesses have been facing a growing problem from rough sleepers, who have been "intimidating staff, messing our toilets and now stealing".
Albert St business owners say the number of rough sleepers seem to be growing. Photo / File
At Mai Thai, another of Manoonpong's restaurants at the corner of Albert and Victoria Sts, one rough sleeper urinated inside the restaurant as diners were eating.
They slept outside the restaurant's back entrance, she said, and would leave a trail of rubbish every day.
Sunny Kaushal, owner of Shakespeare Tavern, said rough sleepers also often entered his restaurant to ask customers for money and yell at staff when they were asked to leave.
"This is really concerning, the number of rough sleepers seem to be growing by the day and we are feeling helpless about what actions we can take," he said.
"This Labour Government campaigned or reducing the number of homeless people, but now it just seems like the opposite has happened."
Sunny Kaushal, middle, the owner of Shakespeare tavern, and Bow Manoonpong, right, owner of Mai Thai and Grasshopper Thai restaurants, say they are facing problems with rough sleepers. Photo / File
Kaushal said he had asked authorities for help, including the police, Auckland Council and even the City Rail Link company, but was told there was little they could do.
"Albert St businesses are already in a grave situation, and if this continues it will just chase more customers away," he said.
"People sleeping on the streets is also not what we want to show tourists and the many visitors coming to our beautiful city."
A police spokeswoman told the Herald rough sleeping in parks and streets was not a criminal offence.
"Police are unable to act unless there are public disorder issues or there are complaints relating to antisocial behaviour or other police issues," she said.
However, she said police was not aware of this being an issue of growing concern.
An official count last year found 179 adults sleeping rough on Auckland's streets and 157 sleeping in cars.
But it was estimated there were about 800 people currently homeless in the city, and a further 300 in transitional or emergency housing.
Manoonpong said some of her staff were worried about leaving the restaurant after their shifts at night.
"I have advised them not to leave alone, and after what happened last weekend, also to not leave their bags and valuables unattended," she said.
Alejo, here on a work visa from the Philippines, said he thought Auckland was a "super safe" city when he came here.
He had left his bag near the bar counter for just about 90 seconds to get his staff takeaway dinner from the kitchen when a colleague witnessed a rough sleeper running off with his bag.
Within minutes after losing his bag, his visa paywave was used four times for purchases totaling $258.
Alejo was due to make a trip back to the Philippines for a holiday next month, and had to apply for a travel document from the embassy after losing his passport.
"I am disappointed at how slow the police action is, it has been four days and still I haven't had a single update," he said.
