An Auckland car dealer is frustrated and thousands of dollars out of pocket amid ongoing vandalism by individuals living in a neighbouring apartment building.
Shirzay Faqeeri - also known as Ali - has called police at least 10 times since opening his popular NZ4X4S car yard in August, alleging food items like apples, potatoes and frozen chicken were being thrown on to his vehicles and at staff.
Just days ago he contacted police after the windowscreen of a vehicle was allegedly shot by an air rifle.
“Since moving in here, it [has] basically escalated,” Faqeeri told Focus.
“It was heavier items that were thrown at the vehicles. It was more better targeting of the vehicles.”
Damage to his vehicles - ranging from chipped windscreens and scuffed paint to dented bonnets - has forced Faqeeri to fork out thousands of dollars in repairs.
“We’ve had windscreens, chipped and broken and shattered,” he said.
“We had another incident where a vehicle was freshly painted and we had items thrown down on to the cars including heavy apples.”
Following police advice, Faqeeri has also spent thousands on security cameras to capture the incidents.
“We have about 20 throughout the yard now,” he said.
He has multiple videos saved to his phone which show items being thrown from the balconies next to his dealership.
The neighbouring apartment building is considered “mixed-tenure housing”, with 77 of the apartments owned privately and 90 public housing units managed by community housing provider Home In Place.
Faqeeri said he contacted Home In Place a few months ago to lodge a complaint and provide the relevant video evidence.
Home In Place NZ chief executive Chris Trypas told Focus his company had issued a “precautionary notice” to all tenancies under their management after receiving the complaint but there wasn’t enough evidence to justify a breach notice.
“In an incident of this nature, where there is no substantiative evidence of the perpetrator, a landlord cannot issue a breach notice. We have a zero-tolerance policy against civil and criminal matters, but there must be substantive evidence for a landlord to take tenancy action in the tenancy tribunal,” Trypas said.
“There is also no evidence at this time to suggest that this matter involves a Home In Place NZ tenant.”
Trypas added that evidence provided by Faqeeri “indicating a small child throwing something from a balcony in November was reviewed by Home In Place but the allegation was refuted by the alleged tenant in question”.
He said the CCTV footage couldn’t “absolutely pinpoint” the apartment in question.
But Faqeeri provided Focus with a text message exchange between him and the on-site manager in which they had discussed the video. In the messages, the manager asks Faqeeri to pull security footage of him standing outside the suspected balcony to compare the videos and pinpoint the exact unit food was thrown from.
“As discussed I was up on one of the balconies earlier. Please check you [sic] CCTV and let me know if that was the offending unit,” the manager wrote before Faqeeri replied: “I believe that was the exact unit”.
Faqeeri said he didn’t want to be forced to escalate the matter and would rather “peacefully resolve things” with his neighbours, adding many people are living in the building who are “lovely” and have offered assistance in the matter.
But he added he would like to see more police action.
“In the beginning, we did say that we don’t want to press any charges. That’s obviously changed since then,” he said.
“What we would like to see is the police stepping in and stopping what’s happening.
“This is almost like a house to us, this area, and we feel like we are neighbours with the people that are committing these crimes. There’s some really good local people here that have been very supportive.There’s people that have called me when they’ve seen suspicious activity around the yard, but obviously, because of the damage that’s being done to the property, we’re feeling unsafe.”
Police said they would contact the business owner once an investigation was under way.
Home In Place said if police were to take any action, they would “absolutely follow suit”.
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development confirmed that Westlight Apartments was not being used for emergency or transitional housing.
They added that it was “regrettable to hear about the incidents outlined” and that if people had concerns about safety or potential criminal activity in the area to contact the police.