Willow Glen Resident
News
Residents team up, take back neighborhood
By Mayra Flores De Marcotte
A kidnapping and increased reports of burglaries and drug busts near Curtner Avenue have prompted a group of Willow Glen residents to seek San Jose police help to take back the neighborhood. More than 100 neighbors rallied at Schallenberger Elementary School on Nov. 29 to brainstorm ways to stamp out crime in the area, including the possible formation of a Neighborhood Watch group.
"We only have so many police officers," said Michael Cady, who helped organize the meeting. "To tackle this problem, we need a multi-pronged solution."
Neighbors told police the area has changed over recent months. They've either seen or heard about burglaries and other violent and more brazen crimes in their streets, including the kidnapping of a 12-year-old girl who was walking with her younger sister Oct. 8 in broad daylight. The girl escaped, but neighbors are still shaken.
"It was a real eye-opener," said resident Jen Miller. "I've lived here seven years, and I had no idea about all that was going on here."
This meeting was Miller's first, and she said it was beneficial to meet the rest of her neighbors and become more aware of the happenings nearby.
"This isn't the Willow Glen I've lived in for 20 years," said event organizer Tim Sticklinski. "In the [last] two months, there's been a kidnapping on my street, my neighbor's son's car was stolen, and three homes were burglarized. We need to try to remove this unsavory element in the neighborhood that is causing all of this."
During the discussion, it became evident that neighbors shared some common concerns, including three problem houses--one on Koch Lane, one on DeLynn Way and one on Cherry Avenue.
According to SJPD Western Division Capt. David Cavallaro, the house on Koch Lane may be connected to a recent gang shooting on Cadillac Avenue. The police are aware of possible criminal activity at the other two houses, including the sale of methamphetamines at one.
Sticklinski said the problem houses affect his neighborhoods.
"They steal [items] from our neighborhood to sell to raise the money they need to buy drugs on the other streets," Sticklinski said.
He said that by eliminating the problems at those houses, his neighborhood would no longer entice "bad elements" to frequent it with the regularity they have been in the recent months.
Cady said that hearing the same concerns vocalized by other neighbors and allowing neighbors to realize they aren't alone reinforced why the meeting was crucial.
"It's not just a couple neighbors having these issues," he said. "We're not overreacting to one minor event."
Cady suggested using traffic mitigation to help make the streets less attractive to criminals.
"We are in a perfect location," Cady said. "It's easy on and easy off Almaden Expressway if you're buying drugs. I want to make our neighborhood more difficult to navigate, whether it's a speed bump or roundabout or stop signs, I just want to make it more difficult to get to."
