First there was vandalism to cars, broken mirrors and slashed tires, now a new car has been jacked up and all four tires have been stolen.
A shinny new Acura looked like a beached whale Saturday, its rims and tires snatched by thieves in the middle of the night.
Lisa Kamman is the owner.
"I started crying," Lisa said.
Her second reaction was disgust and a call to police, who swarmed over the wheel-less-car in the 3200 block of Princeton in Mayfair.
The tow truck operator says that this was not an isolated incident.
"I saw it right on Orthodox Street. They took them off of a brand new Camero," said Bob Costigan.
Stories abound in the working class section of the city of cars left high and dry. A black SUV was hit just a few weeks ago, and it took $10,000 to restore a blue Lincoln that was targeted a few months ago.
And last June, Jerry Murphy got a shock.
"It is unreal," said Jerry Murphy. "It looks like it was 4 feet in the air."
The young Iraq war vet is talking about his nose down, wheel-less black Impala left by thieves resting on a couple of plastic crates.
"I knew was it more than a joke; it definitely wasn't a joke. It's serious, but I was speechless," said Murphy. "I just didn't know what to do. I just kept walking around the car."
These wheel thefts come amid reports earlier in the month about slashed tires on Aldine Street and spray painted cars on Knorr Street.
Saturday morning the thieves also busted a window and ransacked the interior of another car. For Wayne Kamman, a lifelong Mayfair resident, it is a sense that his community is under siege.
"There are a lot of working class people here. A lot of people pay good money and work hard for what they got," said Kamman.
Milt Martelack head of the newly reconstituted Town Watch says this type of crime is not unique to Mayfair, but must be dealt with.
"We want to catch these individuals that are doing this; you know this has become a quality of life issue. We do have isolated cases here in Mayfair," said Milt Martelack.
The next town watch meeting is scheduled for Monday, February 27th at 8:00pm at the Mayfair Community Center. Or email the Mayfair Townwatch at mayfairtownwatch@gmail.com
Anyone with information concerning these crimes are asked to contact the 15th Police District at 215-686-3150.
