'Our city is in peril': Portland business owner closes store — and posts scathing note on front door blasting criminals, authorities who fail to punish them

A Portland, Oregon, business owner permanently closed her store this week — and posted a scathing note on the front door blasting criminals as well as authorities who fail to punish them.

What are the details?

“Our city is in peril,” the note on the door of Rains PDX read. “Small businesses (and large) cannot sustain doing business in our city’s current state. We have no protection, or recourse, against the criminal behavior that goes unpunished. Do not be fooled into thinking that insurance companies cover losses. We have sustained 15 break-ins … we have not received any financial reimbursement since the 3rd.”

Rains PDX owner Marcy Landolfo told KATU-TV that this week marked the 15th break-in at her business in a year and a half.

"It’s just too much with the losses that are not covered by insurance, the damages, everything," Landolfo added to the station. "It’s just not sustainable."

She also told KATU that she's covered the cost out of pocket for most of the necessary repairs following break-ins — and that after others, she simply left windows boarded up.

"The products that are being targeted are the very expensive winter products, and I just felt like the minute I get those in the store, they’re going to get stolen," Landolfo explained to the station.

Landolfo also told KATU she's concerned about her employees' safety and doesn't see her physical store as a feasible business model anymore.

"The problem is, as small businesses, we cannot sustain those types of losses and stay in business," she added to the station. "I won’t even go into the numbers of how much has been out of pocket."

KATU said it reached out to Mayor Ted Wheeler's office when Rains PDX was broken into in late October.

While the mayor's team said work is being done to increase funding for business repair grants through Prosper Portland, Landolfo told the station that isn't sufficient action.

"Paying for glass — that’s great, but that is so surface and does nothing for the root cause of the problem, so it’s never going to change," she added to KATU.

Just two weeks ago, KPTV-TV reported on Portland's rampant property crime and its impact on businesses:

City of Portland struggling with rampant property crimeyoutu.be