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Seattle woman blames homeless campers for crime in her neighborhood

SEATTLE — A woman is calling attention to crime in her North Seattle neighborhood after she reported her truck was stolen overnight in front of her apartment building on Midvale Avenue North.

The woman also told KIRO 7 that when she reported it stolen, Seattle police told her that a neighbor’s car was also stolen.

She said this is only the latest trouble she has had since moving to the area near Aurora Avenue and Northgate Way.

“Ever since all this homeless people been and all this drugs been going on it’s just gotten way worse,” said Katarena Loven Greenback. “It makes me mad, it makes me physically sick.”

She said she’s also worried about her safety.

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“I’ve been robbed of my phone, almost killed, right outside my own front gate,” said Loven Greenback. “We work very hard and to be robbed, have stuff stolen from us, it makes it even harder for us to bounce back.”

City leaders held a community meeting on homelessness and crime in North Seattle, including prostitution, last month at the Bitter Lake Community Center.

KIRO 7 spoke with frustrated neighbors then who said they left the meeting, led by District 5 councilmember Debora Juarez and Mayor Jenny Durkan, without feeling assured the city would address issues facing the neighborhood.

"None of my issues were addressed with the homeless or any other problem so I'm like, 'Why did I come and waste my time?'” one neighbor told KIRO 7 following the town hall.

Katarena’s North Seattle neighborhood is not one of the seven neighborhoods where the city recently extended emphasis police patrols.

The city’s crime mapping website showed Sunday that Seattle police had responded to more than a dozen 911 calls, none involving violent crimes, within one mile of Loven Greenback’s apartment in the last 24 hours, including another car reportedly stolen.

KIRO 7 reached out to councilmember Juarez Sunday evening and asked whether that area would be considered for future emphasis police patrols but did not immediately hear back.