On Wednesday, Partners Billiards and Bowling owner Bonnie Zufelt kept a close eye — as she frequently does — on the activity at the former Villa Motel turned apartments, directly across the street from her business in the 300 block of Main Street East.
The City of North Bay, the municipal Building Department, North Bay Fire and Emergency Services, electrical inspectors and others conducted a building safety inspection at 360 Main St. E. North Bay Police Service says its officers were present to ensure the safety of all those involved.
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In late June — and on multiple occasions over the years — Zufelt has gone public, asking the local authorities to clean up the neighbourhood and the apartments in plain sight from her patio and business, saying it has become a haven of drug dealers, addicts, prostitutes, human trafficking, bicycle chop shop, and thieves.
"The police are having a hard time because the drug dealers are smart. They know how much they can carry. And if they do get caught, they know they get 30 days and they're back out. Except now, the courts aren't even holding them at all, they just let them back out," Zufelt says.
Asked if she is satisfied by Wednesday's inter-agency inspection, Zufelt says she is cautiously optimistic but notes the real power to make a change lies with the owner of the apartment building.
"It's not over yet. There's a long way to go. You know the one who can do something about it is the owner, Tony Koziol. He chooses not to. I mean obviously, he's got no respect for the neighbourhood. No respect for the good people living in that building over there — and there are some in there. They don't feel safe in their own building, they put up with criminal activity 24 hours per day."
Zufelt is asked what needs to happen. "Number one, the owner needs to be more diligent on who he's renting to. If they go in there and they do crime, drug dealing as an example, they have to get out of there. You've got more good people than bad in there. Why is he not looking out for the interest of the good people who are in there who are not breaking the law? You know, that's what has to be done.
"I'm sorry if it comes down to the place having to be condemned but he's had 24 years to do something about it and he hasn't. So all I want to do is get those criminals out. You know, there are people in North Bay with very limited money to live on. It's not the Hotel Ritz but the caretaker is very good when people move out, he goes in, cleans it up, fixes it up, paints it. There are people that would take those apartments but it just seems Koziol continues to take people in there, and obviously, he doesn't do a background check because they're criminals when he puts them in there. And, you just know the drug industry is going to follow them."
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Zufelt says she is so concerned about her staff and patrons, plus the other members of the neighbourhood, that she regularly spends hours watching the security cameras from her home, making sure people leave Partners and arrive at their destinations safely.
An incident Saturday night involving a man swinging golf clubs was just another in a long line of frightening incidents Zufelt has witnessed. "I warned the police and when I met with them that somebody's going to get very very badly hurt here. I'm to the point now that my frustrations are through the roof. I've been putting up with this for 24 years and I'm just I'm so fed up with it, you know? I feel I have to take matters on my own property in my own hands and that's not a good situation."
Since her public statements on the situation, Zufelt has met with the City of North Bay CAO John Severino, Police Chief Daryl Longworth and Brent Kalinowski, the administrator of the Community Safety and Well-Being Plan.
"I told them what I've been putting up with and that I'm just so, so done with it. A few years ago, when I posted some stuff on social media and a few other times ended in results. This time I did the same thing. I went on social media and posted some different things. The number of people who commented, you could tell people were upset for me and they realized exactly what I was going through at that point."
See: Partners helping reunite victims of crime with their stolen bikes as 'thefts escalating'
A frequent criminal element in the apartment complex is the stripping of stolen bicycles, Zufelt confirms.
"Stolen bikes, it's unreal. He's so comfortable with the stolen bikes, he takes them apart right outside his door over there. We phoned the police and the caretaker over there. As soon as they knew the police were coming, the guy was standing at the door of that one unit telling his helpers to get everything inside. The stuff was so heavy, they were dragging it to get it into the apartment. There had to have been 10 people in there bringing the bicycles in and then they shut the door and didn't answer it.
"All night long, people are going in there with heavy packsacks. And they're going in there and they're leaving with empty packsacks. It's not just bicycles, it's anything the ones with addictions can steal to trade for drugs.
So, while she's happy to see the powers-that-be are paying attention, Zufelt hopes it's a sustained effort to "clean up this mess," as she calls it.
"It's a block with few businesses. But the businesses here see everything that's happening and I want my customers to come down here and feel safe. And I'm doing everything I can to make that happen. I want them to know when they come here, I've got their best interests at heart and I'll do everything I can to make sure that they are safe when they're here. I can't control what goes on across the street but I don't think my patrons should have to have to even see that. I mean, it's absolutely disgusting.
"This is the first step and I hope it's not the end. I hope there are results out of this and there are some changes, long overdue changes that need to be done over there for the protection of everybody, including the good people that live there. This needs to end. That's the bottom line.
