Oakland, California is becoming a ghost town of shuttered businesses due to sky-high crime rates. In recent months, several establishments have announced closing their doors in the Bay Area city. In January, In-N-Out, the successful hamburger chain that originated in the Golden State, announced its first-ever store closure. The location near the Oakland airport will close next week, with the company citing frequent car break-ins, property damage, theft, and armed robberies. 

Last year, Target closed its downtown Oakland location after police responded to more than 100 smash-and-grab thefts and similar incidents. In February, a Denny's location abruptly closed after 54 years of service. Earlier this month, four Taco Bell locations in Oakland announced they would close their dining rooms and only offer drive-thru service while no longer accepting cash transactions. 

Now, authorities in Oakland have snapped into action by taking aim at a 102-year-old wheelchair-bound taxpayer.

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Victor Silva Sr., an Oakland resident who has lived and paid taxes in his home for the last 80 years, received a citation from the city earlier this month, threatening him with a fine of $1,100 if he didn't remove graffiti from his property by Tuesday, March 19. The citation also includes a $1,277 penalty for each time the property is inspected and fails. Silva indicated that he frequently has the fence on his property vandalized with graffiti paint. 

His daughter-in-law, Elena Silva called the situation, "absurd," adding,

It’s like a joke. If you drive around the city and see the graffiti everywhere, it’s just, I don’t know what to say.

Silva recalled his younger days when he often painted over the graffiti himself using a roller or paintbrush, saying, 

It was very easy because I was a contractor, I’ll be 103 in two months or so. That slowed it up a little bit, you know.

Fortunately, Silva has help from his son, Victor Silva Jr., who is 70 years old. However, their efforts to address the situation are often futile as new graffiti appears shortly after they cover it up. This constant cycle of graffiti removal has become a frustrating and time-consuming cycle for the Silva family. Silva Jr notes that a large utility box up the street from his father's home had six different types of graffiti painted on it.

Silva Jr. expressed his frustration with the city, mentioning the family's small business has been victim to three break-ins in the past year. In one instance, he encountered an intruder inside the premises. Silva Jr. says that each time he dialed 911 for an emergency response, he was put on hold, saying,

So, it’s hard to understand where our tax dollars are going. They can’t answer 911, but they can come out and hassle you about the fence. I would hate to think that there [are] other hundred-year-old people that are being harassed like this. Oakland has to change. The system is not working.

Amid the media drawing attention to their situation, a city inspector indicated that he would promptly examine the graffiti and likely revoke Silva's citation.