ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The city hopes it’s a game changer to help businesses pay for costly problems at their front door. It’s a new fund promising to cut thousands of dollars in costs tied to vandalized and broken windows.
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The city said this program comes after lots of businesses stepped forward complaining about window vandalism. Some business owners said it’s finally a good solution to the problem that’s been plaguing Albuquerque storefronts for years. “Broken windows is just something that you deal with on a monthly basis,” said Dawn Vatoseow, Co-owner of Lindy’s Diner.
Dawn Vatoseow co-owns Lindy’s Diner on Central in the heart of Downtown Albuquerque. She said shattered glass and graffiti have become an expensive and constant problem. “You know you can’t keep putting in claims with the insurance company. It raises your deductible, and it raises your rates, so you know most of us are just eating the costs of that broken glass or just not fixing them,” said Vatoseow.
Now looking to help out, the city’s launching what it calls the “Window to Opportunity” grant. The new program will reimburse up to 80% of the cost of replacing broken windows or repairing other window damage. The grant gives a max of $5,000 per business, one time only. A business could get more funds if they use environmentally friendly or security glass.
The Albuquerque Police Department and the city’s Economic Development Department teamed up for the first-of-its-kind program for the whole city. Eligible applicants include businesses with 25 employees or fewer, non-profit organizations, and educational programs.
“We’ve had to replace the door, we’ve had to replace a window and it’s definitely not cheap. It’s very costly. It can take out budgets that you put into your business, payments for your employees, things like that so it definitely helps a lot,” said Richard Linyard, barber at All Eyes on Me Barbershop.
The city has $200,000 available for the program and those funds are on a first-come, first-served basis. The program is open for applicants online.
