LOS ANGELES — In the wake of months of crimes against small businesses in the San Fernando Valley, several business owners have a message for Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass: We need help.

At the Valley Economic Summit, Bass pledged to increase support and build a dedicated team to aid small businesses. 

“I will be hiring very soon a deputy mayor of business and putting together a business council, and I’ve asked businesses to come to the table with their hurdles,” Bass said.

Safety was the main hurdle for the businesses that spoke to Spectrum News.

Mouses Bislamyan, owner of Sherman Way Market, said that when his family opened the market 17 years ago, he never imagined anything like this would happen to their store.

“The fire started from here,” Bislamyan said as he pointed to a blacked-out broken window. “They broke that window and poured gasoline….”

Almost two weeks ago, Bislamyan’s store was a victim of arson. And just two days before Spectrum News met Bislamyan, he experienced a break-in. A double whammy for this small business owner.

“They broke in about two days ago. They took more stuff from here and took the safe,” he said.

In Northridge, the owner of Yum Yum Donuts, Noe Martinez, said his hurdle is safety. He was the victim of a smash and grab crime last year.

“Some guys jumped through the window here, and they took money,” Martinez said.

But despite the mayor’s pledge to meet small businesses where they need help, Martinez doesn’t have a lot of hope that it will do much to improve the situation.

“There are a lot of people without work, a lot of people who live in the street and this also affects us a lot,” he said.

Bislamyan added that he hopes Bass will see this story.

“I will hope she sees this as an example for other small businesses and why she needs to protect us,” he said.