Billy’s Boardshop vandalized

Billy’s Boardshop on Honolulu Avenue was vandalized sometime in the evening or early morning hours of June 18-19.

“It looked like somebody BB gunned our window,” said Michelle Fishback, Billy’s store manager.

Glendale officer Matt Zakarian said that the window may have been shattered by an air gun or BB-type gun. The incident occurred after the board shop closed on Thursday night at 8 p.m. Employees discovered the damage when they arrived at work early the next morning.

Billy’s moved from the Indian Springs Shopping Center in the 2000 block of Verdugo Road to its new location at 2227 Honolulu Ave. in the Montrose Shopping Park. They have only been in their new location a little more than a week but have gotten some unwanted attention due to the nature of their business.

“There are a lot more kids around now,” Zakarian said.

The kids are usually on skateboards and that has created some problems with their method of travel down the avenue, Zakarian added.

“The owners of Billy’s are really trying to be proactive and get the word out to their clientele,” he said.

There have been fliers distributed that remind kids not to skateboard on the sidewalks. Tonight the store is hosting a special event for their customers when they will also talk about the problems.

“On Friday night we will have a movie night for kids and there will be a canvas there for them to paint on,” Fishback said. “We will have pizza and it will be fun.” The event begins at 7 p.m. at the store.

During the night Billy’s employees will explain the problem of skating on the avenue and how their customers have to make certain they are not involved.

Zakarian said skateboarding in the shopping park area has always been an issue and that he, along with other officers, have been stopping kids when they find them skating.

Fishback hopes the movie night and other outreach efforts will help eliminate or at least control the problem.

The previous store location had open space, including a large parking lot where kids would skate.

“That still wasn’t allowed [legally],” Zakarian said.

But that location had much less pedestrian traffic and there were not as many reports about the problem.

“It will take some time to adjust [to the new location],” Fishback said.