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NYC bodega workers ask customers to show their faces for safety
By
Samantha Max
Published Mar 6, 2023
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Samantha Max / Gothamist
By
Samantha Max
Published Mar 6, 2023
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In an era when wearing a mask has become normal, New York City bodega workers are urging customers to show their faces after a man in a mask and full body suit killed an Upper East Side deli employee during a robbery Friday night.
The violent incident is part of a string of robberies involving the same man, police said at a press conference outside the deli Monday afternoon.
The NYPD is still searching for the man, who officials said has robbed at least four different businesses in Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx in recent days. In each case, they said, he was wearing the same suit and mask, mostly hiding his body and face. He also fled on an electric scooter in several instances.
Fernando Mateo with United Bodegas of America said people concerned about their health can show their faces briefly then put their masks back on.
“We’re talking about all those people who hoodie up, who cover their entire face so that the police department cannot identify them when they commit a crime,” he said.
Last week, Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey recommended that businesses ask their patrons to briefly remove their masks when they walk inside, so that they can be identified. After the latest fatal robbery, Maddrey reiterated his message.
Flowers and candles honor an employee who was killed at an Upper East Side bodega Friday night.
Samantha Max / Gothamist
“We have an obligation to make sure that these store owners feel safe,” he said. “As a sign of a peace offering, a sign of safety to those store workers, when we walk in, we should take down our mask. We should let them know that they’re not in any danger or any harm.”
When asked at the press conference whether requiring customers to remove their masks could escalate interactions and put bodega workers at more risk of being shot, Maddrey repeatedly called it a “common-sense approach,” but said it would work better in some stores than in others. He also suggested that bodegas lock their doors after a certain hour and buzz people in only if they show their faces.
Robberies spiked in New York City last year, with 17,411 reported last year, compared to 13,831 in 2021, according to NYPD data. Before that, the number of reported robberies hadn’t exceeded 17,000 since 2013.
So far this year, robberies are down 2% city-wide compared to this time in 2022.
The surge in robberies has put many bodega workers on edge in recent months. Over the summer, an employee was charged with murder for fatally stabbing someone who accosted him behind the counter. The charges, which were ultimately dropped, sparked an outcry from members of local bodega associations who said workers should not be punished for protecting themselves. Some bodega workers have even said they want to arm clerks, while others have said adding more guns to the equation could put employees in even more danger.
Mateo didn’t mention arming bodega employees at Monday’s news conference but said he wants more protections.
“For those that want to maybe criticize what we are asking for, we invite them to come work one day or one night in a bodega and live what these people are living so that they understand we are not trying to pick on anybody,” he said. “We are just trying to get back home alive and safe to our families.”
Tagged
public safety
manhattan
Samantha Max
Samantha reports on whether New Yorkers feel safe and whether the institutions that are supposed to protect them are working. Before coming to WNYC/Gothamist, she spent three years covering the criminal justice system in Tennessee for Nashville Public Radio. Her reporting on Nashville's police department received multiple awards, including the Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize. Samantha was also part of the inaugural class of Report for America, a service journalism program that sends up-and-coming reporters to local newsrooms across the country. She is a Northwestern University grad, a Baltimore native and fluent in Spanish. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal: samanthamaxwnyc.93.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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