Given the wave of crimes that has increased by more than 5 percent in thefts and more than 14 percent in assaults in commercial establishments compared to last year, according to the New York police, associations of wineries and restaurateurs ask that customers remove their masks before entering a premises, which contradicts biosafety regulations.
“When Covid started, you had to ask people to put on their masks, that always caused a problem with customers, right. Now that we are coming out of the pandemic, we have to ask them to take it off,” says Jeffrey Garcia, president of the New York State Restaurant Association.
The call has been seconded by Mayor Eric Adams, given the crimes perpetrated by masked men and the difficulty of being able to identify them by the police.
“I already had some signs made to put them in each business where we make the suggestion that the person should remove the mask before entering the business so that their face is clear on camera,” says Francisco Marte, president of the Latino Winemakers Association. .
Establishment employees work in fear and ask for more vigilance. While a group of activists has asked the state government for actions to increase the charges for those who attack employees of commercial premises.
“I do think that it is necessary for them to remove their masks because above all we work in many places we are only women and the fact that they come here and we don’t know who they are, because sometimes the camera doesn’t even detect it,” says Claudia Pérez, an employee of restaurant.
The winery association asks that it become a law to remove the mask before entering an establishment because they cannot serve as police officers. Ángela González, Voice of America, New York.
