An icon of Hispanic neighborhoods in New York is at high risk: robberies in the city’s warehouses have almost tripled so far this year, new police statistics show.
It is the same trend that has been seen in other businesses in the city: cases of pickpocketing or theft of products have risen 81% this year compared to the previous one, aggravating a trend that had been increased by penal reform and the pandemic, the NYPD indicated in early April. The situation has generated unemployment by store closings, product shortages, more merchandise placed under lock and key And till episodes of violence with injured employees confronting thieves, many of them repeat offenders.
In the case of the bodegas, there seems to be more violence, with serious consequences for the owners, clients and workers. have been reported 195 NYC warehouse robberies so far in 2022, the NYPD said Friday. At this point in 2021, only 75 such robberies had been reported.
“You see people get arrested 50 times and walk out without paying a dollar of bail and come back and shoplift again”
Francisco Marte, “Bodega and Small Business Group”
Currently Hispanic José Alba (61) faces legal proceedings on suspicion of killing an ex-convict who invaded his work area during an argument over potato chips that turned bloody inside a Harlem warehouse on July 1.
That is why the owners are asking the authorities to do more to combat the aggressors. “They can’t stop them because the prosecutor (from Manhattan, Alvin Bragg) is not prosecuting them”, said Francisco Marte, from “Bodega and Small Business Group”, who spoke with New York Post in front of “Blue Moon”, where the Alba incident took place. “You see people get arrested 50 times and walk out without paying a dollar of bail and come back and shoplift again”.
Robberies of commercial establishments in the city, in general, have also doubled with profit. It has been reported a total of 730 robberies in NYC businesses so far this year, compared to 350 at that time in 2021, according to the NYPD.
Frank Garcia, president of the National Association of State Chambers of Commerce (NASC), He said he wasn’t surprised by the dramatic rise in warehouse thefts. “The numbers are even higher. The numbers are not reported.because according to him some owners do not report all the crimes because they have lost confidence in the police and the criminal justice system.
Garcia commented that Alba’s arrest for the death of Austin Simon (35) has sent a bad message to Latino business owners. “Many members do not see the police as their friend.” The Dominican was charged with the murder, prompting an outcry from local leaders who feel he is just an employee who was trying to defend himself in the wave of crimes that the city is experiencing. Even Mayor Eric Adams has declared in favor of the Hispanic, calling him “hardworking and honest.”
It is not a new situation. In New York, the interior and surroundings of warehouses are frequently crime scenes, both robberies and homicides. attacks are common to employees and customers.
in January, A woman and her pit bull dog were killed in a shooting inside a Brooklyn grocery store. At the end of November, an 18-year-old died after being shot several timesbeing a client of a warehouse in Staten Island (NYC). And in October, a Immigrant store clerk stabbed to death in East Harlem, in an apparent argument over 50 cents off the price of a cigarette.
–
