A pair of killings in New York City bodegas has led workers to demand panic buttons be installed in their stores to alert police to any emergency, advocates said Friday.
Fernando Mateo of the United Bodegas of America said state and city officials have promised to fund the panic buttons, but the money hasn’t materialized.
“In the last 48 hours, we’ve had two people killed inside of a bodega,” Mateo said, standing outside the Ameer Deli & Grill, where a 24-year-old man was fatally knifed in the neck during a brawl with two other young men Wednesday evening.
“Let’s stop the killings. We don’t want to get up tomorrow and know that another person got killed in a bodega. We need to stop it.”
On Thursday afternoon, Sorai King, 20, was shot in the neck and chest outside the Shak Deli at E. 217th Street and Bronxwood Avenue in Williamsbridge, Bronx during a fight with another man.
King was on an errand to pick up a snack for his mom when he was shot, heartbroken relatives said.
“He was going to the store for his mother. He was very loving. He went to the store and he never came back,” the victim’s 15-year-old niece Nana King told the Daily News. “We only knew something was wrong when the detectives came.”
No arrests have been made in either case.
Mateo said if each bodega were equipped with a panic button, the police could have been immediately alerted and made an arrest — or even saved a life.
“(It) could be a life-saving tool for them,” said Mateo, who added that several of his members have asked for them to be installed. “If someone walks into a bodega with a gun and is robbing the cashier, and he’s in the back with a panic button, he can surprise that gunman by pressing a button and the cops will come immediately.
“We need for our governor to govern and to do what’s right for these small businesses in New York City,” Mateo contined. “We need cash to save lives, to save the lives of the people who vote you into office.”
Mateo said that about 50 out of the more than 25,000 bodegas in the city have been equipped with panic buttons.
“Fifty is a drop in the bucket,” said Mateo, who said that the panic buttons currently installed only bring bodega workers to a calling center that reaches out to 911 for them.
“By the time that happens and all the questions are asked, people die and people get away with committing a crime,” said Mateo, who added that many bodega workers have quit over the violence they’ve witnessed.
“Employees quit when they see this type of violence occurring right in front of them. They’re scared. They’re nervous,” he said. “It’s hard enough to get employees to want to work in bodegas, because bodegas are not safe havens like they should be.”
He’s hoping the new panic buttons, once purchased, will video link directly to an NYPD command center so cops can see the crime occurring in real time and dispatch help immediately.
“It can all be avoided,” he said about the violence. “It’s technology. It’s easy.”
A new bill in Albany named the “Bodega Act” has been drafted to provide grants to bodegas, convenience stores and food marts who want to install panic buttons and surveillance equipment in their stores. The legislation is currently being reviewed by the Assembly’s codes committee.
Last year, New York City Rep. Ritchie Torres introduced legislation that would allow bodega owners to dip into federal grant money to fund panic buttons and other security equipment.
Torres introduced the bill after a spate of attacks on bodega workers left many of the small businesses on edge and spurred calls for more safety measures.
“We need for everyone in this city to understand that these bodegas are community centers,” Mateo said. “They’re not just (places) where people go in and buy something. When someone is running away from a problem, they run into a bodega because we’re everywhere.”
An email to the NYPD for comment on the UBA’s panic button proposal was not immediately returned.
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