Crime-plagued NYC bodegas implementing panic buttons to combat ballooning violence

June 26, 2024 | Joe Marino Jorge Fitz-Gibbon

Fed-up Big Apple bodega owners are trying a new approach to stave off the wave of violence that has plagued small shops and delis in the five boroughs for months – a “panic button.”

“We need help today, not tomorrow,” Fernando Mateo, the spokesman for the group United Bodegas of America, said in a statement released Wednesday. “Panic buttons that can notify numerous people in real time will save lives and deter criminals.”

The pilot program for the alert gizmos, in partnership with the digital security company SaferWatch, is hoped to help tap state funds that were supposed to be earmarked for small business security.

“We believe that everyone who works or visits a bodega deserves to feel safe, and this new program helps us accomplish that,” Mateo said. “We are installing SaferWatch technology because it can make the difference between life and death.”

The UBA did not say how many bodegas would be involved in the program to start.

According to SaferWatch CEO Geno Roefaro, the panic button system is already in use at countless government and other public buildings in the country.

“This specific platform saves lives and uses technology that engages directly with 911 in new ways and methods,” Roefaro said in a statement. “When the UBA called me I wanted to help. I love New York City and its diverse and special bodegas.”

The UBA announcement comes amid a tidal wave of often deadly violence at city bodegas and delis.

On Saturday, Bronx bodega worker Oralia Perez was slammed from behind with a sledgehammer by an angry couple that wanted their money back on a $30 hookah they bought at the store.

Perez told The Post she doesn’t remember getting slammed. She remains bruised and battered at St. Barnabas Hospital, where she got a surprise visit from Mayor Eric Adams.

Several hours after Perez was injured, a customer at a Queens convenience store was fatally stabbed after running inside to get away from his assailant.

Last month, a 40-year-old man was stabbed to death at a Queens Boulevard bodega after he tried to choke a store clerk during a scuffle over beer, while a 29-year-old bystander was shot and killed by a stray bullet during an armed heist at a bodega in the Bronx in April.

In May, Gov. Kathy Hochul passed new protections aimed at helping frontline retail workers and small-business owners combat theft — including a $5 million tax credit for added security measures.

The union, however, said that lip service was not enough.

“It’s time for action,” UBA President Radahmes Rodriguez said in a statement Wednesday. “It’s time for everyone who has ever walked by a bodega or shopped in a bodega to support us,” he said.

Source: https://nypost.com/2024/06/26/us-news/crime-plagued-nyc-bodegas-trying-out-panic-buttons-as-violence-skyrockets/

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