New York City Congressman Ritchie Torres introduced a new bill Tuesday that would allow bodega owners to tap into federal grants to fund panic buttons and other safety measures.
The bill, introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, is the latest in a series of measures aimed at protecting businesses after a wave of attacks on bodega employees The past month has left many small businesses on edge and prompted calls for more safety measures.
“Unfortunately, bodega owners and employees often find themselves on the front lines of violent crime, putting their physical safety and the ability of their businesses to stay afloat at risk,” the Bronx Democrat said in a statement. “I have heard countless stories in my district of bodega owners who have been physically assaulted and do not have the resources to defend themselves, which is simply unacceptable.”
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
Rep. Ritchie Torres. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
The Bodega Owner Defense Enhancement Grant Assistance (BODEGA) Act is designed to “help combat violent crime.”Following a series of violent attacks on delicatessens.
On June 22, a 41-year-old bodega employee was hit on the head with a sledgehammer in an argument after a couple entered the store and demanded their money back for a hookah.
Just five days earlier, Osvel Diaz, 29, with green hair, Beating 62-Year-Old Queens Deli Worker After hitting the employee, Diaz punched the victim, knocking him to the ground inside the store.
In February, a a pair of thieves beat an Astoria delicatessen employee with hammers after the employee confronted them, also breaking the display cases.
The United Bodegas of America, an association of bodega owners, called for the installation of panic buttons and other safety measures.
“United Bodegas is very grateful to Representative Ritchie Torres for introducing this bill so that bodegas can access funds that protect bodega businesses and our communities,” Radhames Rodríguez, president of United Bodegas of America, said in a statement.
THE winery association launched a pilot program in in late June to install $3,000 worth of panic buttons in grocery stores located in high-risk areas due to high crime levels.
Fernando Mateo, the A spokesman for United Bodegas of America said panic buttons could save lives by quickly alerting police. as well as someone else — family members, friends Or neighbors — who choose to receive emergency calls.
“We are in a state of emergency,” Mateo said. “Not only are bodega owners and their customers being killed, but community members are also being killed in front of the bodegas. So we applaud and appreciate what Congressman Torres is doing, but we need a little more than that.”
The bill would expand the use of Byrne-JAG Grant Fund to cover the installation of panic buttons and surveillance equipment in private companies.
