New York (Washington Insider Magazine) – Starting June 1, New York City small businesses, including bodegas, will be able to apply to have high-level security equipment installed on their premises, taking advantage of a $1 million fund created by the Bronx Community Foundation.
The initiative will cover warehouses in Harlem, Washington Heights and The Bronx, areas where these businesses are frequent targets of robberies and/or attacks on owners and employees.
In the wake of a particularly violent year for wineries, Assemblywoman Amanda Septimo announced this pilot program yesterday that she will foot the bill for equipment like high-resolution cameras and panic buttons.
The hope is to deter would-be thieves. Many warehouses already have similar security measures in place, but Septimo says that’s really expensive because of the initial costs to buy and install that equipment.
“These establishments do a lot to keep us healthy, fed and happy, and now we are stepping up to keep them safe,” she said in a Monday news conference. “Warehouses are such anchors in the community that keeping warehouses safe means keeping communities safe,” she told Gothamist.
There is no limit to the number of companies that can apply, but the grants are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, Fox News explained.
The amount of money allocated to each business will vary based on its needs, but is estimated to average around $3,000. From there, owners would be responsible for paying the monthly costs of those systems, the legislator explained.
So far this year citywide robberies are down 2.4% compared to the same period last year. But in response to a survey by Gothamist in association with the Bodega and Small Business Group, about half of the bodega owners involved said they felt crime had worsened recently.
Shoplifting at New York City retail stores rose an alarming 81% during the first quarter of 2023, in many cases involving violent attacks on employees and business owners. This was denounced last week by the Collective Action to Protect Our Stores (CAPS-NY) group, which represents 5,000 establishments, including supermarkets and bodegas, once again demanding that state congressmen pass new laws against theft in stores, including the imprisonment of shoplifters who attack workers.
This article is authored by EI Diario.
