Retail employees near state Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie’s Bronx office say they are regularly forced to deal with violent armed shoplifters — and live in constant fear they’ll be the next Big Apple store worker attacked on the job.
“How can you not feel fear? I’m scared all the time. It could happen to me, too,” said Fkouro Mk, 60, a beauty salon worker on same block as the district office of the powerful Albany pol — who last week infamously rebuffed proposed tough-on-crime penalties for those who violently target retail employees.
Abid Taher, 22, who works at the nearby Total by Verizon phone store, added to The Post on Tuesday, “We can’t do business like this.
“We’re scared every time — I have to keep the door locked and check to see if they have ski mask on,” the young clerk said of customers.
“We think it’s the same person. He robs again, gets bail, and in a few days, he comes again,” the worker said, noting the last incident was just two weeks ago.
“They’re getting bail so easily. They should be getting jail time,” he said of suspects.
A frightened store clerk who works at the deli opposite Heastie’s office said he and his colleagues are regularly targeted by armed offenders, too.
“We’ve been hit so many times, and people threaten to come back and shoot us,” said the worker, who was too scared to give his name.
“Every day, we’re facing the same situation.” --->READ MORE HERE
Soft-on-crime state Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie fiddles while his backyard in the Bronx burns, crime statistics show.
Major crime has surged 27% in the precinct that covers the woke Democrat’s East Bronx district, with spikes in five of the seven major crime categories.
Through Sunday, 595 major crimes were logged in the 49th Precinct, which covers the Laconia neighborhood where Heastie’s office is located, compared to 467 for the same period in 2023, the data show.
Rape has skyrocketed 175% (11 from 4), felony assault soared 18% (105 from 89), robbery climbed 6% (68 from 64); grand larceny ballooned 70% (251 from 148) and auto larceny rose 9% (113 from 104), the stats show.
“He doesn’t care about his constituents. He doesn’t care about the community. If it wasn’t for bail reform, we wouldn’t have these problems,” railed Bronx conservative activist Grace Marrero.
Heastie was the leading advocate of the state’s controversial 2019 criminal justice reforms, which eliminated cash bail for most misdemeanor and non-violent felony charges — creating a revolving door for released felony suspects.
The pol sparked more outrage last week when he nixed Gov. Kathy Hochul’s plan to toughen sentences for retail thieves, declaring, “I just don’t believe raising penalties is ever a deterrent on crime.”
Many business owners are fed up with Heastie over his refusal to crack down on violent shoplifters, including those in his own neighborhood, where retail theft is up a disturbing 19% (185 from 155).
“If there were harsher penalties for people shoplifting, we wouldn’t have shoplifting,” fumed Moustapha Maflahi, co-owner of Bling Beauty Supply on White Plains Road about 1 1/2 miles from Heastie’s office. “On Fridays and Saturdays when it’s really busy in here I have to constantly watch the camera and still merchandise that costs from $20 to $100 goes away.
“And then eventually businesses shut down. That’s how Rite Aid shut down,” he noted.--->READ MORE HERE
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