The continuing wave of burglaries in Bay Ridge puts its residents, especially small business owners, on high alert.
“Well, they brought in some cash from the cash register and the kids’ payment, well, and what came out on Sunday,” said Pedro Tlapa, owner of Fantastic Bagels and Tacos.
Tlapa, originally from Mexico, opened Fantastic Bagels and Tacos a year ago between 4th Avenue and 86th Street and still can’t believe how two unidentified men broke into his business in the early hours of September 5th and have got between 4,500 to $ 5,000.
His case is one of the numerous robberies recorded in recent weeks, such as in Cebu, Lobo Loco and El Malecón Restaurante.
According to statistics provided by the police, there were 77 robberies in the establishments or homes of the 68 police station, to which Bay Ridge belongs, compared to 98 cases that occurred on the same date last year, a drop of 21.4%.
The robbery in the morning.
On police support Pedro says:
“They get caught, yes, but on the third day they are free, it happened to me in the other shop that they got caught on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday they called me that they had already let them go because they didn’t do much. They didn’t do much there, but maybe they do more on damage or well, they’ll do it again. “
On the corner next to Fantastic Bagels and Tacos, Uncle Administrator Steve’s Marketplace claims that the neighbors take care of each other and that it’s time to be very careful to avoid further robberies.
“Yes, we are afraid, because we are also open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We are very vigilant, otherwise how do we protect ourselves? And, well, we try not to have a lot of money on hand,” said Sandra Saglam, Head of the Uncle Steve’s market.
“The police? They say they have special teams around, to be careful and to call if something happens, but if something happens, it’s too late to call them,” added Saglam.
Small business owners like Pedro and Sandra will protect themselves by installing metal fences, installing alarms, and even hiring private security services.
