A New York bodega group says the Big Apple should adopt a local version of Florida’s controversial ‘Stand Your Ground’ law after a Manhattan store worker was charged with murder for defending himself .
United Bodegas of America – which has rallied behind Jose Alba, the 61-year-old store worker facing murder after fending off an abusive ex-convict – said on Sunday the measure was necessary to protect others who toil behind the counter.
“Bottom line – in Florida, that’s what you would consider firm,” UBA spokesman Fernando Mateo said at a news conference, referring to Alba’s case.
“This is what New York City needs,” Mateo said of the law.
Florida’s controversial law has come under scrutiny after aspiring police officer George Zimmerman killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford in 2012, citing the law and saying he feared for his life when he shot the unarmed teenager dead.
New York does not have stand-your-ground status but does allow claims of self-defense when protecting its home.
Mateo said broader status in New York, similar to that in Florida, would have provided Alba with legal grounds to stab and fatally wound 35-year-old Austin Martin when he stormed behind the counter the July 1 and docked Alba.
Alba tried to pass Simon and pulled out a knife when he couldn’t get away, in the incident caught on camera.
Alba was charged with murder and held on $500,000 bail until Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s office negotiated a reduced amount that allowed him to secure $5,000 bond.
The fact that Alba was even charged in the incident sparked public outcry.
Mateo said Alba was not the only bodega employee in danger in the city.
“Bodega owners, clerks, their employees are going through situations very similar to what happened to Mr. Alba [in terms of threats], and it doesn’t make the headlines,” he said. “But you know what? [Their assailants] are not prosecuted. With an office appearance ticket, if that, and they continue to terrorize small businesses all over town every day.
Debbie Almontaser, co-founder of the Yemeni American Merchants Association, said her group has long fought for safety and security measures for retail workers.
Almontaser said she had asked City Hall in the past for a $2.5 million package to install state-of-the-art cameras in all bodegas as part of a violence prevention program.
“It’s important because every bodega owner and employee in the city is living on edge due to the huge increase in crime in our city,” she said. “We just went through a pandemic where all of these clerks and bodega owners were front line workers, essential workers.
“And today all of these vital businesses are feeling a sense of betrayal and a sense of not belonging to these communities because of the increase in crime,” she said.
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