Bodegas in the Bronx occupy a unique space in the daily lives of residents. Bodegas perform the role of food source for a borough experiencing food scarcity and insecurity in its southern corridor, the role of a local pharmacy for minor illnesses and colds, and sometimes, a late-night therapy office for customers looking to vent.
On pay day, it’s a banking hub for underbanked residents, where timely ATM withdrawals are made. Bodegas can be a daycare center, where longtime patrons in child care deserts, entrust owners and employees to look after their child during a work shift.
Depending on the day, it can be a public theater for communal hangouts, and at times, violent altercations and interactions.
“Much like a snowflake, not all bodegas are alike. And not all shifts are the same,” said Hashim Ali, a longtime manager of one of the many Grand Concourse-centric bodegas. “The interactions are always different, some funny, some dangerous, some very unfortunate. … I remember being threatened twice in one week for money in our register. Some of my customers, after they get done with (the) ATM, might get robbed outside the store.”
In an effort to curb public safety incidents inside and outside the city’s bodegas, a new $1 million pilot program is offering up to $3,000 for security upgrades — such as panic buttons and high-resolution cameras — to participating bodegas in the South Bronx, Harlem and Washington Heights.
Applications for the Small Business Security Initiative open June 1, and funds for those upgrades will be distributed on a “first-come, first-served basis.” According to state Assemblymember Amanda Septimo, whose legislative district includes the South Bronx, applications for the program are on a rolling basis and will run until funds — provided by the nonprofit Bronx Community Foundation — are exhausted.
While crime incidents per bodegas are not tracked by the NYPD, small business groups and bodega associations cite an…
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