Would guns promote safety or violence?
By Paul Bufano
Last August a drunken brawl broke out at Sam’s Mini Market Deli and Grocery on Willis Avenue. At one point someone pulled a gun. The bodega’s manager Amar Alseid decided he’d had enough. He wants a gun of his own.
Alseid is one of a growing number of bodega owners who want to fight back by arming themselves. They’ve found an ally in Fernando Mateo, president of Hispanics Across America.
“When you have a gun everyone in the area is going to talk about it and they’re going to respect you more,” said Alseid. “I want people to be afraid to come in and cause trouble.”
Mateo’s call for bodega owners to arm themselves with legal weapons to “even out the playing field” has met mixed response. While some echo Alseid, others worry about unleashing an arms race and about accidents and mistakes.
“What I fear will happen is that the robbers will say ‘Well if the owner has a gun we’ll have two guns,’” said Freddy Perez, owner of FPJ Amusements on East 156th Street. “What happens if the brave owner sees someone reaching for a phone in their jacket and acts without thinking?”
Mateo has begun distributing gun license applications to store owners. He said he expects to give out thousands.
Calling his push “Operation: ‘Guns for All’ Bodega Owners,” he points to the killing of bodega owner Juan Torres, 54, on Oct. 23 at Lucky Grocery & Deli in Laurelton, Queens. He says Torres’ death could have been prevented if he had had a way to defend himself.
“You come in to rob a bodega and your life can be taken just as easily as you can take a life,” Mateo said.
Guns have ravaged the Mott Haven community, respond critics.
“Legal or illegal, guns still kill,” said State Senator Jose M. Serrano. “In the end, the police are the ones best equipped to own guns and protect the bodega owners. More guns will make the community more like the Wild West.”
“I believe that we are taking a step backwards where people just shot each other to settle their difference,” said Gloria Cruz, head of the Bronx chapter of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence. “The problem is that although all gun owners are mandated to go through training, it may not be enough for them to act properly in moments of distress.”
Security cameras linked to local precincts and secret panic buttons are better options than obtaining a gun, said Cruz.
Mateo says he understands such concerns, but he doesn’t believe defensive measures such as security cameras are enough.
“Come and operate a bodega during the wee hours of the night, be disarmed and be a sitting duck and see how safe you feel,” he said. “You can’t fight someone with a gun. You have to have your own weapon.”
Mateo said that although the police are doing the best they can, they can’t put a cop in every bodega or every small business that’s handling cash.
Some residents, like Edna Green, who has lived in Mott Haven for 18 years, are concerned about accidental shootings leading to unnecessary deaths.
“Shop owners are going to get suspicious and act quicker because they’re going to feel like they have the authority to shoot,” said Green.
Armed bodega owners trained to use their guns would know when it’s appropriate to do so, Mateo believes.
“If kids steal a bag of chips or cause some trouble you don’t shoot them for that,” he said, “but you may shoot someone if they come in wielding a gun.”
“Ruthless murderers” who have made the choice to rob a store and jeopardize another’s life, don’t deserve any concern, Mateo contends.
“I wouldn’t mourn for someone like that,” he said.
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