New York City bodega owners are taking their safety into their own hands by applying for gun licenses at an alarming rate to protect themselves and their merchandise.
Founder of the Bodega & Small Business Group Association Frank Marte discussed the growing trend and why grocers are depending on their Second Amendment rights as thieves target their storefronts.
"We are not safe," Marte told "FOX & Friends" host Carley Shimkus on Monday.
"We don't have the protection that we need. We understand that the police department… they cannot be assisting when we [are] having so much [sic] problems, so we need to protect."
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Over the past year, the United Bodegas of America and the Bodega and Small Business Group helped facilitate 230 gun license applications as business owners remain concerned about how crime in their neighborhood could impact their ability to do business.
A quarter of bodega owners are now armed, in comparison to just 10% prior to the pandemic, according to the National Supermarket Association.
Marte said he had to call 9-1-1 in recent weeks for other stores that could not get a police response for 30 minutes.
He argued the issue is costing business owners money, and urged the city's police department to bolster support as their public safety concerns loom.
"We are losing so much money on shoplifting and we don't have the support that we need," Marte said. "And we pay for that. We pay taxes to have the protection of the city… and the state support to offer the protection to the community and the store owners, and we are now facing that kind of problem."
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"We need more support from the NYPD, but since we are not getting that… we've been getting armed ourselves," he continued. "We have to protect our store, our stuff, because we don't have other option [sic] to do."
Marte doubled down on shop owners receiving support from the NYPD, but noted he pins the blame on city officials. He urged them to "come together" with business owners to ultimately curb the city's violence.
"We are blaming the elected officials," Marte said. "They are not working together with the NYPD. They should come together. All of the elected official[s], the mayors and the NYPD working together with the community, with the business owner community, the community itself to resolve this problem, to bring back the public safety that we really lost."
According to the National Retail Federation, retailers nationwide lost a reported $112.1 billion last year in merchandise as organized theft continues to plague cities around the nation.
New York City was named as one of the top five "most affected" by the trend.
