DNYUZ
  • Home
  • News
    • U.S.
    • World
    • Politics
    • Opinion
    • Business
    • Crime
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Science
  • Entertainment
    • Culture
    • Music
    • Movie
    • Television
    • Theater
    • Gaming
    • Sports
  • Tech
    • Apps
    • Autos
    • Gear
    • Mobile
    • Startup
  • Lifestyle
    • Arts
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Health
    • Travel
No Result
View All Result
DNYUZ
No Result
View All Result
Home News Crime

NYC to buy $1.6 million in panic buttons for 500 bodegas to try to curb crime: ‘Hopefully, it works’

May 4, 2025
in Crime, News
NYC to buy $1.6 million in panic buttons for 500 bodegas to try to curb crime: ‘Hopefully, it works’
496
SHARES
1.4k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

The city will spend $1.6 million to put panic buttons in hundreds of bodegas after a string of recent violent deli incidents, Mayor Eric Adams announced Sunday.

Up to 500 of the devices will be installed in stores in “hotspot” crime areas throughout the five boroughs in the coming weeks, said Adams and members of the United Bodega Association at a Sunday press conference outside Pamela Green Deli in The Bronx.

The buttons will connect directly to the NYPD’s central command center, bypassing traditional 911 dispatchers to reduce response times, the mayor said.

Mayor Adams speaking to reporters.
Mayor Eric Adams on Sunday joins bodega advocates to announce city funding for panic buttons in up to 500 shops. TOMAS E. GASTON

“Instead of just having the cats keeping away the rats, we’re going to have a direct connection with the police to keep away those dangerous cats that try to rob our stores,” Adams told the crowd.

The delis receiving the buttons, which will be installed by the company Silent Shield, won’t be revealed to the public, he said.

“No one knows who would actually have a device or not. That adds to the omnipresent and the element of surprise that we’re looking for,” Adams told The Post after the presser.

“The bodegas are important, and what this is going to do is add an extra layer of safety,” he said. “Number one, for those who actually have the panic buttons and the direct communication to the police. But second, the element of surprise — 500 of these devices throughout the entire city.”

Press conference outside Pamela's Green Deli.
The new buttons will connect store workers under threat directly to the NYPD’s central command center, bypassing traditional 911 dispatchers to reduce response times. TOMAS E. GASTON

Last month, the UBA lobbied for extra help after two back-to-back deadly deli skirmishes in The Bronx.

A pilot program launched in June by the UBA and public-safety tech company SaferWatch had installed 50 panic buttons in bodegas in designated high-crime areas.

But response times were still inconsistent because of poor integration with police headquarters, critics argued.

“This mayor has made this the safest city in the world, but there are always pockets where criminals take advantage … those pockets, we all know, the trains, taxis, and bodegas — we’re the easy target,” said UBA spokesman Fernando Mateo.

“For so long, we’ve been asking for a panic button. We have gotten promises from council members, from Congress members, from assembly members and from the governor. Guess what? The killings are still there, the stabbings, the shootings, the robberies, the attempt, the assaults, they’re all still there,” Mateo said.

Bella Soto and Eli Soto (left to right)
Eli Soto (right), a worker at Pamela’s Green Deli, says panic buttons are necessary to keep him safe. Dorian Geiger

“Panic buttons is what’s going to save the lives of so many, not just the lives of bodega owners and workers, but the lives of so many that have run into a bodega seeking safe shelter and they’ve been killed,” he said.

Eli Soto, a 51-year-old bodega worker at Pamela’s Green Deli, said a panic button is necessary to keep him and customers safe.

“The neighborhood, there’s a lot of crime. … They’re killing people, they’re stealing,” Soto told The Post.

Aassim Kadeem, 26, who works at nearby Knockout Stop N’ Shop Grocery on Tremont Avenue, called the initiative “smart as hell.

“Over here, it’s a little scary,” Kadeem told The Post, saying the neighborhood is notorious for gang violence.

“Anybody can come in there and be a thief. Anybody can go in there be a killer, like you don’t know.

“Hopefully, it works,” he said the panic buttons. “That’s the main thing — just time, time, time. I’ve never personally had to make [911] calls myself, but I’ve been in situations that involve people having to call, and it’s usually anywhere from 10 to like 15 minutes [for cops to arrive], and it’s like, anything can happen within that time … because somebody can die, you know what I’m saying?”

Soto said the NYPD’s response times in the 49th Precinct, where his bodega is, are dangerously slow in his experience and hopes the panic buttons can help improve emergency response times.

“Sometimes the police take a lot of time to come. So the panic [button] is good. When you hit the panic button, the police come,” Soto said.

The post NYC to buy $1.6 million in panic buttons for 500 bodegas to try to curb crime: ‘Hopefully, it works’ appeared first on New York Post.

Tags: bodegaCrimeeric adamsHomicide
Share198Tweet124Share
One in three Australian men say they have committed intimate partner violence, study reveals
Australia

One in three Australian men say they have committed intimate partner violence, study reveals

by CNN
June 5, 2025

More than one in three men in Australia reported using violence with an intimate partner in a first of its ...

Read more
News

Calmes: The ‘Trump Doctrine’ revealed

June 5, 2025
News

Interviewing for a Meta job? Get set for AI to be involved.

June 5, 2025
News

Saudi Arabia Bans Over 250,000 People From Mecca During Hajj Pilgrimage

June 5, 2025
News

5 mayors are suspended from duty as authorities expand the crackdown on Turkey’s opposition

June 5, 2025
America’s Electric Vehicle Surrender

America’s Electric Vehicle Surrender

June 5, 2025
‘Game-Changing’ Anti-Ship Weapon Tested by US Stealth Bomber

‘Game-Changing’ Anti-Ship Weapon Tested by US Stealth Bomber

June 5, 2025
Who was president these last four years? We deserve an answer

Who was president these last four years? We deserve an answer

June 5, 2025

Copyright © 2025.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • U.S.
    • World
    • Politics
    • Opinion
    • Business
    • Crime
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Science
  • Entertainment
    • Culture
    • Gaming
    • Music
    • Movie
    • Sports
    • Television
    • Theater
  • Tech
    • Apps
    • Autos
    • Gear
    • Mobile
    • Startup
  • Lifestyle
    • Arts
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Health
    • Travel

Copyright © 2025.