Jessica Ramos bad bill to deter shoplifting loots businesses more

NY Post 

 It’s criminal. 

An ill-conceived “worker safety” bill introduced by far-left state Sen. Jessica Ramos, a supporter of bail reform and defund-the-police, would saddle small businesses with hundreds of thousands of dollars of security mandates to combat rampant retail crime caused by the very policies she has pushed and promoted, critics told The Post.

The “Retail Worker Safety Act” would require retail shops to assess their stores for violent crime risks before developing and implementing plans for protecting their employees, such as installing better outside lighting and using drop safes.

Businesses would also be required to have staff undergo safety training, and stores hit by violent attacks would be forced to hire a security guard, according to the incendiary legislation introduced Monday.

The measure would also require employers to document and report violent workplace incidents, while those with 50-plus employees must install panic buttons.

“This need for security is because of her,” said a disgusted Francisco Marte, founder of the Bodega and Small Business Association of New York, which reps over 3,000 Big Apple storefronts. “Progressives have turned the city into chaos.”

Marte, who owns three bodegas in Norwood and Grand Concourse, predicted the bill’s mandates would cost “hundreds of thousands of dollars” that small business owners can’t afford.

 To be in compliance many stores will have to close down,” he said.

“It’s another [case of] blame the victim,” said Kenneth Giddon, co-owner of Rothmans men’s clothing store in Manhattan. “We’re getting robbed, and it’s our fault.” 

Giddon estimated the new legislation could run him well over $200,000, citing the cost of hiring a security guard during the store’s off-hours as well as paying a company to lead safety training for his staff twice a year.

The beleaguered businessman slammed Ramos’ bill as “offensive,” explaining that many retailers like himself are already doing all they can to keep staff safe in addition to minimizing job-crushing revenue losses to thieves.  

“Retail workers are on the front lines of violence in our society,” reads Ramos’ legislation. “Many employers have not done enough to take responsibility for the health and safety of their employees.”

But Ramos, a Democrat repping Jackson Heights, Woodside, and Elmhurst in Queens, has for years helped keep robbers out of jail and fewer cops on the streets, critics charged.

The legislation she co-sponsored in 2019 notoriously eliminated cash bail for nonviolent felonies, in addition to burdening prosecutors with onerous discovery requirements that have led to a massive spike in case dismissals.