Mother hospitalized after sledgehammer attack in bodega where she works

A mother is currently in hospital after being attacked in a shop where she works over the weekend.

This is the third attack on a bodega employee in the district in four days. Police say she was attacked by two customers who hit her in the head with a sledgehammer when she refused to refund customers for a hookah they had purchased.

“We are in a state of emergency, and there have been repeated attacks over the past two weeks,” said Fernando Mateo, president of the United Bodegas of America.

According to the UBA, panic buttons could be the solution. They would be installed under the counter and pressed by employees when a threat enters the business premises to immediately alert the police.

Governor Kathy Hochul pledged $5 million in April to help small businesses invest in better security – something that has not happened yet, according to UBA.

Small Business Committee Chairman and local council member Oswald Feliz says he is committed to allocating up to $15 million in the city budget to address this troubling problem.