Hundreds of bodegas across New York City will soon be outfitted with emergency “panic buttons” designed to alert police during emergencies in real time. On Sunday, Mayor Eric Adams announced $1.6 million in funding for “SilentShields,” discreet devices to be installed in bodegas located in “high-crime areas,” connecting directly to the NYPD’s central command to cut down response times. The initiative comes just days after a man was fatally stabbed inside a Harlem bodega and follows years of advocacy by the United Bodegas of America (UBA), which has long called for the devices, according to Gothamist.
The buttons will also link each bodega’s security cameras directly to the nearest NYPD precinct, allowing officers to monitor incidents in real time and further improve response times. The delis receiving buttons, whose locations will not be publicly disclosed, are slated to have them installed in the coming months, according to a press release.
“This program will bring peace of mind to our bodega owners, while protecting the working-class New Yorkers who work and frequent bodegas,” Adams said. “Our bodegas are essential to New York City, and, with this investment, we’re telling these small businesses: Your city has your back.”
The new funding builds on a pilot program launched last June by the United Bodegas of America and public-safety tech firm SaferWatch, which installed 50 panic buttons in high-crime neighborhoods. But according to the New York Post, response times remained inconsistent due to inadequate integration with NYPD headquarters.
Calls to expand the program intensified in April, after a string of deadly incidents—including the fatal stabbing of a 24-year-old man at a store in Inwood and the shooting death of a 38-year-old man inside a Bronx bodega just an hour later, as reported by Gothamist.
On Saturday, a man was fatally stabbed by multiple attackers in Harlem after an argument inside a bodega, as reported by the Post.
“‘SilentShields’ are a game changer for New York City Bodega workers. For too long, bodega workers have suffered in silence, while help was out of reach. But today, that silence ends,” Fernando Mateo, a spokesman for UBA, said.
“Thanks to Mayor Adams, SilentShields will give our workers a lifeline directly to the NYPD. This is about saving lives, restoring peace of mind, and making it clear: New York will no longer abandon its essential bodega workers.”
RELATED:
