New York Mayor Eric Adams wants to ban face masks in stores as thieves ‘exploit the security of the pandemic’ to commit crimes
- Mayor Eric Adams said on “PIX11 Morning News” Monday that business owners should deny entry to customers if they wear a mask
- He said the effort is to curb shoplifting and to capture the person’s identity on camera in case a crime is committed.
- Last week, a gunman wearing a mask and a hazmat suit shot and killed a bodega employee on the Upper East Side
New York City Mayor Eric Adams is asking business owners to order customers to remove their face masks when entering businesses to reduce shoplifting.
Adams appeared on the PIX11 Morning News on Monday and called on business owners to prevent customers from wearing masks to enter the store. But once inside, they can put their mask back on.
He pointed out that if customers remove their masks when entering stores, their identities will be captured on camera in case a crime occurs.
Adams pointed out that thieves are exploiting the safety of the COVID-19 pandemic by wearing masks and committing crimes.
‘Let’s be clear. Some of these characters go into stores wearing a mask, they don’t do it because they are afraid of the pandemic,” he said.
“They’re doing it because they’re afraid of the police, and we need to stop allowing them to exploit the safety of the pandemic by wearing masks and committing crimes.”
New York City Mayor Eric Adams is asking business owners to order customers to remove their face masks when entering businesses, in an effort to curb shoplifting
It was advised by city officials and enforced by many businesses that New Yorkers wore masks in public, enclosed places when COVID hit three years ago. Indoor masks are now optional for many establishments.
But now Adams wants New Yorkers to show their whole face when they walk into a shop.
“We’re making a clear appeal to all our stores, don’t let people enter the store without removing their face masks,” Adams said.
“Once they’re in, they can keep wearing it if they want to, but we need to use the technology we have at our disposal to identify those shoplifters and those who commit serious crimes.”
It was not clear how this will be carried out or what will happen if a customer refuses to remove their mask and it leads to a confrontation.
Adams visits the crime scene of a jewelry store robbery in Flushing, Queens. He says he wants New Yorkers to show their whole face when they walk into a store
However, Adams pointed out that this could reduce shoplifting, robbery and even murder rates
However, Adams pointed out that this could reduce shoplifting, robbery and even murder rates.
“You saw what happened over the weekend when an innocent shop owner was shot dead,” he told PIX11. “The person was wearing a hazmat suit and a mask. He wasn’t trying to protect himself from the pandemic.”
The gunman, dressed in a hazmat suit, shot and killed a bodega employee at the Daona Deli at East 81st Street and Third Avenue on the Upper East Side during a robbery late Friday night.
The gunman shot the 67-year-old victim in the head and then fled south on Third Avenue on a scooter. Police believe he showed up in the Bronx about half an hour later, holding a Yaya Deli clerk at gunpoint. No one was injured in that incident.
Police say the two incidents are linked and both were carried out by a gunman in a white Tyvek suit and black mask.
On PIX11 News Monday morning, Adams noted the recent drop in crime after it spiked and then leveled off during the pandemic.
Last month, NYPD revealed a 5.6 percent drop in major crimes for February compared to last year, including 11 fewer homicides compared to 2022.
The number of rapes fell by 10.5 percent, the number of robberies by two percent, the number of shootings by 11.2 percent and the number of murders by 16.9 percent.
Crime was up 11.2 percent in 2023: 3,780 incidents compared to 3,398 in 2022.
