NYC Bodegas backed Hole’s plan to give judges more power to post bail as ‘crime rises’

New York wine cellar owners on Wednesday expressed support for Gov. Kathy Hochul’s plan to give judges more leeway when setting bail, saying repeat offenders “took advantage” of the state’s controversial bail reform law.

Fernando Mateo, who leads United Bodegas of America, said the group “calls on Albany to take action to improve public safety without abandoning its commitment to justice.”

During a press conference outside the group’s Bronx headquarters, Mateo said the 2019 relaxation of New York’s bail rules was “planned with the right intent.”

“But the people who use bail laws are repeat offenders, people who commit crime after crime – and get released from time to time,” he said.

“It does not make sense. None of us want this. We need a safe city, a safe environment.”

Mayor Eric Adams blamed about 1,700 repeat offenders for much of the rioting in the Big Apple, saying in his January State of the City speech, “We know who they are and we need to get them off our streets.”

As part of her proposed FY2024 state budget of $227 billion, Hochul wants to remove a rule requiring judges to apply “least restrictive measures” that will ensure defendants return to court.

UBA president Radhames Rodriguez, 60, told The Post state lawmakers need to “go back and change bail reform and make the changes they need to get criminals behind bars.”

“After the pandemic came, we saw an increase in crime. We feel very uncomfortable and very unsafe,” he said. “No one wants to work in a store because they don’t feel safe.”

Rodriguez, who owns two bodegas in the Bronx, said: “We don’t have the security we have in the city. [Manhattan] has” and referred to Friday’s fatal shooting of a clerk at Doana Gourmet Deli & Grocery on the Upper East Side by an elusive mugger known as the “Hazmat Killer.”

“When it happened in the city, we got more scared than usual,” he said.