NYC Retail Workers Tell Stories of Rising Shoplifting

New York City retail workers told the Post they are fed up with arrogant thieves attacking their stores and are afraid to intervene as shoplifting complaints hit an all-time high.

“You never know if these guys have knives,” says a Nike security guard.


Shoplifting continues to go unchecked in New York City, with stores like Nike on 3rd Avenue and 67th Street being attacked daily, and security officer Rell Emejuru says the situation is only getting worse.
The Nike store is attacked by thieves several times a week.
Matthew McDermott

A 30-year-old security guard at a Nike store in Manhattan told The Post Friday that at least one person a day tries to escape with some merchandise.

“At least four days a week, someone comes out with stolen goods,” Rell told Emejuru.

“This is an expensive store,” he said of the store on the corner of East 67th Street and Third Avenue. “For the most part, they take $700 to $1,000 worth of goods each time.”

“They often come in the morning and look around the store and then come back in the afternoon when it’s more crowded. [They] try to blend in, grab something quick and get the hell out of here.

Emejuru said the goal of the staff is not to provoke violence and just to make sure no one gets hurt.

“We have insurance and my top priority is the safety of the workers,” Emejuru said.

“I go up to them and say, ‘Can I help with your stuff,’ and if they say no, the best thing we can do is watch them leave with them. You never know if these guys have knives.

“As bad as the Dinkins era,” says the owner of a Manhattan party supply store.


    Louis Weisbart poses at his Modern State store.
Shoplifting continues to go unchecked in New York City, with stores like the Modern State party supply store on 3rd Avenue and 72nd Street being attacked daily, with owner Louis Weisbart saying the situation is only getting worse.
Matthew McDermott

Louis Weisbart, owner of the Modern State party supply store, said his store is attacked daily by thieves.

“They don’t steal food or other essentials from me,” he said. “I don’t sell essentials, it’s all discretionary stuff. They steal toys like crazy. They steal to make money.

“The last few years have been just as bad as [Mayor David] The age of Dinkins, he protested. “It was bad [Mayor Bill] de Blasio, and it doesn’t get any better.”

Weisbart said he doesn’t even call the police anymore when someone steals from his store on the corner of East 72nd Street and Third Avenue.

He was outraged by the NYPD’s inaction and blamed much of this growth on justice reform, which created a “revolving door” for criminals. He said he hadn’t seen any changes since the Mayor’s Retail Summit last December.

“I tell my employees not to get hurt, try not to get hurt, which means sometimes they need to be let go,” Weisbart said. “From time to time my employees interfere, but they have to be careful.

“One of my managers was stabbed while trying to kick someone out.”

“Sometimes they bring suitcases,” says a grocery store cashier.


Cashier Virginia Ribiara poses for a photograph.
The Food Emporium at 3rd Avenue and E. 69th Street is attacked daily by thieves.
Matthew McDermott

The cashier at the Food Emporium said they get robbed at least six times a day.

“And those are just the ones we see,” Virginia Ribiara said.

The 57-year-old cashier described the thieves as becoming more brazen over the years.

“We have professionals who bring their own bag, fill it up and go right out the door,” Ribiara said, adding: “There are others who don’t care, take whatever you want and go.”

“Sometimes they bring suitcases, fill them with beer and leave without paying,” she said. “All they can they will be: beer, Tide [detergent]cupcakes, sushi, meat.”

Ribiara echoed the concerns of other retail workers about trying to stop the thieves.

“When we see them, we stop them. But it’s scary to surpass them. They get angry when they get arrested, they curse you and want to fight.

“One lady threw a full drink at me.”

The cashier complained that there was no sign of improvement this year.

“Nothing has improved since the Mayor’s Summit,” she added.

Cops tell supermarket owner, “There’s nothing they can do”


The police arrest the man.
Managers at Morton Williams say things have only gotten worse this year.
William Farrington

The general manager of an Upper East Side supermarket condemned the inaction of police officers if they answered a call about a shoplifting.

“The madness is that we call the police and they come, but all they do is tell the criminals: ‘Give your stuff and don’t come back here,'” said Julio Mato, 28.

“I asked the cops to arrest the shoplifters, but they won’t,” Mato said, adding. “They say they can’t do anything.”

“Calling the police or not calling the police is the same thing.”

Mato said various items were stolen from his Morton Williams on a daily basis, including Tide, aerosols such as Febreze, beer and protein shakes.

“They steal meat – they buy expensive products like filet mignon and ribeye, not cheap ones,” he said.

Mato was outraged that the shoplifters knew the law and would be back on the street in just a few hours, even if the cops decided to arrest them.

And he does not hope for this year.

“It got worse, not better,” he said.

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