By Eric W. Schoen
I write to you today because I am concerned with what’s going on this state. This letter comes after I exited the TJ Maxx at Cross County Square Mall and saw a man running out of the store with at least 20 garments on hangers into a waiting car. I know he didn’t pay for them. This was confirmed to me. Sadly, no one stopped him.
When i inquired why no one stopped him, I was told that sadly this is the cost of doing business. Management doesn’t know if the man has a knife or a gun and is not willing to put a member of their staff earning $15 an hour at risk.
I write to you as I witness people in grocery stores I shop in blatantly putting items in their ‘reusable’ bags and walking out of the store without paying for them. This is not only happening in Yonkers and Westchester but is so bad in New York City that some Duane Reade stores in popular locations are closing their doors because theft is so rampant.
Years ago when a person entered a merchant with their own shopping bag, it would be left at the entrance to the store, numbered and returned upon exit. New reusable bag laws preclude this, though many stores post signs telling shoppers not to shop in their reusable bags. I warned our readers about problems that would come about with shoppers bringing in and walking around the store with reusable bags. My warnings have come to fruition.
I write to you as man smeared human feces on a woman’s face in an unprovoked rush-hour attack inside a Bronx subway station. A homeless man with a lengthy arrest history has been charged with smearing a stranger with human feces as she waited for a subway train in the Bronx, in a revolting caught-on-camera attack.
To quote the woman, “I got out of work and was waiting for train, sat down for a moment,” the victim told ABC 7, speaking in Spanish through a translator. “All of a sudden, a man approaches me. He hits me in the face and throws a bag of feces. He spreads it all over my face, in my hair, without a motive, for no reason.”“It happened so quickly, I didn’t even realize,” she added. “Once he left, it sunk in what occurred.”
The man who did it, Frank Abrokwa, 37, was arrested.
A friend went into a donut shop, left her pocketbook in her car and within a minute, a thief broke the window in her car and ran away with the pocketbook. The convenience store I shop in has security cameras and mirrors throughout the store employees must monitor to prevent theft. We all witnessed the shocking thefts at the Westchester Mall in the Louis Vuitton and Burberry stores.
Supermarkets in Yonkers have to hire off duty Police Officers to stand at their entrance and exit doors to prevent theft. Many items in the stores are under lock and key otherwise they would disappear. I purchased an inexpensive hair care product at a major drug store chain in Yonkers that was wrapped tightly with an anti-theft device. The manager told me they are waiting for more locked cases to secure merchandise.
Managers also tell me that security is tighter at a mall like Ridge Hill than in open malls like Cross County or Cross County Square or stores along Central Avenue or Getty Square where it’s easy to get away and not get noticed.
It use to be you had to ask a fellow consumer in Starbucks or Panera to watch your computer when you stepped away to use the facilities. Thieves don’t want a used computer or an iPad that with a couple of clicks you can disengage. They want the $3000 Louis Vuitton bag or the $2000 in dresses they can quickly turn into cash.
Andrea, Shelley and Nader you have to be seeing what I am seeing. It is going on in the community, Yonkers you live in and represent and all throughout Westchester and our State. It’s affecting the people who got you elected to office when you first ran. It is affecting your neighbors and friends. Basically, thefts make the costs of products higher for all of your constituents as well as for the members of your family.
Bail reform is not working when those that have committed crimes are let out of jail 40, 50 times. I’m not going blame it all on bail reform, but judges letting criminals committing these crimes walk free is not making the situation better. The Judges have told you this. Basically, Criminals know they can come to New York State and do as they wish and walk away scot-free.
You have heard from the Mayor of New York City, Eric Adams, a former member of Law enforcement and the Mayor of Yonkers, Mike Spano that bail reform is not working. These elected officials and their Police Commissioners have their boots on the ground everyday in the city you live in and the neighboring community. Their Police Officers fear that doing their jobs will get them in trouble, not the criminals committing the crime.
Mental health services in this state are hampered by low reimbursement rates and the lack of providers. Try to get an appointment for a member of your family god forbid in need in the State insurance plan. Due to Covid and other factors, it’s like fishing without bait. And our children have been hurt by attending school on Zoom one day and masked the next. Our state should be providing incentives for those in medical school to go into Psychiatry and Psychology and Social work.
Andrea (I hope you don’t mind me calling you by your first name) I know you since we worked together during the Zaleski Mayoral Administration at Yonkers City Hall in 1992. That’s over 30 years. I know you deeply care about public service and the constituents you serve. I remember my staff assisting you wrapping gifts for those in need at Christmas time.
Andrea It pains me when I hear a Sean Hannity or a Mark Levin or a Mark Simone, national and local radio hosts criticize you over issues such as bail reform or crime. I know you would not do anything to hurt the people you represent or the people of our state. They don’t know you.
Shelley you too I know for many years. We sort of represent the old guard of Yonkers and know so much about the history of our city and it’s players over the years. You have worked so hard with Andrea and Nader and Gary Pretlow (My fellow Selective Service Board Member) to bring more money to Yonkers for Education, money long overdue. Your knowledge of State Government is exemplary, and I know you know the crime situation in our state is hurting your friends and Constituents.
Nader, where do I begin. You and your brothers worked so hard at your uncle’s Grocery Store, Saratoga Dairy on Lawrence Street to pay your way through college. You and your brothers went to school with my sister at Yonkers High School. We worked together as administrators in the Yonkers Public Schools. We have been friends for years. I know you see what is going on out there and know something is wrong and needs correction.
91% of New Yorkers in a recent Sienna College survey said crime in our state is a serious or somewhat serious problem. Two-thirds of blacks and Hispanics and 53 percent of whites said they were very or at least somewhat worried about being the victim of a crime.
Two-thirds of voters agree with New York City Mayor Eric Adams that the controversial bail law needs to be overhauled by giving judges the discretion to detain “dangerous” recidivist felons pending trial for a lesser offense. Under the current bail law, these defendants are automatically released pending trial if they’re charged with a non-violent felony or misdemeanor crime that exempts them from cash bail consideration or detention. A total of 65 percent of the 803 Siena respondents said the bail law should be amended to take into account a defendant’s prior violent record, and only 27 percent of voters said the law should not be changed.
New York State, Westchester County and Yonkers….WE HAVE A PROBLEM. ANDREA, SHELLEY, NADER AND GARY, all elected to represent Yonkers and the great citizens of this State. We count on you to make New York State and our communities a safe place again.
Sincerely,
Your Friend,
Eric
Reach Eric Schoen at thistooisyonkers@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter @ericyonkers. Listen to Eric Schoen on the Westchester Rising Radio Show alternating Thursday’s from 10-11 a.m. On WVOX 1460 AM, WVOX.com click listen or download the WVOX app from the App Store free of charge.
