Bodega customers asked to lower masks, as police search for suspect in deadly crime spree
NEW YORK -- An Upper East Side community is mourning the death of a beloved deli clerk, as the intense search continues for the suspect in his killing.
Police believe the same man is behind a crime spree across three boroughs. Now, officials are urging New Yorkers to remove their face coverings to make employees feel safe.
Flowers lay on the sidewalk by the entrance to Daona Deli on East 81st Street. One sign on the door reads, "Closed for business," another says "3rd Avenue loves you."
Jamie Ortiz works next door and knew the 67-year-old worker who was fatally shot Friday night. Police said a man in a hazmat suit walked in, pistol-whipped the employee, and then shot him.
"I've known him for about 10 years, and I work the night shift so I get to see him a lot, and I usually go there about the time the crime occurred," Ortiz said.
Investigators have linked the suspect to at least three other robberies in Brooklyn and the Bronx. CBS2 spoke with a worker in Greenpoint who also encountered the masked assailant in his store last Wednesday.
"I give him the cigarettes, what he wants. I was just hoping that I don't get shot afterwards," said Nori Gashen.
Mayor Eric Adams and NYPD officials said employees should ask customers to lower their masks and show their faces when they walk inside.
"Do not allow people to enter the store without taking off their face mask. Then once they're inside, they can continue to wear if they so desire to do so," Adams said.
As CBS2 political reporter Marcia Kramer reports, the mayor says we've reached a point in the pandemic where store owners have the right to wonder why some patrons wear masks.
"We've gotten so used to the mask that we don't realize there's a large volume of people that are wearing it not because of COVID, because they're criminals," Adams said.
"Are you really saying that asking somebody to remove the mask for a minute is like a deterrent? Because you're basically saying to that person, 'We're going to catch your face now, so maybe you shouldn't do that evil thing that you wanted to do,'" Kramer asked.
"Two things, Marcia, that's very important here as we do an analysis of these crimes. They're repeated offenders. By the time we catch that one person, they did seven other robberies. If we're able to identify their face fast enough, we're able to broadcast it on TV," Adams said.
Watch Hannah Kliger's report
"Doesn't that exacerbate their aggressiveness?" Kramer asked.
"We're not asking the bodega to tell the person when they walk in, 'Hey, so you have to take off your mask.' There's a sign at the door that the bodega association helped us create," Adams said.
The mayor says high-end boutiques might want to make people unmask before being buzzed in.
"Here's a basic rule I'm asking you as you enter so we can properly identify who you are. That my Spidey senses will go up if you're telling me, 'No, I'm not willing to show you who I am.' I think that jewelry stores should have the right to say, based on my safety protocols, I am not going to buzz you into my store," Adams said.
On Monday, United Bodega Workers of America distributed signs to store owners. However, some workers think it will cause more violent confrontations.
"All you're going to do is just get into arguments. That's not going to work, it won't work at all," Gashen said. "They have to do something about it, not the store owners or individuals."
Police said the suspect got away on a dark scooter and may still be armed. The United Bodegas of America is offering an additional $5,000 reward on top of the $10,000 ordered by the NYPD for information leading to an arrest.
The NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline can be reached at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit a tip via their website or via DM on Twitter, @NYPDTips. All calls are kept confidential.