http://www.nypost.com/commentary/35928.htm
POLS UP IN ARMS OVER BODEGA MAN'S GUN PLIGHT
By DOUGLAS MONTERO
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May 31, 2003 -- A GROUP of city and state lawmakers rallied yesterday to defend the Harlem bodega worker who used an illegal gun to blow away a robber.
Even Mayor Bloomberg seemed sympathetic to the plight of José Acosta, 69, who shot and killed one of three stickup men Sunday during a botched robbery.
"The situation is tragic," Bloomberg said.
"Mr. Acosta has been living in this country 25 years, built a life here and was trying to protect his business. Unfortunately, justice can be unforgiving."
But some lawmakers believe Acosta did the right thing.
"He should be freed and allowed to be free because he had a right to protect himself - that's the American way," said City Councilman Larry Seabrook.
Joel Rivera, the City Council majority leader, said he plans to call the Manhattan DA's office and ask for leniency for Acosta, a legal U.S. resident who faces deportation if he's convicted of any gun charge.
The support for the Harlem worker comes as lawmakers and merchants advocates demanded that the city establish a task force to combat what they describe as a "reign of terror" against small mom-and-pop shopkeepers.
"If the stores on Main Street aren't safe, then Main Street is not safe and the neighborhood is not safe," said Richard Lipsky, who represents about 15,000 of the city's supermarkets, greengrocers and restaurants.
The list of demands include panic buttons directly linked to police precincts, police training for merchants and a halt to the "harassment" of shopkeepers who are being inundated with tickets for minor infractions - like having too many letters on an awning.
José Fernandez, the president of the Bodega Association of the U.S., said whatever money the merchants have after taxes and fines is being picked off by the thugs.
"The bodega is a double victim," he said.
The advocates and lawmakers are also asking for the NYPD to streamline the gun-permit process that would allow merchants to legally arm themselves.
POLS UP IN ARMS OVER BODEGA MAN'S GUN PLIGHT
By DOUGLAS MONTERO
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
May 31, 2003 -- A GROUP of city and state lawmakers rallied yesterday to defend the Harlem bodega worker who used an illegal gun to blow away a robber.
Even Mayor Bloomberg seemed sympathetic to the plight of José Acosta, 69, who shot and killed one of three stickup men Sunday during a botched robbery.
"The situation is tragic," Bloomberg said.
"Mr. Acosta has been living in this country 25 years, built a life here and was trying to protect his business. Unfortunately, justice can be unforgiving."
But some lawmakers believe Acosta did the right thing.
"He should be freed and allowed to be free because he had a right to protect himself - that's the American way," said City Councilman Larry Seabrook.
Joel Rivera, the City Council majority leader, said he plans to call the Manhattan DA's office and ask for leniency for Acosta, a legal U.S. resident who faces deportation if he's convicted of any gun charge.
The support for the Harlem worker comes as lawmakers and merchants advocates demanded that the city establish a task force to combat what they describe as a "reign of terror" against small mom-and-pop shopkeepers.
"If the stores on Main Street aren't safe, then Main Street is not safe and the neighborhood is not safe," said Richard Lipsky, who represents about 15,000 of the city's supermarkets, greengrocers and restaurants.
The list of demands include panic buttons directly linked to police precincts, police training for merchants and a halt to the "harassment" of shopkeepers who are being inundated with tickets for minor infractions - like having too many letters on an awning.
José Fernandez, the president of the Bodega Association of the U.S., said whatever money the merchants have after taxes and fines is being picked off by the thugs.
"The bodega is a double victim," he said.
The advocates and lawmakers are also asking for the NYPD to streamline the gun-permit process that would allow merchants to legally arm themselves.
