NYC Bodega Workers Worry Mask Law Will 'Get Someone Killed'

Several employees of New York City convenience stores have expressed concern that the statewide mask mandate will cause harm after violent incidents with customers who refuse to wear them.

"The mask law is going to get someone killed," Bodega clerk Javier Franco told WPIX. "We are doing our best trying to obey the law so we don't lose our liquor license, but it seems we could lose our life instead."

Franco was working in a Morrisania bodega weeks ago when he asked a customer to put on a mask, who punched him in the face in response. He was working with his fellow employee, Aneuri Castillo, who also reported being hit after asking a customer to wear a mask.

"This was shocking to me," he said. "I tried to do what the governor asked us. I told him it was the law. I’m scared! Maybe he’ll come back and shoot me. It’s so hard coming to work not knowing how the day will go. I have a family and they need me, I don’t want to die in the bodega."

A spokesperson for United Bodegas of America said that these two incidents happened just minutes apart, and that the union will be meeting with New York Police Department Commissioner Dermot Shea about the issue.

“The mayor and the governor have a responsibility to keep us all safe," said spokesman Fernando Mateo. "We invested in NYC and they must ensure our public safety."

“The bodega guy runs away and throws two bottles at him to try and get him out of the store,” Mateo told reporters on Sunday, according to CBS2 in New York. “We don’t like telling people to put on a mask, but it’s what the governor and the mayor have imposed on us.”

• Don't Argue With Anti-Mask Shoppers, CDC Guides Retail Employees
• Kamala Harris: Nationwide Mask Mandate Wouldn't Carry Punishment