Harlem Business Group Warns Stores To Guard Against Looters

HARLEM, NY — Business owners in Harlem should take precaution to guard their storefronts from looters after two straight nights of plundering in New York City amid protests against police brutality following the police killing of Minneapolis man George Floyd.

The 125th Street Business Improvement District, which represents many stores on Harlem's busiest commercial corridor, sent out a notice Tuesday saying: "It is the BID's suggestion that it is now time to fortify your premise a little more or request assessment from your NYPD crime prevention officer."

The business group described the situation in Harlem as "good up until now" noting that people attempted to burglarize two businesses on 125th Street and another on 116th Street Monday night. Business owners choosing to board up their stores with plywood panels should "make sure they cannot easily be removed," according to the BID's notice.

Groups of looters have used mass protests as cover to ransack Manhattan businesses on Sunday and Monday nights. Most looting has been concentrated in retail districts such as SoHo and Midtown Manhattan's Herald Square. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio set a curfew for 11 p.m. on Monday, which did not deter looters. The mayor changed the curfew to 8 p.m. and extended it through the end of the week on Tuesday.

De Blasio characterized the looting as "a small situation with a small number of people doing looting, trying to take advantage of what they see around the country and this moment," during a Monday night interview with NY 1. Nearly 700 people were arrested in protests citywide on Monday night, police said.

The 125th Street Business Improvement District represents store owners and retail tenants on 125th Street between Morningside and Fifth Avenues.