Chris Sciacco, the owner of Kaiya’s Pallets at 36-37 31st St. in Long Island City, told The Post his store is targeted as many as six times a week by
The 4,500-square-foot store opened in 2021 and in its first year in business, they only saw three thefts – two of which appeared to be homeless people who stole a candy bar or two, Sciacco said. But since the shelters opened in the past two years, it’s been practically every day – and “small stuff and large stuff” is regularly taken, said Sciacco, who pointed to a trio of examples in just the past two weeks.
Video surveillance from July 11 shows a man sauntering inside the store’s entrance around 11:30 a.m., then brazenly walking out with an entire pallet of Gatorade less than a minute later. When he said he reported the most recent theft in-person at the precinct, an officer allegedly told Sciacco, “‘Well, you should hire security.’
“It just goes to show that, frankly, people don’t care anymore,” said store manager Bobby Valiente, who showed The Post the baseball bat he is now keeping behind the cash register just in case — but, luckily, has never had to use.NASA's Curiosity rover makes 'mind-blowing' discovery on Mars