Hell for Heastie’s neighbors

Bx. retail crime fear

Retail employees near state Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie’s Bronx office say they are regularly forced to deal with violent armed shoplifters — and live in constant fear they’ll be the next Big Apple store worker attacked on the job.

“How can you not feel fear? I’m scared all the time. It could happen to me, too,” said Fkouro Mk, 60, a beauty-salon worker on same block as the district office of the powerful Albany pol — who last week infamously rebuffed proposed tough-oncrime penalties for those who violently target retail employees.

Abid Taher, 22, who works at the nearby Total by Verizon phone store, added to The Post on Tuesday, “We can’t do business like this.

“We’re scared every time — I have to keep the door locked and check to see if they have a ski mask on,” the young clerk said of people trying to enter.

Taher, who was once threatened with a knife when he confronted a shoplifter, said his store has been hit up by a gun-wielding perp four times in the past year alone.

“We think it’s the same person. He robs again, gets bail, and in a few days he comes again,” the worker said, noting the last incident was just two weeks ago.

“They’re getting bail so easily. They should be getting jail time,” Taher said of suspects.

A frightened store clerk who works at the deli opposite Heastie’s office said he and his colleagues are regularly targeted by armed offenders, too.

“We’ve been hit so many times, and people threaten to come back and shoot us,” said the worker, who was too scared to give his name.

“Every day, we’re facing the same situation.”

“How can Heastie [inset] say no to more penalties? It will improve safety for us,” said Taher. “We don’t want to get shot over money and phones.”

Noah Ali, who works at the local Best Fresh Fruit & Fish Market, raged, “I have a question for him — if he’s saying raising the penalties are not going to work, then what is he doing about it?

“What is he doing in the first place to help us out? At the end of the day, we’re the ones supporting him. We’re the businesses in this area. And it’s not what can he do, it’s what is he doing? It’s frustrating,” the 23-yearold worker added.

Heastie doubled down on his remarks Tuesday, telling reporters in Albany, “I was simply asked a question of, ‘Do I believe that increasing penalties deters crime?’ and I gave a simple answer, ‘No, I don’t believe in the history of increasing penalties has that ever been the reason that crime has gone down.’ I’d love somebody to give me an example as to when that happened.”

Additional reporting by Carl Campanile, Vaughn Golden and Kyle Schnitzer