Brooklyn socialist Assemblywoman Emily Gallagher has offered New Yorkers a remarkable new theory of retail law.
Stealing basic goods should apparently be excused when the thief claims a “biological need,” a standard that sounds more like activist theater than responsible government.
Gallagher presented her argument Thursday outside Manhattan Criminal Court while appearing with leftist politicians and criminal justice advocates from Court Watch NYC.
The organization said it monitored 360 arraignments across four days and found that more than half involved misdemeanor offenses.
The Greenpoint lawmaker characterized many of the cases as crimes rooted in poverty, pointing to people accused of taking soap and toothpaste.
“And that means if you’re stealing those things, you need them,” Gallagher said.
Gallagher portrayed the issue as a contest between struggling residents and wealthy corporations such as CVS and Walgreens.
She argued that the greater offense was the city’s wealth disparity, claiming people could face jail simply because of their “biological need.”
That framing conveniently skips past the neighborhood businesses, employees, and honest customers who absorb the cost of theft.
Corporations do not magically swallow losses forever, since higher prices, reduced hours, locked merchandise, and closed locations usually follow.
Gallagher, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, also promoted “treatment” instead of jail as the proper response.
WATCH:
Yet first-time shoplifting defendants rarely receive jail sentences, while years of weak enforcement have encouraged retailers to place everyday products behind plastic barriers.
The assembled activists also urged socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani to fulfill his campaign pledge to end broken windows policing.
That approach targets quality-of-life offenses such as graffiti and fare evasion before public disorder becomes something much uglier.
Shoppers at Food Universal supermarket in the Bronx were not impressed by Gallagher’s ideological spin.
“It’s foolish to think one should not be punished for stealing. It is a crime,” said Rev. Susan Webb, 68.
Academic adviser Jeanette Mack, 49, said politicians are enabling shoplifters rather than helping them.
“People are going to feel entitled because they know they can walk in and walk out and nothing will happen,” she said.
Mack, a single mother who once worked four jobs, said she never considered stealing.
She also worried that relaxed enforcement could force her local supermarket to close, leaving residents to travel farther and spend more money on gasoline.
Food Universal manager Edwin Pichado said Gallagher appeared detached from the financial reality facing neighborhood stores.
“We cannot run a business like that,” he said, noting that businesses must cover rent, workers, utilities, and inventory.
Pichado warned that thieves will return when they discover there are no consequences, and they will spread the word to others.
That is how an isolated theft problem becomes what he called a “free for all.”
The latest NYPD figures cited in the report showed retail theft down 14.7 percent through August 9 compared with the same period last year.
Petit larceny was also down 5.4 percent, progress that could quickly disappear if politicians formally turn theft into an excused activity.
Gallagher has generated controversy since entering the Assembly in January 2021.
She once used GoFundMe to raise money for emergency surgery for her cat, while also collecting dozens of traffic and parking tickets despite advancing an anti car agenda in Albany.
In 2024, Gallagher attended an anti Israel phone bank sponsored by the New Jersey chapter of American Muslims for Palestine.
Leaders connected to that organization have faced criticism over antisemitic rhetoric, while Virginia authorities have investigated possible financial links to terrorism.
Councilwoman Vickie Paladino accused Gallagher of deliberately enabling conduct that devastates retailers.
“People like Emily Gallagher try to obfuscate reality because they want to enable this very activity,” Paladino wrote, while former Queens Councilman Robert Holden called Gallagher “a major dope.”
Councilwoman Joann Ariola said businesses already struggling to keep their doors open could be pushed toward closure by politicians excusing thievery.
Gallagher did not respond to the newspaper’s request for comment, leaving taxpayers and shopkeepers to contemplate another dose of socialist logic.
