A Brooklyn lawmaker is facing intense backlash after suggesting that stealing everyday essentials like soap and toothpaste shouldn’t result in arrest ā arguing that people who take those items are simply responding to a “biological need.” The remarks have sparked outrage across the city.
State Assemblywoman Emily Gallagher made the controversial comments Thursday during a news conference outside Manhattan Criminal Court, joined by fellow progressive politicians and advocates from Court Watch NYC. The group claims it tracked 360 arraignments over four days and found more than half involved misdemeanor charges.
According to Gallagher, who represents Greenpoint and surrounding Brooklyn neighborhoods, many of those cases came down to what she described as “crimes of poverty.”
“People are stealing things like toothpaste, people were stealing things like, you know, soap. And that means if you’re stealing those things, you need them,” she said.
The Democratic Socialists of America member went on to argue that the real problem isn’t shoplifting ā it’s the wealth gap that leaves people unable to afford basic necessities.
“We are choosing to protect billion-dollar companies, like CVS and Walgreens, over the people who are struggling to get by,” Gallagher said. “So I would say that the true crime is that there is such incredible wealth disparity in this city that there are people who can be thrown in jail simply for having a biological need.”
Gallagher says she’ll keep pushing for what she calls “treatment-not-jail” approaches to petty crime. But critics point out that first-time shoplifting suspects rarely see jail time anyway ā and that the softer enforcement pushed by progressive lawmakers has already forced many drugstores to lock everyday products behind plastic cases.
The lawmaker and her allies also used the event to pressure newly elected socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani to follow through on his campaign pledge to end “broken windows policing” ā the NYPD strategy that targets quality-of-life offenses like graffiti and fare evasion.
Outrage wasn’t limited to political circles. Shoppers at Food Universal supermarket in The Bronx’s Co-op City told reporters they were stunned by Gallagher’s remarks, warning that giving theft a pass would drive up costs for law-abiding customers.
Rev. Susan Webb, 68, didn’t mince words: “It’s foolish to think one should not be punished for stealing. It is a crime.”
Webb added that if Mamdani wants to test that approach, he could start with his own city-run grocery stores ā offering free essentials there instead of encouraging theft everywhere else.
Jeanette Mack, a 49-year-old academic adviser, called the soft-on-crime stance “ridiculous,” saying Gallagher and other far-left 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,” Mack said.
The single mom recalled juggling four jobs at one point and said she would never consider stealing. She also worried about the ripple effects ā pointing to a Rite Aid that already closed in her area and wondering if her local supermarket could be next.
Edwin Pichado, 33, who manages the supermarket, accused Gallagher of living in a fantasy world.
“Rent is high. You have to pay workers, utilities. Goods going out, but no money coming in.
We cannot run a business like that,” Pichado said. “If they see that you do nothing, they’ll keep coming back. They tell their friends, and it becomes a free for all.”
This isn’t Gallagher’s first brush with controversy. Since taking office in January 2021, she’s racked up a long list of eyebrow-raising moments ā including a GoFundMe campaign in October 2021 to cover her cat Roland’s emergency surgery, dozens of traffic and parking tickets despite pushing an anti-car agenda in Albany, and accusations that she blocked constituents from posting comments on her social media pages.
According to reports, Gallagher also attended an anti-Israel phone bank in 2024 sponsored by the New Jersey chapter of American Muslims for Palestine ā an organization whose leaders have allegedly promoted antisemitic rhetoric and are under investigation by Virginia’s attorney general.
Her unusual history goes back even further. During her 2020 campaign against longtime Democratic incumbent Joe Lentol, an old online journal surfaced from her time at Ithaca College in 2003. In it, she reportedly boasted about mooning a couple she caught having ššš and throwing what she called a “homeless party.”
Fellow politicians were quick to slam Gallagher’s latest comments.
Councilwoman Vickie Paladino (R-Queens) took to X to accuse Gallagher of intentionally enabling theft. “People like Emily Gallagher try to obfuscate reality because they want to enable this very activity,” Paladino wrote. “They know it’s devastating to retail stores and that’s the point ā they’re communists and want to use crime to force these stores to close.
It’s social justice.”
Paladino added: “Soon enough we’ll be hearing about the need for government-run š¹ššš stores to replace the shops they drove out of business.”
Former Queens Councilman Robert Holden, a moderate Democrat, was far blunter, writing that Gallagher is “a major dope.”
Councilwoman Joann Ariola (R-Queens) said Gotham businesses are already struggling to keep their lights on, and politicians “now advocating for thievery is going to push even more of them to close shop.”
“This is the kind of backwards, left-wing lunacy I would expect from someone who values the rights of criminals more than those of business owners,” Ariola said.
Interestingly, NYPD data as of Aug. 9 actually shows retail theft down 14. 7% and petit larceny down 5.
4% compared with the same period last year.
Gallagher did not respond to requests for comment.
As the fight over shoplifting and punishment heats up in New York City, one big question remains: where exactly do you draw the line between compassion for the struggling and protecting local businesses?
