State Assemblywoman Emily Gallagher has sparked outrage after declaring that shoplifters have a right to steal basic necessities from drugstores because of their “biological need.”
Gallagher, who represents Greenpoint and other sections of northern Brooklyn, made the remarks at a news conference outside Manhattan Criminal Court last Thursday alongside other left-leaning politicians and criminal justice advocates with Court Watch NYC. The group claimed it monitored 360 arraignments over four days and found more than half were for misdemeanor offenses.
“Most of what we saw were crimes of poverty-people who are stealing things like toothpaste, people who were stealing things like, you know, soap. And that means if you’re stealing those things, you need them,” Gallagher said at the event.
“And we are choosing to protect billion-dollar companies, like CVS and Walgreens, over the people who are struggling to get by. 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.”
The Democratic Socialists of America member also called on fellow socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani to follow through on his campaign promise to end “broken windows policing” tactics by NYPD cops that target quality-of-life crimes like graffiti and fare evasion. She said she would continue to push for “treatment-not-jail” punishments for offenders.
Shoppers at Food Universal supermarket in The Bronx’s Co-op City pushed back hard against Gallagher’s framing. Rev. Susan Webb, 68, told The Post that sanctioning theft sends the wrong message entirely.
“It’s foolish to think one should not be punished for stealing. It is a crime,” Webb said. “Mamdani can implement that in his [city-run grocery] stores, so if you don’t have the necessities, you can go there and get them for free.”
Jeanette Mack, a 49-year-old academic adviser, said Gallagher and other far-left politicians’ soft-on-crime policies are “ridiculous” because “they are enabling [shoplifters] instead of helping them.”
“People are going to feel entitled because they know they can walk in and walk out and nothing will happen,” Mack continued. “Allowing people to shoplift with no consequence is wrong. I’m a single mom and at one time I had four jobs. I would never think of stealing anything.”
Mack added that her local Rite Aid had already closed, and she feared more stores would follow if theft were effectively decriminalized. “They already closed a Rite Aid around here. Now I’m worried that if they put that in place, they are definitely going to close this supermarket, and I would suffer because I’d have to drive to somewhere else instead of walking. And gas price nowadays, that’s another thing.”
Edwin Pichado, 33, a manager for the supermarket, said Gallagher is living in a fantasy world.
“Rent is high,” He said. “You have to pay workers, utilities. Goods going out, but no money coming in. We cannot run a business like that. If they see that you do nothing, they’ll keep coming back. They tell their friends, and it becomes a free for all.”
Critics scorched Gallagher’s latest remarks on social media and in statements to the press. Councilwoman Vickie Paladino, a Republican from Queens, wrote on X that “People like Emily Gallagher try to obfuscate reality because they want to enable this very activity.”
“They know it’s devastating to retail stores and that’s the point — 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 drug stores to replace the shops they drove out of business.”
Former Queens Councilman Robert Holden, a moderate Democrat, was even more blunt.
“[Gallagher] is a major dope,” Holden wrote.
Councilwoman Joann Ariola, another Queens Republican, told The Post that 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. “Policies that Gallagher is pushing are exactly what’s driving so many of them away.”
In the viral moment that brought Gallagher to wider attention, the assemblywoman had already built a record of controversial actions since taking office in January 2021. She used a GoFundMe campaign in October 2021 to raise money for her cat Roland’s emergency surgery bill, and has reportedly racked up dozens of traffic and parking tickets despite pushing an anti-car agenda in Albany. She has also allegedly blocked constituents from posting comments she doesn’t like on her social media pages. In 2024, she attended an anti-Israel phone bank sponsored by the New Jersey chapter of American Muslims for Palestine, whose leaders have espoused antisemitic rhetoric and are under investigation by Virginia’s attorney general for potentially funding terrorists. Her past also includes a 2003 online journal from her time at Ithaca College where she boasted about immature antics including mooning a couple she spied having sex and throwing a “homeless party” — writings that surfaced during her 2020 campaign when she defeated longtime Democratic incumbent Joe Lentol.
Gallagher did not return a request for comment by The Post.