For such a well regarded city, New York City has always shown
itself to be notorious in ignoring certain issues unless called out on
it. From Tammany Hall to Bloomberg, this common thread has hurt
and in some cases, helped natives of this city. One recent example of
this that has hit the newspapers has been the discovery that a few
bodegas in the Bronx have been busted selling alcohol to teenagers
for five bucks a pop. Every politico attached has expressed outrage,
and my reaction can summed up in one question:

Where the hell have you all BEEN?

I remember visiting a certain bodega on Linden Boulevard back
in my high school days. It did a lot of business despite closing a
couple of hours earlier than similar spots, no mean feat when
there were three other bodegas in that two block radius. There
were two reasons for this. One was the Street Fighter II machine
they put in the back. That guaranteed daily visits by the afterschool
crowd. The other was the fact that they were selling shots on the
humble over the counter...and age was not an issue. Wild Turkey,
Souther Comfort, or 151 depending on the day. Every teenager
in the 'hood knew about it, and quite a few took advantage. So
it doesn't surprise me that this is happening because the truth is,
it always was. There was even an older sister selling a mixed
drink(and I'm being kind)called Nutcracker out of a plastic bag
while I was on line for a concert at BB King's a couple of months
ago.

The main reason why this is happening is the fact that some
bodega and corner store owners have one set strategy which
gets dictated by times of economic struggle such as what we're
in now: teenagers are your best consumers, and it is best to
take advantage of that any way you can. Think about it. If you
grew up in NYC and your teen years covered the late 1980's and
early 1990's, a good deal of that time was spent at the corner
store or bodega. That's why a lot of people reminisce over 40
ounces and St.Ides Special Brews and other low cost beers.
A shot of liquor adds extra profit across the board. The same
principle that has eateries offer student menus gets twisted to
sell liquor to children. The rub is, teens won't speak up 'cause
this is the period of their life where this is part of their fun.
And any store owner is going to flat out deny it because they
risk getting shut down by the city. That bodega I mentioned
earlier? They got shut down by the police, and never fully
recovered. Even a change of management didn't help, and
that bodega is now a record shop.

If people want to stop this from happening, understand two
things. First, someone, somewhere will sell to teens because
money is money. Parents and community groups need to do
their due diligence and go to these store owners and let them
know the police will be watching along with them. The second
thing is, be mindful of your teen's behavior. Teens have a lot
of ways to communicate, but not necessarily with their parents.
Get involved and let them know it's for their safety and no
other reason. Because they know it's not the best thing for
them either. And this way the only Nutcrackers they can be
concerned about would be for the holidays.