The Threat Against New Yorkâs Bodegas Alternate-side parking: In effect until Dec. 25 (Christmas). Image Credit...Desiree Rios for The New York Times Itâs the place to grab a loaf of bread â or toilet paper â when the grocery store is sold out, where New Yorkers can get a cup of coffee and a lotto ticket while scratching the bodega catâs ear. But as the pandemic continues and more people lose their jobs or fall on hard times, bodegas have increasingly become the targets of crime. [ The details In the first eight months of the pandemic, there was a 63 percent rise in shootings inside or in front of bodegas and corner stores.