Residents Protest Drug Sales at Bodega on 198th

By JORDAN MOSS

Parishioners from Our Lady of Refuge Church in Fordham Bedford marched to Ocoa Grocery on East 198th St. in Fordham Bedford on Jan. 12 to protest the business's alleged involvement in drug sales. On Dec. 27, two undercover officers purchased $12,000 worth of Ecstasy from a man working in the bodega. When police signaled for backup, the suspect pulled a gun on the two officers, and the officers fired at the man, hitting him in the buttocks. The incident resulted in three arrests and the seizure of $100,000 in Ecstasy and three ounces of cocaine.

"The point of the march was to let the community know what was going on at the store and to let them to know that they were selling drugs out of the store," said John Garcia, the director of Fordham Bedford Children's Services. About 40 participants held signs that urged their neighbors to boycott the grocery.

Monsignor John Jenik, Our Lady of Refuge's pastor, has been leading monthly vigils for several years at various sites in the community where drugs are sold.

Jenik also is chair of the board of Fordham Bedford Housing Corporation, the nonprofit that is coincidentally Ocoa Grocery's landlord. The corporation is working with the district attorney to evict Ocoa and is no longer accepting rent from the business.