Park Slope Deli Owner Tries to Shame Shoplifters Thieves of the Week video

A fed up Brooklyn deli owner has come up with a new way to try to stop a group of local teenagers from stealing from his popular Park Slope store again – public shaming.

Majid Arbahri, owner of the Green Olives Deli & Grill Juice Bar on Seventh Avenue, began playing a Thieves of the Week video behind the counter, hoping it would deter a group of troubled local high school girls from blindly robbing him.

“The first time I caught them about four weeks ago, I told them I would if they repeated the theft,” Arbahri, 25, told The Post on Wednesday.

“They said they were going to do it again and then they did it again,” he said. “There are other people who steal. We catch them and tell them to leave it and never come back and they don’t come back. But these people, they don’t feel embarrassed.

“They steal and come again and again,” he said.

The 30-second video shows four schoolgirls entering the store, with at least one of them stuffing her coat pockets with chips and other snacks, while the rest stand guard.

Therefore, Arbakhri took drastic measures.

They eventually leave without paying.

“I told them if you guys need something I can give you because sometimes people call and order sandwiches and they don’t take them,” Arbahri said. “I told them, ‘We can give you sandwiches for free.’

“But they just want to steal,” he said. “It’s fun for them. But for us, it’s a business.”

Paul Martinka

Paul Martinka

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Paul Martinka

Paul Martinka

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Other students at the John Jay Education Campus, an all-girls school about four blocks away, told The Post that the video had little effect on the alleged thieves.

“They laughed at it,” said 16-year-old student Jose Robles. – They have a problem. They do not care. They just don’t want to go to the store anymore. They said they regret it, but I highly doubt it.

“I just think it’s stupid to come here to steal,” Robles said. They have money, I’m sure.

Arbahri said he has spread the word about the video to other John Jay students who frequent Green Olives, but is not sure the public stigma is producing the desired results.

“I don’t think they were even embarrassed,” he said. “Someone told me they like it. They don’t want to come back, but it doesn’t bother them.”

He said he even talked to the principal of the school and sent him a video.

“He said they did it outside the school, so there is nothing they can do,” Arbahri said. “I told him, ‘At least you can tell them it’s a bad habit.’

A drastic video shame ploy comes as Park Slope merchants rebel against a surge in shoplifting and theft in the area.

The Post reported on Tuesday that the number of petty and major thefts in the area has skyrocketed by 55% in the first nine months of 2022 compared to 2021.