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A New York democratic socialist lawmaker’s referral to shoplifting being the result of a “biological need” is getting swift blowback.
New York state Assemblywoman Emily Gallagher suggested this week that aggressive prosecution of theft of items like soap and toothpaste was wrongheaded, saying 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.”
“This is exactly the wrong way to talk about crime and poverty. Poverty can help explain why someone commits an offense,” former Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg told Digital. “It should matter when prosecutors decide how to handle a case. But poverty is not a permission slip to steal.”
Aronberg, who now leads his own law firm, rejected the suggestion that prosecution necessarily means incarceration and pointed to alternatives available for first-time offenders.
New York state Assemblywoman Emily Gallagher said at a Manhattan news conference that people who steal toothpaste and soap do so because they need the products. (LightRocket via Getty Images)
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“Suggesting that someone who steals toothpaste for the first time is automatically being thrown in jail creates a false picture of how the system actually works. Prosecution does not have to mean incarceration,” Aronberg said. “There are diversion programs, treatment, conditional dispositions and other ways to impose accountability without ruining someone’s life.”
Retired New York Police Department Sgt. Joe Imperatrice, founder of Blue Lives Matter NYC and a retired NYPD supervisor with more than 20 years of law enforcement experience, said politicians should focus on crime victims rather than make excuses for offenders. He also defended the policing strategy Gallagher wants New York City to abandon.
“Broken Windows is a proven theory which holds people accountable for their actions and rightfully so,” Imperatrice said. “The tides are turning and everyday New Yorkers are getting sick and tired of this reckless narrative.”
“In the very near future we will thank all of these ridiculous so-called ‘leaders’ for pushing the needle so far left that the great days of the late 90’s and early 2000’s will be resurrected better than ever before,” he added.
Former Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg told Digital that poverty can explain theft but is not “a permission slip to steal.” (Getty Images)
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Gallagher, who represents Greenpoint and Williamsburg in Brooklyn, made the remarks Thursday outside Manhattan Criminal Court during a news conference with Court Watch NYC and other lawmakers. She described misdemeanor theft cases involving basic necessities as “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.
Gallagher contrasted struggling New Yorkers with large drugstore chains and argued that wealth inequality was the greater offense.
“And we are choosing to protect billion-dollar companies, like CVS and Walgreens, over the people who are struggling to get by,” she said.
Organizers said Court Watch NYC monitored 360 arraignments over four days and found more than half involved misdemeanor offenses.
Retired NYPD Sgt. Joe Imperatrice defended broken windows policing and said elected leaders should focus on crime victims rather than excuse offenders. (LightRocket via Getty Images)
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Gallagher and her allies also urged Mayor Zohran Mamdani to end “broken windows policing.” Mamdani entered office promising to shift some responses to homelessness, mental illness and low-level disorder away from police while maintaining enforcement against serious violent crime.
The NYPD reported retail theft declined 16.3% citywide during the first half of 2026 compared with the same period last year. The department attributed the decline to analyzing crime patterns, deploying officers at high-theft locations and conducting sustained investigations.
Aronberg also warned that Gallagher’s argument could damage the Democratic Party politically by allowing Republicans to portray the party as unconcerned about crime.
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“Democrats should reject the idea that enforcing laws against theft is somehow incompatible with caring about poverty. That is bad policy, and politically it is a gift to Republicans who want to portray Democrats as indifferent to public safety,” Aronberg said.
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Digital reached out to Gallagher for further comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
