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After a string of incidents on the Lower East Side—like the burglary and subsequent attack on Pilgrim's store owner—retailers downtown met up with the Lower East Side Business Improvement District, Community Board No. 3 and the 7th Precinct Community Council to set up a game plan. Cops from the 7th precinct provided merchants with some obvious tips on how to deter shoplifters, like suggesting they keep the store well-lit, use video cameras, and notify police if suspicious people are hanging around the buildings. All well and good, but store owners were a little pissed off at the cops for writing parking tickets during the Pilgrim attack instead of calling for backup. [Bowery Boogie]