Mayor Zohran Mamdani is too busy obsessing over his image to help prevent tragedies such as the fatal shooting of an ex-Finest’s innocent 12-year-old as he walked to a bodega, a prominent activist charged Sunday.
Fernando Mateo, founder of United Bodega Owners of America, slammed the lefty mayor for watching a FIFA World Cup game with inmates at Rikers Island in a publicity stunt earlier this month while rampant gunplay continues to plague the city’s streets — claiming the life of beloved young Jacob Freytas on Saturday.
“Where is Mamdani?” Mateo seethed at outside the Mount Eden bodega where the boy was shot.
“We know what the remedy is because we’ve lived through this before. The remedy is very simple: The governor, the mayor, instead of having a day out watching a FIFA game at Rikers with criminals, be advocating for victims,’’ Mateo said.
“Protect the victims and their families.”
The tragic youngster was at the Wanda Deli Grocery at Elliott Place near the Grand Concourse shortly before 5 p.m. Saturday to buy a ball when shots rang out outside as part of a dispute between six people, law-enforcement sources said.
Jacob ran out to hop back on his bike and flee — but was seen on dramatic security video obtained by The Post then stumbling back into the store clutching his chest moments later before he fatally collapsed.
Sources said his father is a former NYPD sergeant in The Bronx.
Mateo said the bodega owners group is offering a $5,000 reward for the killers.
“This is directed to the governor and the mayor of this city,” he said. “Let’s get tough on crime. Let’s stop giving a pass.”
Despite the tragic shooting, NYPD stats show that shootings and murders in the five boroughs at historic lows — but Mateo said too many neighborhoods are still plagued.
