{"id":494742,"date":"2026-01-05T19:25:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T19:25:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/494742\/"},"modified":"2026-01-05T19:25:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T19:25:12","slug":"wegmans-defends-use-of-facial-recognition-at-nyc-stores-citing-elevated-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/494742\/","title":{"rendered":"Wegmans defends use of facial recognition at NYC stores, citing ‘elevated risk\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

A spokesperson for Wegmans defended the use of facial recognition<\/a> at its Brooklyn and Manhattan locations, saying the popular supermarket chain only deploys the technology on a \u201ccase-by-case basis\u201d at stores with \u201celevated risk.\u201d<\/p>\n

The new statement from Wegmans came after a Gothamist report on new signage at the entrance to the store at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Some customers, as well as local and state legislators, said they were alarmed by the practice.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike many retailers, we use cameras to help identify individuals who pose a risk to our people, customers, or operation. In a small fraction of our stores that exhibit an elevated risk, we have deployed cameras equipped with facial recognition technology,\u201d Wegmans spokesperson Deana Percassi said in an email. \u201cIn New York City, we comply with local requirements by posting the mandated signage to notify customers about the technology.\u201d<\/p>\n

The supermarket\u2019s facial recognition system is used to identify people who \u201chave been previously flagged for misconduct,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cPersons of interest are determined by our asset protection team based on incidents occurring on our property and on a case-by-case basis, on information from law enforcement for criminal or missing persons cases. We do not share facial recognition scan data with any third party,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

A sign at the Navy Yard location of Wegmans.<\/p>\n

Liam Quigley<\/p>\n

Signage at the Wegmans locations in the city noted the stores collect \u201cbiometric identifier information\u201d that may include facial recognition, eye scans and voiceprints.<\/p>\n

But Percassi said in the statement that Wegmans does not collect retinal scans or voice prints, and that images and videos are retained only as long as they are needed for security purposes.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur goal is simple – to keep our stores safe and secure,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n

For years, NYPD officers have been regularly posted at the Navy Yard location. The NYPD did not immediately respond to questions about theft at the New York City locations.<\/p>\n

Following Gothamist\u2019s report, Monroe County Legislator Rachel Barnhart wrote a letter to Colleen Wegman<\/a>, the president of the Rochester-headquartered grocery chain, asking if Wegmans is also collecting data outside of New York City.<\/p>\n

\u201cBiometric data is uniquely sensitive. Unlike other consumer data, it cannot be changed if misused, misidentified, or improperly shared,\u201d Barnhart wrote in her Jan. 4 letter to Wegmans.<\/p>\n

\u201cWegmans has built its brand on trust and community connection. That trust depends on transparency that meets people where they are \u2014 not disclosures they discover only because a city law forces the issue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barnhart said that while Wegmans is a beloved part of the Rochester community, it is also a corporation that must be held accountable.<\/p>\n

In New York City, Councilmember Shahana Hanif has sponsored legislation to ban the collection of biometric data by stores entirely. Fairway supermarkets have employed similar practices, and Madison Square Garden has used facial recognition to eject unwanted patrons.<\/p>\n

\u201cBiometric data should not be collected, stored, or sold by private actors\u2014it poses a serious threat to our civil liberties,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m reintroducing this bill and I am hopeful it will move forward in the new session.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A spokesperson for Wegmans defended the use of facial recognition at its Brooklyn and Manhattan locations, saying the…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":494743,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-494742","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-new-york","10":"tag-new-york-city","11":"tag-newyork","12":"tag-newyorkcity","13":"tag-ny","14":"tag-nyc","15":"tag-united-states","16":"tag-united-states-of-america","17":"tag-unitedstates","18":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","19":"tag-us","20":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115844135550981153","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494742","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=494742"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494742\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/494743"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=494742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=494742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=494742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}