At the beginning of the work day, Juan Valerio, who owns Valerio Minimarket on Dyckman Street in Inwood, starts his daily routine by stocking candy, setting up the front counter, and engaging in the other myriad routines of running a 10-year-old business.

Between selling newspapers, cafes con leche, cigarettes, and the occasional phone card, he prepares small peanut baggies popular for sale in Northern Manhattan. "Aqui en la lucha [here in the struggle]," he replies when asked how he's doing.

Meanwhile Francisco Guasimo, the owner of Darlyn Food Corp., a well-stocked bodega on the corner of W. 207 Street and Vermileya Avenue, slings tostadas and coffee for breakfast at flashing speed while addressing his customers by name.

"Aqui trabajando por la vida [Here working to earn a living]," he explains.

The struggle, the work, is just one of the many things these two men in their 40s have in common. And although it hasn't crept into Washington Heights and Inwood yet, in the back of their minds is a constant fear that they will suffer from a recent wave of violence and crime that has swept through bodegas in other part of the city, particularly in the neighboring Bronx.

For years, bodegas have been the target of fast-cash-seeking criminals who prey on their vulnerability. As the economy continues to drag and people are pushed to tighten their belts, bodegas remain on the line as prime targets.

According to the Bodega Association of the United States, New York City's 13,000 bodegas are under siege. But the Association is planning to put up a fight.

Under the leadership of President Ramon Murphy and executive director Luis Ducasse, the association is making strides to unite bodega owners.

"We are looking to become more actively involved in the legislative process in order to both advocate and protect the interests of grocery store owners in New York," said Ducasse.

The hottest topic currently on the legislative table is the issue of security. A few weeks ago a bodega owner and his son were shot in Brooklyn. Last fall a bodeguero in Queens was shot dead.

According to the Bodega Association, a string of over 12 robberies in January and February targeted stores in the Fordham, Morrisania, Melrose and University Heights neighborhoods of the Bronx. The Association has met with the office of the Bronx district attorney and hopes to meet with top police brass and the mayor to come up with a solution.

The crimes resonate with those who remember the wave of violence in 2002 when 12 bodega owners were killed in the city. Then Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly launched a pilot program to install security cameras in bodegas in what were deemed high-risk neighborhoods. According to the Association, only 10 storefronts received the equipment.

On April 14, City Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez and Assembly Members Guillermo Linares, Nelson Castro, and Francisco Moya held a press conference at City Hall calling on the Bloomberg Administration to expand the security camera program.

"In Washington Heights and Inwood, bodegas help form the backbone of our community, and they provide a unique opportunity for many immigrants to make their way into the middle class," Rodriguez said. "However, bodega owners also face unique risks and even death."

In 2002, when the Safe Store pilot program ended, City Council Member Joel Rivera funded an additional 50 cameras for bodegas in his Bronx district.

"Unfortunately, the number of crimes, robberies and attacks in New York City bodegas has not diminished and is not going away," Rivera said in a statement. "The use of security cameras is one security measure that can be implemented to help NYPD identify and arrest suspects and possibly deter future robberies and attacks."

Valerio, who owns the Dyckman Street bodega, said he considers his street relatively safe and doesn't feel threatened very often. Nevertheless, aware of the incidents that have transpired in the Bronx, he worries that if the economy doesn't rebound soon, things could change. Then he would want to install security cameras.

"I tried having the cameras installed, but I'd have to invest a few thousand dollars and I just can't afford it," he said. "If the city was willing to at least fund a part of the expense, then it would make it more affordable, but for now I just cannot install them."

But the majority of bodegueros are not advocating such extreme measures.

Guasimo, owner of the W. 207th Street bodega that opened five years ago, believes that bringing guns into his place of business would only lead to bigger problems.

"Someone is bound to lose their life," he said. "Having a gun won't keep me safer, it will make things more dangerous."

Instead, Guasimo, whose bodega is outfitted with eight surveillance cameras, believes that police presence in the neighborhood should be beefed up. "We need police to hang around the block a little more. We need them to do more than just circle the block," he said. "When you have a police presence it deters other issues."

As executive director for the Bodega Association, Ducasse said that the organization is interested in creating training programs, from food safety and handling to protection and crime prevention. So far, the Association has held meetings about tax filing procedures, licenses and permits, and regulations against counterfeit products.

"If we educate and train the bodega owners then they can conduct better business and be more successful while remaining safe," Ducasse said.

Between a steady stream of customers and coffee-seeking morning commuters, bodeguero Guasimo said that he doesn't necessarily feel safe but he feels comfortable in a neighborhood where people know him and look out for him. Imagining what would happen if he was ever victim of a crime, he said that the money a criminal could take could never equal the value of his life.

"We need to be civil, and take care of each other," he said. "We're all working hard and those in charge should be trying to protect us."