One thing they are, is cowards all.
If I lived in gun free New York, I would see a lawyer about the legality of owning a clone civil war era black powder pistol. It is only 6 shots and you have to pack each cyclinder by hand, but it would be better than nothing. In many places, a black powder pistol is considered a firearm “accessory” and not a firearm itself. In a crunch like this, it is a lot better than defending your business with a 2-x-4 and getting beaten with it. One shot from a smoke belching black powder gun should scatter the rats back to their hidey holes.
One shot was *not* enough to run off a mob in my experience back in LA in 1992.