The protesters, mostly senior citizens, said the closing of the…
By Alexander Dworkowitz
More than 50 men and women braved the heat Monday morning and demonstrated in front of a closed Key Food Supermarket to protest the Whitestone store’s expected replacement by a CVS Pharmacy.
The protesters, mostly senior citizens, said the closing of the market on Francis Lewis Boulevard off 20th Road hurts those who cannot drive to more distant food stores.
“I depend on this,” said Barbara Goldberg, who lives near the store. “I don’t drive.”
Goldberg and others who do not own cars or are unable to drive said they were now forced to take public transportation or walk about a mile to the nearest supermarkets to do their shopping.
Enes Balsamo, who organized the rally, complained that CVS was not needed in Whitestone.
“We have seven drugstores from 35th to 14th Avenue” on Francis Lewis Boulevard, she said. “This will be No. 8.”
Balsamo criticized the Muss Development Co., which owns the property, for allowing Key Food to close.
“We want the owner to give something back,” she said.
Muss is a well-known name in the area surrounding the closed store. The company owns other pieces of property on Francis Lewis, and the Corporal Larry Muss Memorial Square, located a block from the shuttered Key Food, is named for a Muss family member killed in the Korean War.
Despite the assertion of residents, Stan Markowitz, senior vice president of Muss Development, said his company was not responsible for the decision two weeks ago to shut down the Key Food. CVS is planning to occupy the space, he said.
“We have nothing really to do with it,” Markowitz said.
He explained that contrary to a sign in the window of Key Food saying the business lost its lease, the lease between Muss and Tapps Supermarkets, which operated the Key Food, is still in effect until 2011.
Instead, Tapps decided to change the type of store it had placed in the location and Muss simply did not raise an objection.
“The supermarkets believe that there are too many markets on Francis Lewis Boulevard, and they are happy to see the elimination of one,” Markowitz added.
Tapps Supermarkets did not return phone calls for comment.
At the rally, City Councilman Tony Avella (D-Bayside) said he would get involved on behalf of the residents.
“This is the type of supermarket we need in our community,” Avella said. “Unfortunately, this is something that is happening. Key Food, Pathmark, Grand Union are closing up their local supermarkets because they say they are not profitable.”
Avella promised to call Muss Development to try to pressure the company to intervene.
Although he acknowledged there was little he could do legally, Avella said he thought the pressure could affect the developer, which he said counts on political backing for many of its projects throughout the city.
“If there is much community support for almost any issue, you can move mountains,” Avella said.
Reach reporter Alexander Dworkowitz by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 141.
