By Connor Adams Sheets
Hundreds of Flushing residents and their leaders are gearing up to fight the rumored closing of the Key Food supermarket at the intersection of Roosevelt Avenue and Bowne Street.
The only full-service grocery store of its kind in the immediate neighborhood serves a need which many residents cannot find elsewhere, said Mary Boroz, who has lived across from the current site of the store for 35 years.
“It’s going to make it very difficult for me and other people in the neighborhood because we don’t have another market like that near here,” said Boroz, who visits the store almost daily. “There’s a very small market about four blocks away.”
A spokesman for the company said he could not comment on whether the store would be shuttered, but did offer one comment.
“There’s no deal to close the store,” he said, without further explanation.
Key Food shoppers have heard rumors the shop will close at the end of the month and said the store has stopped receiving deliveries.
Even whispers that the grocery may be closing have the ability to ignite passion among Flushing residents, and on Saturday hundreds of people gathered in front of the shop in order to decry the possible shuttering.
More than 1,300 people, including City Councilman Peter Koo (R-Flushing), state Assemblywoman Grace Meng (D-Flushing) and state Sen. Toby Stavisky (D-Whitestone) signed a petition in support of keeping the store open.
Koo said he understands that with the opening of BJ’s Wholesale Club in Sky View Parc and the influx of Asian Americans into Flushing, it may be harder for the store to stay in business, but it is important for residents to have a place to purchase staples and non-specialty items.
“I hope the proprietors hear the community’s plea and decide to stay and conduct business here in Flushing. I will encourage Key Food management to stay here in our thriving community,” Koo said. “Flushing may very well be the most diverse place in the world and everyone in this community should be treated equally. If Key Food makes the final decision to sell, I promise that I will work with the new owners to ensure that they meet with the community to understand the consumer needs of local residents.”
His remarks, along with those of many nearby residents, pointed to the racial implications of the issue, as longtime residents lamented what they described as a dwindling number of businesses that cater to their specific desires.
“The neighborhood has had enough of Asian markets. We have one on every corner,” Boroz said. “We need something that’s a little bit more diverse. We’re going to try our hardest to keep the store open.”
Reach reporter Connor Adams Sheets by e-mail at csheets@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4538.
