FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM MAY 16, 2019 • THE QUEENS COURIER 11
Queens pols turn up heat on Astoria landlord to save supermarket
BY MAX PARROTT
mparrott@qns.com
@QNS
Astoria elected offi cials, labor activists,
grocery store employees and community
leaders rallied on Friday, May 10, to save the
Astoria Key Food supermarket from being
pushed out of the neighborhood aft er over
40 years of business.
Th e building’s landlord Jenel Management
recently fi led demolition permits for the
22-15 31st St. property in order to build a
three-story Target at the site.
Speakers at the rally, led by state Senator
Jessica Ramos, pressured Jenel to work
with Key Food on a lease that would allow
it to stay at the property with the big-box
store, retaining the unions jobs that the
store provides.
“Target is not only trying to open one
but two stores in my district, attempting to
essentially whitewash and do away without
mom-and-pop shops, including a Key
Food supermarket that our neighborhood
has depended on for decades,” said Ramos.
Ramos argued her case on the terms
that Target’s two forthcoming developments
in the borough, on the Astoria
property as well as in Elmhurst, hurt local
businesses and eliminate union jobs. She
added that Key Foods, has worked with
local stores in the area.
State Senator Michael Gianaris, who
took the podium aft er Ramos, said that
the grocer was uniquely situated to cater
State Senator Jessica Ramos addresses the May 10 rally calling for the Astoria Key Food to remain open.
to the neighborhood’s senior population
who won’t be able to walk to other surrounding
stores without it.
“We understand your greed, but you need
to also think about the community you
hope to join,” said Gianaris. “If you want
us to shop at your Target, you better hope
there is a Key Food in this building as well.”
About 60 of the Astoria Key Food
employees are unionized as a part of
UFCW Local 1500. Key Food franchise
owner Larry Mandell, who was present at
the rally, told QNS that he plans to continue
fi ghting to stay at the location.
“Larry is one of the bosses who we work
with and get contracts with every year without
a strike, without a problem. He’s a man
of his word. We love him. I’ll say that publicly.
We love you,” said Tony Speelman,
president of UFCW Local 1500.
Th e development of the new Target is
slated to begin when the Key Foods lease
ends in 2020. Th ough the ground fl oor
and lower level of the new development
are reported to be designated for retail, it
remains unclear whether Jenel will permit
the grocery store to stay terms that the grocer
deems to be favorable.
Michael Hirschorn, the president of
Jenel Management, has said that talks
with Key Food suspended three months
ago when the grocer turned down a deal
Photo: Max Parrott/QNS
to occupy 25,000 square feet of space in
the new building.
Nicholas Roloson, chief of staff
for Astoria Councilman Costa
Constantinides, stood in for the councilman,
who was absent due to a family
emergency. Roloson rebuff ed Hirschorn’s
account of the negotiation process.
“We are seeing mischaracterizations
that Key Food was off ered discounts to
operate in the basement of this building.
Does that sound like a fair deal operating
in the basement of this building?” Rolson
said. “We are here to ask now to stop
ignoring the will of the community and
to say here that we need Key Food here.”
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