As we have been reporting, the Cherry Street Pathmark store is on its last legs. Although it’s scheduled to close by the end of next month to make way for a big luxury residential project, the shelves are already pretty bare and the grocery is not being restocked. Two Bridges Neighborhood Council, which played a major role in luring Pathmark to the Lower East Side years ago, is beginning to come up with a long-range plan to full a big gap in the neighborhood’s fresh food supply. They have hired a consultant, James Johnson-Plett of Urbane Development, to help facilitate the planning process. He’s overseeing a community survey to get a sense of shopping patterns, income levels and overall needs when it comes to retail food establishments. That survey is available online here. It takes about 5-7 minutes to fill out.
There was a small group who thought about trying to organize a food cooperative in the LES. It never got anywhere. This is way over due. It doesn’t have to be one like the Park Slope Co-op in Brooklyn that is only open to members. Food Co-ops can be open to the public if the membership wants it that way. Anybody out there interested in doing the homework and researching the feasibility of the community investing in and governing a Food Co-op in the LES?