Here’s an update on the situation at the Cherry Street Pathmark store, which is scheduled to close in less than five weeks. When we stopped by yesterday, workers said they still believe the last day in business for the supermarket will be December 22nd (a date that is reflected on a hand-written countdown poster in the front window). But anyone who’s tried shopping there recently knows operations are already being dialed down. In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, most of the refrigerators remain bare, although a few frozen turkeys were available. There are signs up everywhere advertising deep discounts and warning, ‘all sales are final.” It’s pretty clear the store is not being restocked.
This week, Victor Papa of the Two Bridges Neighborhood Council hopes to meet with Pathmark management. He wants to follow up on several issues brought up at an earlier meeting, including a proposal to set up a shuttle to take Lower East Side residents to other Pathmark locations in the New York area. This month, Papa went before a committee of Community Board 3 to update his organizations efforts to deal with both the short and long-term impacts of the Pathmark closure. At the meeting, he reiterated the belief that Extell Development Corp. has acquired Pathmark’s Cherry Street lease and plans a large luxury residential development on the site.
Tonight, Two Bridges will be holding a community meeting for residents of buildings it operates in the vicinity of the Pathmark store. They’ll also discuss plans for a consumer survey to help “develop… future plans to address the issue of access to affordable, healthy food in (the) neighborhood.”
