By Alexander Dworkowitz
Addressing the concerns of angry Whitestone residents, Councilman Tony Avella (D-Bayside) has proposed squeezing extra space out of a shutdown Key Food Supermarket to allow both a CVS Pharmacy and a food market to share the property.
Avella has spoken with the Muss Development Co., which owns the property, and CVS about plans for the property at the intersection of Francis Lewis Boulevard and 20th Road in Whitestone.
About 50 men and women demonstrated in front of the site July 29 to protest the closing of the Key Food market and CVS’s intentions to open a pharmacy in its place.
The protesters, mostly seniors, said they relied on Key Food for shopping. Several seniors said they could not drive or had no access to a car. They worried about walking to other supermarkets, the nearest of which are about a mile away.
Avella said he hoped he could keep a food market on the property through negotiations with Muss and CVS.
CVS has expressed interest in using only 13,000 square feet of the available 16,000 square feet of the old Key Food space, according to Stan Markowitz, senior vice president of Muss.
Avella said he was trying to convince Muss to allow the space to be used for a food market and was asking CVS to give up a little more of its square footage.
“I’m trying to get enough space out of it,” Avella said. “I’m hopeful that we may be able to resolve something here. The community needs a supermarket.”
But Markowitz said his company had no plans to bring a market into the remaining space.
“We’re not looking to bring in food,” he said. “CVS has already said they are going to have a food operation in there.”
Markowitz said Muss was talking with several companies, including Blockbuster Entertainment, about leasing the remaining square footage.
Mike DeAngelis, a spokesman for CVS, questioned whether his organization’s giving up some square footage would provide enough room for a market in an era when supermarkets are growing larger and larger.
Nevertheless, he said his company was open to speaking with Avella.
“We are certainly always willing to discuss concerns with local elected officials,” he said.
In attempt to appease residents, CVS has planned to sell more food at the Whitestone location than it typically does .
“We will be offering some staple food items, such as eggs, milk, bread and frozen foods,” DeAngelis said.
While residents said CVS was not needed in the community, a spokesman for Tapps Supermarkets, which leases the property from Muss, disagreed.
Pat Conte, controller of Tapps, said Key Food was underused.
“The community did not patronize the store,” he said. “We are in the business to make a profit. They have no one to blame but themselves.”
Residents’ concerns, however, extended beyond the nature of the new store.
For years, Francis Lewis Boulevard has been a teenage hangout and a destination for drag racing.
Key Food’s parking lot also was a trouble spot in the eyes of residents.
“It was a teenage hangout and a garbage dump,” said Enes Balsamo, who organized the recent protest against CVS.
Sick of the disturbances, residents pushed police and politicians for help. In 1989, parking on parts of the street after 10 p.m. became illegal.
That same year Muss agreed to put a fence around the Key Food parking lot, closing the lot at 9 p.m.
Residents said they feared CVS would keep the lot open all night, allowing it to become a gathering spot once again.
“The cars are going in and out, and they are going to make noise,” said Nancy Cardillo, whose bedroom fronts the lot. “It gives more of a chance for the kids going in there.”
DeAngelis said the Whitestone location was not currently slated to become a 24-hour store.
“The majority of our stores on the week nights close at nine.”
Reach reporter Alexander Dworkowitz by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300 Ext. 141.
