Abrupt Closing of Brooklyn Grocery Upsets Community

The eighty year-old owner of the Key Food supermarket on Prospect Avenue in Windsor Terrace has informed his employees that as of June 16th they will no longer be employed at the 30 year-old grocery store. As of June 30th the shop, the only one of its kind within about a mile of this location, will be completely empty of its wares.

One resident, Gloria Gray, says that she has always walked to the nearby store. Now she is forced to contemplate where she will go for her supplies.

“There aren’t a lot of options,” said Gray. “You gotta walk down the slope or to Kensington. It’s just not right; it’s always been a supermarket.”

The fired employees were told that a Walgreens is coming in to take over the space.

Another neighbor, Vanessa Kahn-Damon, wonders what the point is of having a Walgreens in that location.

“We have two drug stores on Ninth Avenue already,” said Kahn-Damon.   “And now we’re getting another one? We don’t need it.”

Ginger Mazzella took a more philosophical approach to the closing:

“I don’t know what else you can get at a Walgreens besides nail polish,” she laughed.   “But things change, and like other neighborhoods, Windsor Terrace is also moving along.”

Another resident, Elijah Sivin, says there is already a food shortage in the area which will be compounded by the closing of Key Food.

“This whole area is underserved with food, there’s like one good restaurant around here and without this there won’t be any supermarket.”

Brooklyn’s Borough President Marty Markowitz commented on the development:

“It’s extremely difficult to compete with major drug store chains and banks that, one could argue, are over-populating neighborhoods that are under-populated with full service supermarkets.”

Markowitz said that he will encourage the new drug store to stock food items for the convenience of the community.