By Hank Russell
Two Nassau County legislators called on a supermarket chain not to close down its Hempstead Village location, but, despite an impassioned letter to the company’s national director, the company has indicated that the store will be shutting down for good.
In a letter dated July 26 to Maura O’Brien, the government affairs manager for Ahold Delhaize USA, whose Netherlands-based parent company owns Stop & Shop, Legislators Siela Bynoe (D-Westbury) and Scott Davis (D-Rockville Centre) implored O’Brien to keep the Hempstead Village store on 132 Fulton Avenue open. They pointed out that this was “the only classified supermarket” inside the village and the closure would mean “the potential loss of a vital community hub that is relied upon by countless seniors and other nearby residents.”
Bynoe and Davis wrote, “Closing this store would inflict a disparate and unequal impact upon consumers by eliminating the economies of scale associated with national supermarket brands, thereby driving up costs without consumer[s] having access to the full complement of alternatives that exist in other communities.”
They compared their situation with that of East Meadow, whose Stop & Shop location is the fourth-largest food store in the hamlet, which means, when they close, there would still be more than 190,000 square feet of food market space. Citing Census data, the median income of East Meadow is $129,268, compared to $80,350 in Hempstead Village. Further, East Meadow’s poverty rate is 5.9%, which is less than the village’s rate of 16% and less than 10% of school children in East Meadow qualify for free or reduced school lunches, compared to almost 66% in Hempstead.
“Taken together, the data illustrates how the Hempstead Village Stop & Shop is an essential nutritional resource for numerous economically disadvantaged families and how its closure would escalate food inequality within the community by dramatically constricting consumer choice and curtailing access to affordable nutrition options,” the legislators wrote.
The imminent closure of the Hempstead store comes after Ahold Delhaize announced that it was closing 32 Stop & Shop supermarkets in New York, New Jersey and New England that they described as “underperforming.” Closures also include East Meadow, Greenvale and Coram.
In response to the letter, Stop & Shop’s Long Island office replied, “The decision to close our Hempstead store was a difficult one, and only made after careful analysis and deliberation as we know our stores are closely embedded in our communities. Stop & Shop will continue to serve the Village of Hempstead with home delivery even after the store’s closure, so all community members will continue to be able to access our wide variety of fresh and affordable food.”
To ensure no one loses their jobs, the company also said it will offer its Hempstead workers transfer opportunities to other stores.
In addition, Stop & Shop will continue its partnership with the Hempstead School District through its Stop & Shop School Food Pantry Program, which is held at Alverta B. Gray Schultz (ABGS) Middle School and David Paterson Elementary School.
“Between both schools, we provided a donation of $20,000 in Stop & Shop gift cards for the 2023-2024 school year, supporting over 550 students and their families with consistent access to healthy food,” Stop & Shop said. “We have already committed to this same level of charitable support for the 2024-2025 school year.”
Long Island Life & Politics reached out to Bynoe and Davis for additional comment, but did not hear back as of press time.
LILP also reached out to the Village of Hempstead. In an interview with Village Mayor Waylyn Hobbs, Jr., he told LILP, “We hate to see them leave. At the same time, the village is far from becoming a food desert.”
Hobbs said that development is underway with a new shopping center on Henry Street and a Compare Foods making its way to the village in the near future. He also plans to meet with the owner of the property “to see if they can bring another supermarket into the area.”
Stop & Shop added, “it is our hope that another food retailer will enter the space and serve the Hempstead community, which we have been honored to serve for the past 23 years.”