FUREE Pushes for Supermarket to Hire Local and Offer Affordable, Healthy Food

On June 29th, FUREE members joined Council Member Letitia James, District Leader Lincoln Restler and Meredith Phillips Almeida from the Myrtle Avenue Revitalization Project for a meeting with representatives of the Red Apple Group (RAG).

At the meeting we reviewed our community recommendations (see document attached below) for the new Red Apple Supermarket slated to open on Myrtle Ave in September.

Since that meeting, the Fort Greene Patch published this article concerning the issue of local hiring, that was later followed-up by this clarifying piece in The Local.

The following is the statement from FUREE Board Member Celina Lynch in response to the Patch article:

The article neglected to mention the two community organizations that have played a leading role in holding the Red Apple Group (RAG) accountable to the demands of local residents.

Families United for Racial & Economic Equality (FUREE) and the Myrtle Ave Revitalization Project (MARP) have also been working for years to advocate for a new supermarket that is truly affordable, hires local, and offers quality, healthy food.

I live in Ingersoll Houses directly across from the new supermarket site. FUREE insists that the voices and needs of public housing residents and other low-income and working-class families need to be respected, especially considering the history of RAG tearing down the old supermarket several years ago, along with other stores that served our community along Myrtle Ave.

We all worked with over 100 area residents to develop a list of community recommendations for the new supermarket, and we even met with RAG representatives last week to discuss that list of priorities. I was at that meeting along with other FUREE members, a rep from MARP and both Lincoln Restler and CM James.

FUREE members will be vigilant to ensure that the new supermarket benefits other low-income families in our community. We'll be tracking how many local people RAG hires in addition to the quality and price of food. As an economic justice organization, we view the new supermarket as an opportunity to bridge community and labor as we address the area's high unemployment rate by promoting living wage jobs.

It's a positive sign that RAG has met with the community twice in the past few months. But as the article mentioned, we're used to being promised community benefits from big developers. We're going stay organized to hold RAG and other developers to their word.

    For more background about the issue, click here.

        - Celina Lynch, 
FUREE Board Member & Ingersoll Houses resident

To get more involved in our campaign for food justice and community accountability on Myrtle Ave, contact FUREE's Accountable Development organizer at lucas(at)furee(dot)org or 718-852-2960 ext. 306.

Note that applications for jobs at the Red Apple Supermarket are now available.  Check the bottom of this article for the link and details where to send them.  Contact us if you want to help FUREE get applications into the hands of local residents.