Costco Scraps Plan To Open At Terminal Mkt.

Costco Scraps Plan To Open At Terminal Mkt.

The status of traffic in and around Brooklyn Terminal Market on Foster Avenue, west of Remsen Avenue, should be maintained now that Costco has withdrawn its plan to open there. Charles Rogers

By Neil S. Friedman

In a move that will help maintain the local quality of life, as well as yielding to community opposition, Brooklyn Councilman Lew Fidler announced last week that plans to locate the superstore Costco in an empty Brooklyn Terminal Market warehouse in northern Canarsie are "DOA."

As a result of Fidler’s opposition, together with other local elected officials, including Assemblyman Frank Seddio, Assemblywoman Helene Weinstein and Senator John Sampson, the West coast-based corporation decided to seek another location.

Fidler stated, "I am not anti-business or development, but there would be few more inappropriate sites for a big box store than this one. There is not one major roadway within five miles of this location, nor is there sufficient mass transit. The only thing we could be sure of is that local residential streets would become clogged and congested, and small, neighboring businesses would die."

Earlier this year, the NYC Economic Development Corporation asked Grocery Haulers, owners of the Terminal Market site, to expend $75,000 to study the feasibility of a Costco operation at its site. The proposal was met with vigorous opposition from every local elected official.

In correspondence to Grocery Haulers, Fidler advised them "not to waste their money" on the study.

"It was as plain as the nose on my face that this was an inappropriate location. Before they started writing checks I wanted them to be aware that if this proposal had required City Council approval it would only happen over my big, fat, dead body," Fidler said. "They got the message."

The letter of withdrawal received by Fidler from Costco’s counsel Jesse Masyr states, "…in light of your strong concerns in this matter my client has informed me that they will not be an applicant to locate at the Brooklyn Terminal Market."

Fidler, Seddio and Borough President Marty Markowitz met last week with Mark Jacobsen, owner of Grocery Haulers to discuss alternate plans for the location that would not impact negatively on the surrounding community or the "Mom and Pop" stores in the surrounding area.

"Additional wholesale operations, or the kind of combined retail/wholesale that currently exists at the Market would be a plus," added Fidler. "We want the jobs here. We want tax revenues. But we don’t want it if it is going to destroy merchant strips like Ralph Avenue or Avenue L, or the quiet residential community around the Market."

"I am pleased to learn that Costco has abandoned its plan to pen a store in our community," added Seddio. "It would have had a tremendous detrimental effect on our neighborhoods."

In the last year Costco has reportedly been turned down for at least three Manhattan sites where it sought to open smaller, urban-style stores. Costco operates more than 400 stores worldwide, including nearly 300 in the U.S., and three in New York City — one in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, and others in Queens and Staten Island.