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GREENPOINT | WILLIAMSBURG
VOLUME 46 | NUMBER 43
NOVEMBER 15, 2018
Green Farms Supermarket closed after being in business for over 40 years.
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© 2018 Google Maps photo
Is Greenpoint the next Williamsburg? By Alex Wieckowski
Special to the Greenpoint Gazette
continued on p.3
INSIDE THE SERIOUS BUSINESS OF OPENING A COMEDY CLUB
Photo by Adina Lerner, courtesy of Eastville Comedy Club
Some call it growth. Others call it gentrification. Either way, Greenpoint is changing. A farewell banner hangs on a deli's storefront. A farewell banner hangs on a deli's storefront. With that evolution comes the loss of many neighborhood gems. Earlier this month, Greenpoint lost the American Deli Market. The bodega, located at 97 Franklin St., was a staple of the area, operating for 20 years. The owners, Dennis and Yvette Camacho, received a vacate notice in 2016 and spent years negotiating their lease and even offered to purchase the building more than once, Greenpointers reported. However, in the end, no deal was made. The Camachos are now trying to find a new home for their beloved deli, but are having trouble doing so due to the rising rents in the neighborhood. “The rents are extremely high … it’s much higher than we’re paying now,” Camacho said. “This makes me sad,” said Will Hernandez, a Greenpoint native. “This place is an institution. I can't tell you how many times I went to this place in between games of basketball and handball at the park.”
This storyline, however, is becoming all too common for Greenpoint. In the past few months, several mom-andpop stores in the neighborhood have closed their doors after decades of business, including Cheap Charlie’s at 712 Manhattan Ave.; Green Farms Supermarket at 918 Manhattan Ave., which opened in 1977; and Devito P Paint & Wallcovering at 113 Nassau Ave., which opened in 1972. “Green Farms was always the place to go for the best cold cuts and rolls, my grandmother would send us there all the time,” said resident Roxanna Agosto, echoing the sentiments of Hernandez. “Cheap Charlie’s gave me my first job at 16,” shed added. “I feel like it’s the end of an era and all our childhood places in Greenpoint are being closed or pushed out. “They had everything in that store” said 15-year Greenpoint resident Maggie Delgado of Cheap Charlie’s. “Sometimes things you wouldn’t find elsewhere.” Jennifer Quercia, who has lived in Greenpoint for more than 20 years, said she liked Green Farms Supermarket for their “fresh Polish food” and the fact that the business was family owned. She also misses Pit Stop Bar, a local watering hole that closed last year after 20 years.
On opening night at Eastville, Brooklyn’s only dedicated comedy club, the 120-seat venue was packed. See page 7.