BY ALEJANDRA O’CONNELL-DOMENECH | More local politicians are pitching in on the effort to bring back Trader Joe’s delivery service.
State Senator Brad Hoylman wrote Dan Bane, the supermarket chain’s chairperson and C.E.O., on April 17, urging that the company to reconsider its decision to stop delivery in Manhattan.
“There are too few affordable grocery stores in Greenwich Village, which I represent, and other parts of New York,” Hoylman wrote. “Trader Joe’s delivery service was a vital part of mitigating that problem for countless families.”
In February, the California-based chain announced its Manhattan stores would stop delivering. It was the only borough where the store offered such service.
Deliveries officially stopped on March 1, and many shoppers, including notably seniors and those with disabilities, have felt slighted by the chain’s decision.
“It’s a struggle for anyone in New York,” Hoylman said. “But for our differently abled neighbors it’s a steep challenge.”
His letter comes roughly one month after City Council Speaker Corey Johnson sent a similar letter to Bane. A representative from Assemblymember Deborah Glick’s office confirmed that she, too, wrote a letter on April 23 asking Bane to bring back the delivery service in Manhattan.
A meeting with Bobby Kendall, Trader Joe’s regional vice president, and a representative from Hoylman’s office is in the works, according to Hoylman. But nothing has been officially scheduled yet.
Kendall said he did not have any information to add to this article in an e-mail to this paper.
In the meantime, people can lobby Trader Joe’s directly to restore deliveries by calling its California headquarters at 626-599-3700 and/or leaving a message on its Web site at traderjoes.com, or better yet, by writing to its top honcho at: Dan Bane, chairmperson and C.E.O., Trader Joe’s Company, 800 South Shamrock Ave., Monrovia, CA 91016.
