Farmstand To Help Crown Heights After Supermarket Closure: BP

CROWN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — A new farmstand has been set up in Crown Heights to help neighbors after the controversial closure of a local supermarket, officials announced.

The GrowNYC farmstand opened Friday at the corner of Sullivan and Nostrand avenues, just steps from the Associated Supermarket, which closed in late July ahead of a redevelopment of the property.

The farmstand — set up by local elected officials and Community Board 9 — will aim to provide groceries for residents near the market, who had long worried its closure would turn the section of Crown Heights into a food desert, officials said. A new supermarket is set to open in the new building once construction is complete.

"The loss of the Associated Supermarket has definitely increased the concerns around food security in the community district," Brooklyn CB 9 District Manager Dante B. Arnwine said in a press release. "Brooklyn Community Board 9 is happy to welcome the farmstand as one way to help mitigate the loss of the supermarket by bringing fresh produce directly into the community while also promoting healthier eating."

The 975 Nostrand Ave. redevelopment is slated to include mixed-income housing, small-scale retail and a community facility space on the site, along with the new supermarket.

It will be developed by Hudson Companies, who bought the property after a months-long battle between former owners Midwood Development and Associated owner Pablo Espinal. Midwood and Espinal eventually reached a deal — which Hudson has agreed to honor — to have Espinal run a new, bigger supermarket in the new building.

Officials said the farmstand will be open on Fridays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and will include food scrap collection starting next week between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. It was funded with money from Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and Council Member Laurie Cumbo.

Cash, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP), Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT), Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT), credit, debit, WIC, Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) checks and Health Bucks are all accepted at the market, officials added. SNAP/EBT users receive a bonus $2 in Health Bucks for every $2 spent (up to $10 per day).