Closing Bell: Fresh Direct Cherry Picking in Bed-Stuy?
What’s so special about this building? Unlike most addresses in Bed Stuy, Fresh Direct delivers here. Conspiracy or just business?
What’s so special about this building? Unlike most addresses in Bed Stuy, Fresh Direct delivers here. Conspiracy or just business?
Hey,
I’m about a month late to this strand, and most likely, no one will read this but still–I’d like to get it off my chest.
First, just a reminder that by purchasing groceries at Super Foodtown, Pioneer and other stores, you’re actually investing in the neighborhood yourself and helping it grow.
For the record: I live in 11221, on the cusp, so to speak, but on a tony block. And, for the record, I’m African American, and grew up in the housing projects of East NY. According to my paycheck, I’m now middle class.
I’ve lived in this neighborhood for nearly 2 years and have not only never been able to order from Fresh Direct, but I’ve never had a problem with crime. Is there crime in the Stuy? Of course. But, BS is one of the largest neighborhoods in Brooklyn, and believe me, those single swaths are far enough apart to make the trip completely safe for FD and their drivers — most of whom, to be honest, live in neighborhoods just like this.
Is this just a business thing? Nah. Growing up, I used to have to walk a good 20 minutes to get a copy of the NY Times. I was required to get it for school, but having read it a few times, my parents and I both kinda liked it, and so each week I made the walk. It also inevitably listed higher paying jobs than the Daily News or the Post, which back then at least, was how so many people in the neighborhood found jobs. Few things have made me feel so marginalized and unimportant than that walk. It made me angry, and determined to get to a place (socially, economically) where I would matter enough to get the paper delivered (at least to a market closer to my home). It also made me wonder if the paper had invested in the neighborhood just a little more, more people could’ve bought the paper accessed their job listings, which paid more at every level. With those higher paychecks, a drop in crime would have been inevitable, as would an increase in high school graduation rates. More graduates lead to greater college attendance, which leads to better paying jobs, which would lead to more folks buying the damn paper.
By investing in the neighborhood with flyers, and ad or two in the Daily News, FD would foster the burgeoning market here, and their efforts would pay off quickly and in spades. If FD determined to hold on to the stereotype of housing projects as festering nests of lazy, economically disadvantaged people looking for delivery trucks to rob, rather than the overcrowded, only housing resource available for working families they actually are, then fine. Don’t deliver to the projects. Just do the brownstones. Sorry for the rant, folks.
Of course FedEx, UPS and USPS deliver *pretty much* everywhere – it’s in their basic function as a service provider to do so. Fresh Direct however is in no way legally required to deliver to you. They are providing a luxury service and can pretty much deliver or not deliver wherever they choose to do so. but I’m pretty sure it’s not snobbery, but good business practice that determines where they will or wont go.
Lets say there is ONE house in East NY that wants FD (and to avoid the *RACIST* comments, you can replace East NY with Montauk or some other out of the way locale). Is it really worth FD’s time and money to send a truck and delivery guy all the way out there to make one delivery? Probably not. If you really want FD to deliver to you, gather all of your neighbors and get them all to make a request to the website. If FD sees the dollar signs on your block, they’ll bring you your pre-packaged overpriced groceries for sure.
I’m sure FedEx, UPS, USPS deliver eveywhere..it’s snobbery plain and simple..
“and the building looks good”
Maybe to you it does. To me, it looks like crap.
Why do commentors on this site always insist that they’re victims of some kind? Do you really think that Fresh Direct drives down every street in Brooklyn and determines which buildings they will deliver to? Do you really think they deny one building on a block but will deliver to another because they’ve somehow determined the racial makeup of said buildings and thereby determined which building is more lucrative and safe? C’mon now, think about what you’re typing before you spew it out online for all the world to read…you just sound dumb.
FD is a business. They don’t know every street and neighborhood in BK. They could review crime stats by precinct and use that as a tool, but other than that, I’m pretty sure they don’t pick and choose neighborhoods the way you’re all making it out to seem. All of this said, FD is a stupid and unnecessary service for the lazy and spoiled. It’s Meals On Wheels for the upper crust.
That’s just my opinion….
fresh direct is a business; they will supply any big building where they can make money. this is nothing to do with socioeconomics or race. when they have a building where multiple people are making orders, they make more $$, its a simple equation. i am sure that if enough people in marcy projects wanted to order stilton and chevre, they would find a way to make deliveries there. and the building looks good, excellent even when compared to some of the other crap that has been built further down myrtle or in the surrounding blocks.
Why all the hubub? Fresh Direct isn’t particularly great. The food isn’t necesarly “fresh” or “direct.” You FD wannabes have succumbed to contemporary marketing and promotion. And that building is seriously ugly.
My tenants and my next door neighbor stopped ordering from Fresh Direct.They all go to Fairway.They complained that the prices were not that competitive and their foods werent as fresh as they would have liked.We need a nice supermarket in Clinton Hill. The Pioneer,Associated Markets and Met all suck. They tried to renovate but weren’t too successful. I must say the trip to Pathmark at Atlantic Mall is worth it now that they have spruced the place up as well as the trip to Foodtown.But I still like to venture out to Fairway myself.
I live in Bushwick near the Myrtle JMZ stop and FD delivers to my building and I think one other building in my hood. I always thought it was 1/2 a business thing because we are the two big apartment buildings in the neighborhood… and half a racist thing… FD just continueing to marginalize the marginalized.