By JOSEPH KELLARD
In the summer of 2000, Ahold USA decided to transfer operating responsibility from the Edwards Food Stores to Stop & Shop, both of which are subsidiaries of the corporation. While Ahold announced that Stop & Shop was to replace the Edwards store at 2715 Long Beach Rd., Stop & Shop decided to leave the store unoccupied and open a super store in the Sands shopping center down the road.
After Edwards closed, Associated on Long Beach Road or King Kullen on Sunrise Highway, both in Rockville Centre, and Waldbaum's on Sunrise in Baldwin, became the closest supermarkets for north Oceanside residents.
"It's very inconvenient not to have a supermarket on this side of town," said Rockefeller, who shopped regularly at Edwards. "I'm surprised that the real estate people involved in these supermarkets don't realize that there's nothing in this area and a new store would do well."
Jim Sylvia, Stop & Shop's vice president of real estate for the New York/Metro Division, said the location was analyzed and that its history showed that the store failed to do well financially and the building itself was in poor condition.
As part of Stop & Shop's lease responsibility at that location, which expires in 2003, the company has invested a significant amount of money in correcting drainage problems, resurfacing the parking lot and cleaning up the property, Sylvia said. He added that because the lease was only until 2003, Stop & Shop never planned to make a long-term investment in a store there.
"There are no plans to renew the lease, and given the poor condition of the property we have instead focused our efforts on doing the right thing for our customers [at our Sands store], and making it the premier shopping location in the area," Sylvia said. "Within the past year we made a major reinvestment in that store."
Rockefeller also expressed disappointment that local politicians haven't done more to bring additional businesses to the north end of Oceanside. "They could have put pressure on someone to put a supermarket in there," she said.
At a town hall meeting he hosted last week, Hempstead Town Councilman Anthony Santino said that he has pushed vigorously to get a supermarket at that location -- particularly a company like Associated, which he believes would be more likely to open in a smaller location than would larger companies such as Stop & Shop or King Kullen.
"I've written to every supermarket chain that operates in the Northeast in an effort to get them interested in opening a location on north Long Beach Road in Oceanside," Santino told the Herald.
One complication with renting the property is that it involves a complex ownership structure. Between the building itself and the parking lots, three different landlords are involved, "which makes the process of getting a store there, whether a supermarket or any retail store, more difficult," Santino said.
"No one, including our landlord, has contacted us about trying to consolidate the interests there," Sylvia said.
Nassau County Legislator Jeff Toback told the Herald that the location is on the map as part of Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi's overall economic development initiative. "While I can't discuss any of the specifics now," Toback said, "hopefully in the very near future we might be hearing about some initiatives regarding that site."
