After Lease Negotiations Stall, Astoria Key Food Plans Layoffs

ASTORIA, QUEENS — A protracted battle over the fate of an Astoria Key Food supermarket may have come to a close.

Owner Man-Dell Food Stores filed plans last week to lay off all 151 workers at the Key Food at 22-15 31st St., after more than two years trying to negotiate a lease renewal.

Roseann Marabello-Rivera, Man-Dell's chief administrative officer, told Patch the company hasn't heard from the supermarket's landlord since May.

That's when the landlord, Jenel Management, sent them options for basement or ground-floor spaces in the new development planned for the site, Marabello-Rivera said in a phone interview. She said Man-Dell chose the basement option, then never heard back.

(Keep up with news in Astoria and Long Island City by subscribing to Astoria-Long Island City Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

"They're basically just not responding to our messages or anything at this point," Marabello-Rivera said. "We're here to work with them."

Meanwhile, the clock was ticking: Man-Dell's lease expires Oct. 31, and the company is subject to requirements to notify the state Department of Labor of mass layoffs 90 days in advance.

Man-Dell issued its layoff notification, or WARN notice, on July 7.

Jenel Management President Michael Hirschhorn did not return Patch's calls requesting comment.

In a May 21 letter, which was first reported by NY1 and was also obtained by Patch, Hirschhorn told local lawmakers that his company had finalized a lease with an unnamed major supermarket chain.

"We have tried to keep Key Food on the block but continue to remain unsuccessful in these negotiations," he wrote.

Marabello-Rivera said Man-Dell is still hoping to reach a deal to stay in the 31st Street location, which it has called home for 40 years.

If the supermarket is forced to close, Man-Dell may reassign more senior workers to one of its three other Key Food locations nearby, but Marabello-Rivera said the company would end up laying off a minimum of 88 people.

"It's terrible for the neighborhood, especially during this pandemic," she said. "We're prepared to do whatever it takes to stay at this location."