Pols applaud new BJ’s

Local elected officials, community leaders and employees crowded into the warehouse of BJ’s Wholesale Club at 184 W. 237th St. as it opened on Jan. 7. The new store was constructed on the site of famed bakery Stella D’oro, which closed in 2009. Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. noted that at the time of the closure, unemployment in the Bronx was at 14 percent.  

“Working with the Bronx Economic Development Corporation… working with the elected officials… working with individuals like my good friend Joe Farkas, what we tried to do was identify what it is that we can bring here,” he explained. “Not only are you providing a great shopping experience… but you are also a catalyst in what’s happening in this borough for the revitalization for this Broadway corridor as well as the entire Bronx.”

The wholesaler presented donations of $2,500 each to City Harvest, BronxWorks and the Kingsbridge Heights Community Center. The Multiple Intelligence School (P.S./M.S. 37) also received a check, for $1,000. 

The arrival of another big box store has brought grumbles among community members, some of whom view chains as harbingers of low wages and homogenization.

But elected officials and their staffers had nothing but praise for BJ’s and the rest of Riverdale Crossing, built by Mr. Farkas and then sold to an investor for $133 million. 

“We’re very thrilled this is a retailer who has come in and is committed to hiring Bronx people,” said Randi Martos, chief of staff for Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz. “There are young, school-age people here, there are moms who need part-time jobs. They’re very open to hiring residents of this area specifically first. And we think job creation is very important, no matter what form.”

Northwest Bronx Councilman Andrew Cohen said stores like BJ’s provide a partial solution to the economy in Bronx County, which saw unemployment fall to 6.6 percent in the fall.