Bernadette O'Leary (212) 312-3523(EDC)
MAYOR GIULIANI BREAKS GROUND FOR EAST HARLEM PATHMARK SUPERMARKET
200 Permanent Jobs Created For Local Residents
Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani was joined by Governor George E. Pataki, Congressman Charles Rangel, Abyssinian Baptist Church Pastor Reverend Calvin O. Butts III, Chase Manhattan Corporation Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Walter Shipley, Pathmark Stores, Inc. Senior Vice President Harvey Gutman, and Local Initiatives Support Corporation President Paul Grogan today to announce the start of construction of a 64,000-square-foot shopping center to be located on 125th Street between Lexington and Third Avenues in East Harlem. The anchor tenant in this $15-million development will be a 50,000-square-foot Pathmark Supermarket. Chase Manhattan Bank and other retail stores will also be located in the center.
"This is a great day for East Harlem and all of New York City," said Mayor Giuliani. "Today we're breaking ground on a development that will house what our suburban neighbors might think of as a pretty ordinary thing -- a new shopping center. Over the past four years, the increase in safety and cleanliness of the streets have laid the groundwork for investments like this. Since 1993 crime is down more than 30 percent in the 23rd Precinct and the cleanliness rating of the streets in District 11 have gone from 43.8 percent clean to 73.2 percent clean. A new level of attention is being paid to the quality of life in East Harlem and a new vitality can be felt in the air.
"For almost 30 years this land was vacant. In just a year-and-a-half it will be home to a new 64,000 square-foot shopping center. The shopping center will create 200 construction jobs and 200 permanent jobs. This project is a perfect example of how we are rebuilding our neighborhoods, improving the quality of life for all New Yorkers and, most important, putting people back to work. And with such an attractive and stable base in the community, we will continue to attract more private investment and generate more economic activity in East Harlem."
The Pathmark supermarket will offer area residents 24-hour full-service shopping and will include a delicatessen and a pharmacy. There will also be a 125-space parking garage above the supermarket, which will provide local residents a wider range of grocery shopping alternatives.
As part of its efforts to revitalize East Harlem, the City sold the land -- after it sat vacant for 29 years -- to the East Harlem Abyssinian Triangle, L.P. (EHAT) for $1.5 million. By providing a 25-year purchase money mortgage, which requires payments of interest only at one percent for ten years, the City made the financing of the construction of the project viable.
EHAT owns 51 percent of the Pathmark project, and the New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) will retain temporary ownership of 49 percent of the project. While the project is being built the EDC will designate an East Harlem community-based organization to which it will transfer its ownership interest.
All proceeds gained from the EDC portion of ownership will be dedicated to investments in housing, economic and community development in East Harlem.
"The development of the East Harlem Pathmark supermarket is another example of Mayor Giuliani's commitment to bring economic revitalization to all areas of the City," said EDC President Charles Millard. "With crime in East Harlem down by more than 35 percent and with a growing economy, more and more companies are recognizing that Harlem and East Harlem are attractive locations for business."
James A. Smith Contracting Inc. has been selected as construction manager/general contractor. Construction is expected to last 18 months.
EDC is the City's primary vehicle for economic development services. Using its real estate and financial resources, it helps develop businesses and create jobs throughout the five boroughs.
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