Eastern District store in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York.
Photographer: Amir Hamja/BloombergNYC Bodegas Are a Window Into the Boroughs’ Uneven Recovery
One store owner near Times Square is considering shutting down permanently, while in Park Slope a couple just opened their second Brooklyn location.
In New York City, no one has the pulse of a neighborhood quite the same way a bodega owner does. Dotted across hundreds of communities, these roughly 13,000 convenience stores have been a window into the state of mind and financial health of their local residents during the pandemic.
Francisco Marte’s northwest Bronx bodega saw neighbors getting infected by the virus and losing their jobs, pushing regulars to plead to put groceries on tab. About 20 miles away in Park Slope, Samrat Shah and Samiksha Shah recently opened their second store in Brooklyn following the success with their first selling premium items from organic milk to locally sourced jam.