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Civic News
Since the 1950s, the Civic News has been the voice of the Park Slope neighborhood and of its advocate, The Park Slope Civic Council. Published monthly September through June, the Civic News offers features, analyses, history, news and photos.
Whole Food Responds
Whole Foods Market spokesman Fred Shank issued the following statement in response to questions generated by an article in the November, 2007 Civic News concerning its new store planned for Third Avenue:
As we have shared with local Brooklyn leaders and with residents at several community meetings – including the Park Slope Civic Council – we did give serious consideration to the idea of a green roof early on in the design phase. However, we subsequently determined that a green roof simply would not be feasible for this particular project, due to a range of architectural, functional and operational reasons. In regard to the issue of parking, we are confident that our engineering and design teams have created a parking plan, as currently designed, that features the appropriate number of spaces and will function well for our customers and the surrounding community.
We remain extremely proud to be building a store in Brooklyn that will have significant benefits for the area. As I am sure you are aware, though we are not required to do so by any regulations, we are building a 40-foot wide, publicly-accessible esplanade along our entire frontage on the Gowanus Canal. This exciting public space will be an incredible amenity as the Canal revives and is returned to the community. It also should be noted that along with voluntarily entering into the State’s brownfield program to clean-up this polluted site in an environmentally responsible manner, we also are committed to a Level 3 clean-up on the adjacent site we are now developing, all at our cost.
Finally, and certainly not insignificantly, this Whole Foods Market will create more than 550 new, permanent jobs with great benefits, including free healthcare, profit sharing, stock options and one of the highest store discounts in the industry. Of the 550 permanent jobs, it is anticipated that approximately 90 percent will be full-time positions. Whole Foods Market fully understands the importance of hiring from within the community and we are planning to work with local groups and officials to ensure that area residents are informed about the job opportunities coming to the neighborhood.
We remain extremely excited about bringing the first Whole Foods Market to Brooklyn.
