Beware of our Supermarkets: Price Gouging on the Lower West Side

Today’s economy has gotten ridiculous, especially on the lower west side. Supermarkets, store merchants and other businesses are raising their prices during this Coronavirus epidemic – guilty of price gouging! This is unacceptable!

 It is not fair to those of us that cannot afford it, plain and simple.

Let us compare Tops supermarket’s pricing the potato salad, a cost of $9.99. I can get it for a much lower price at the Price Rite supermarket on Elmwood, $2.39 for a 32 oz, the same at Walmart, only a 10 oz. difference. A pint of strawberries are close to $5.00, yet I can buy it at Price Rite or Walmart for $1.79.

That is a big difference! Is this Tops supermarket’s strategy to limit the low-income customer from shopping there, to accommodate our higher income customers? This is, I am convinced, a product of gentrification, which is having a great impact in our lower West Side Puerto Rican/Latino community.

I used to be a regular customer at Tops until I realized they were constantly raising prices, which is known as price gouging. The price gouging is well organized by management, raising product pricing on the first two weeks of the month when their lower income customers happen to receive their SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). This is no coincidence, there is something wrong with this picture?

This price gouging must stop, it is not fair to our low-income people that are struggling monthly to make ends meet, especially during this Covid-19 pandemic. While there is no federal law against this practice, price gouging is against the law in New York State.

I will continue to research this issue. Price gouging is a serious and inhumane practice. I will look at other food establishments and compare product pricing, to determine if price gouging is taking place or practiced during this Coronavirus epidemic.

Unfortunately, there are no laws against the casual price gouging. While consumers may feel that gouging prices is unfair, the free market system that is used in the United States has made it illegal for the Government to demand that merchants keep their prices below a certain amount.

It is up to the community to choose to not purchase any items in a store that is gouging prices, but there is no legal action they can take. Merchants will usually gouge prices on things when the supply of those items are limited.

Tops Supermarket consumers or customers in the lower West Side are not your average middle or high middle-class customer. A large number receive some form of public assistance to complement their income.

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As of January 2019, 34 states have laws against price-gouging. New York State is one of them. The governor is encouraging all New Yorkers who observe or are a victim of price gouging to report these occasions.

Price Gauging Hotline: 1-888-364-3065