You are reading

Key Food on Northern Boulevard Accused of Price Gouging, Faces $14.5K Fine

Key Food, at 86-02 Northern Blvd., accused of price gouging (Photo: Google)

April 28, 2020 By Christian Murray

The Dept. of Consumer and Worker Protection has filed a case against Key Food on Northern Boulevard accusing the store of price gouging.

Key Food, located at 86-02 Northern Blvd., is one of three businesses that is being prosecuted, with one in Manhattan and another in the Bronx.

Key Food is accused of hiking the prices on bleach and disinfectant wipes. DCWP has issued the supermarket with 29 violations and the store faces $14,500 fines. Each violation comes with a penalty of up to $500.

The case will go before the City’s Office of Administration Trials and Hearings, where a final determination will be made.

“Pricing gouging is not just immoral—it is illegal,” said DCWP Commissioner Loreli Salas in a statement. “We will not tolerate price gouging and it is shameful for businesses to take advantage of consumers during a public health crisis.”

Key Food could not be reached for comment.

DCWP is inspecting stores based on consumer complaints and is filing lawsuits against repeat offenders. The agency has filed seven cases– including against Key Food–since March 5 against serial price gougers.

Businesses that hike the price of any personal or household goods needed to prevent or limit the spread of COVID-19 by more than 10 percent are in violation.

The agency has received more than 8,800 complaints since March 5, when it first declared face masks in short supply and placed a 10 percent limit on how much the prices could be hiked.

DCWP then expanded the order—and the 10 percent limit– to include hand sanitizers and disinfectant wipes on March 10 and then all personal and household items needed to combat COVID-19 from March 15 on.

The agency has issued 4,400 violations across the city since March 5.

DCWP is calling on consumers who have been overcharged to file a complaint at nyc.gov/dcwp or by contacting 311 and saying “overcharge.” Consumers are advised to keep their receipts.

email the author: [email protected]

7 Comments

Click for Comments 
Becky

Some staff is also very rude. Especially at Ditmars Key Food. One worker with long curly hair reminds me of a mean orange big bird. Im sure the owners shop at wholefoods to avoid their own high prices and staff who speak little English.

Reply
jenastoriat

Generally, Key Food’s prices have been higher over the last several weeks on nearly everything. Its also impossible to find pricing on a lot of items until you get to check out – at the 30th ave store. Makes it impossible to compare prices.

3
1
Reply
Concerned Citizen

Not a Shocker, the merchandise at KeyFood is always priced higher than the competition. They get away with it because they run a union shop and our politicians protect them.

7
1
Reply
AV

KeyFood definitely takes advantage of the fact that they have a union workforce to rip off the community.

Reply
jenastoriat

Until this started, Trade Fair was higher on my unusual items, but recently key food prices keep edging up. Not about unions at all, but unions should be supported anyway. Let the trolls begin lol.

Reply

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Manhattan bouncer charged in New Year’s Day fatal stabbing in Elmhurst: NYPD

A Manhattan man was arrested on Saturday and charged in the fatal stabbing of an East Elmhurst man during the early morning hours of New Year’s Day in what notably became the city’s first homicide of 2024.

Torrence Holmes, 35, of St. Nicholas Place in Hamilton Heights, was taken into custody at his home and transported back to Queens, where he was booked at the 110th Precinct in Elmhurst on manslaughter and other charges on Saturday afternoon.

After surge of traffic violence, Queens leaders demand safer streets especially for children

Following a tragic week on Queens streets where three pedestrians — 43-year-old Natalia Garcia-Valencia, 58-year-old Elisa Bellere and 8-year-old Bayrron Palomino Arroyo — were fatally struck by unsafe drivers, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards announced that he has allocated $1.5 million in capital funding for street safety improvements on three of the borough’s most dangerous roadways.

Richards made the announcement at 82nd Street and Astoria Boulevard in East Elmhurst on Monday morning, about a mile from where the 8-year-old boy was struck and killed by an impatient pickup truck driver from Flushing on Mar. 13 as he walked in the crosswalk at 31st Avenue and 101st Street with him mother and brother, who was injured.