3 'Dark Stores' Are Illegally Operating Along 14th Street: Brewer

LOWER MANHATTAN, NY — There are three "dark store" 15-minute quick-service grocery delivery centers operating illegally along 14th Street, according to a recent investigation by Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer's office.

The new businesses, which have been popping up across the city in recent months, aim to deliver a variety of groceries as quickly as possible through an app to your doorstep.

Earlier this month, Brewer and the civic technology organization BetaNYC, analyzed where these quick service centers are and found that only three in Manhattan are operating in properly zoned areas.

Due to the quick-service centers not allowing customers to come into the store, the businesses should be zoned as warehouses, according to Brewer. However, the vast majority of them are operating within zoning areas for convenience retail and service establishments — including the three operating along 14th Street.

• Fridge No More: 107 West 14 Street
• Gorillas: 245 West 14th Street
• JOKR: 20 West 14th Street

All three of the 14th Street locations have their windows at least partially covered and do not allow the public to enter the stores.

Overall, Brewer found that 21 of 22 Manhattan grocery centers were not open to the public.

"Zoning protections exist so that we have well-balanced streets, neighborhoods, and communities," Brewer said in a news release. "We don't want warehouses and distribution centers next to coffee shops, daycare centers, and bookstores where these dead storefronts attract vandalism, stymie an active street life, and raise quality of life concerns."

Brewer has already called for oversight and regulation from City Hall over the stores, as well as technical assistance to support existing groceries and bodegas.

"New Yorkers love their bodegas, convenience stores, and local groceries which represent the frontline of our food supply chain in communities all throughout the city, providing affordable, fresh, and healthy food," said Brewer. "Quick-service grocery delivery apps represent a threat to their resilience and survival."

Read More: 15-Minute Grocery Delivery Has Come to N.Y.C. Not Everyone Is Happy.