Tops is trying

To patriotic Americans, December 7 is Pearl Harbor Day. For Tops Markets, it may be a different kind of Armageddon.

At 6 p.m. on that Thursday, Tops representatives will visit Word of Life Ministries at Hyde Park Boulevard and Porter Road to meet with the community about the conditions at the Portage Road store, known in the community as the “ghetto Tops.”

It will be the third meeting, including one two weeks ago among community members organized by Ezra Scott Sr. and attended by about 80 community members as well as one last week with activists and store personell.

Tops Store Manager Nick Jaworski said last week some new carts had already arrived at the store. Earlier this week, painting was happening on the facade of the store.

This was held up as good news by members of the community but the carts were likely ordered months ago. Ditto the painting job.

Activists will be meeting with Tops representatives every two weeks to discuss action plans. Tops representatives have agreed to bring a community request for a wholesale renovation back to corporate.

The Portage Road store was last renovated in 2009 but there have been upgrades to Military Road and Niagara Falls Boulevard stores. The Lewiston Tops is under DiMino family ownership and is thought to operate independently.

ANALYSIS: The elephant not being discussed or invited is that the store is not that bad. It is too big for the amount of business going on. The real problem is poverty. Shoplifting is an issue but even moreso, questionable characters hanging out in front of the store smoking cigarettes and panhandling are intimidating. Many community members drive to Niagara Falls Boulevard or Lewiston rather than using a closer store.

Between the bus station, the Niagara Gospel Mission and the general neighborhood, there is a lot of roughness. The Tops guard inside the store is responsible there. The parking lot really comes down to being a city responsibility.

The next meeting, and the process to make things better needs to include the city’s community development department as well as law enforcement and representatives of the NFTA and the Mission. Unsavory characters in the parking lot are as much an issue as the store itself.