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: news@queenspost.com
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.


The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

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

Recent News

FDNY fights 2-alarm blaze in Rockaway Beach at BBQ joint with a rich history of a bygone era

The FDNY battled a two-alarm blaze at a restaurant in Rockaway Beach that stirred up some ghosts for residents of the neighborhood.

The fire broke out just after 7 p.m. at the Smoke and Barrel BBQ at 97-20 Rockway Beach Blvd., in the same location as the old Boggiano’s Bar and Grill. It stood for three-quarters of a century across from the entrance to Rockaway Beach’s Playland Amusement Park, which drew visitors from across the city to what was known as the Irish Riviera, an alternative to Coney Island on the Brooklyn side of Jamaica Bay.