Bronx business owners concerned local community will feel economic impact due to dockworker strike

The strike spans from ports in Maine all the way to Texas. Bronx business owners say people will feel the impact in stores all across the borough.

Julia Burns

Oct 1, 2024, 9:41 PM

Updated 3 hr ago

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Thousands of dockworkers are on strike, demanding better pay and job security.
Gov. Kathy Hochul says a strike like this one hasn't been done in over 30 years.
The strike spans from ports in Maine all the way to Texas, but business owners like Joseph Dimarco, of Pastosa Ravioli, say the local community will feel the impact on store shelves in the Bronx.
"Three quarters of my inventory is imported. My customers shouldn’t worry. We’ll be OK here for a while, let’s just hope this gets resolved quickly," said Dimarco.
Lena Trattoria, owner of Taner Yigiter, says no matter how long the strike lasts, it will still have impacts.
“If there’s a small gap for a day or two, or a week, this will still have an impact. We experienced it during the pandemic," said Yigiter.
While Gov. Hochul says this will not be a case similar to the pandemic, consumers like Steven Schiro say similar anxieties are inevitable.
"This is definitely going to be comparable to COVID in a lot of ways. People are going to be hoarding things because they know when they have to replenish, it’s going to be a lot more expensive," said Schiro.
A negotiation between the U.S. Maritime Alliance and the International Longshoremen's Association has not yet been reached.