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Business
'Sneaky' Surcharges Reported After Court Gives NY Merchants Right To Charge For Credit Card Use 'Sneaky' Surcharges Reported After Court Gives NY Merchants Right To Charge For Credit Card Use
'Sneaky' Surcharges Reported After Court Gives NY Merchants Right To Charge For Credit Card Use Merchants in New York State, after a years-long court battle, now have the right to charge extra for credit card purchases as long as customers are notified, but some are crying foul, saying businesses are not playing fair. But some people are saying they didn’t find out they were paying more for using their credit cards at all, or, in other cases, until after seeing a "Credit Card Process Fee" on their receipts. The fees generally are in the range of about two to four percent of the bill. Merchants called for the surcharges, saying they pay a processing fee of around two percent for …

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by Joe Lombardi
Business
Wegmans Announces When Westchester Market Will Open, Starts Hiring 500 New Employees Wegmans Announces When Westchester Market Will Open, Starts Hiring 500 New Employees
Wegmans Announces When Westchester Market Will Open, Starts Hiring 500 New Employees It won't be long now. Wegmans is beginning the process of hiring and training new staff to fill its food market slated to open in Westchester next year. Site work for the Wegmans in Harrison is nearing completion, paving the way for contractors to begin construction at the site in advance of an official opening at a date to be announced in the spring of 2020. The chain is now seeking 220 full-time employees to staff the 121,000-square-foot grocery store. The store is looking for candidates to fill customer service and entry-level management positions, as well as culinary positions such as …

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by Zak Failla
Business
Dollar Tree To Shut Down 390 Family Dollar Stores Dollar Tree To Shut Down 390 Family Dollar Stores
Dollar Tree To Shut Down 390 Family Dollar Stores Dollar Tree is closing at least 390 Family Dollar stores and will rebrand 200 others, the company announced in releasing its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings this week. Dollar Tree CEO Gary Philbin announced the plans on Wednesday, which will include renovating some locations to sell alcohol and $1 Dollar Tree merchandise sections. As many as 400 stores will get expanded refrigeration sections and some Family Dollar discount stores will be rebranded to the Dollar Tree brand. In total, the discount chain lost approximately $2.3 billion by the end of the fourth quarter. “We are further acceler…

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by Zak Failla
Business
Big Retail, Food Chains Closing Shop In New York City In Record Numbers Big Retail, Food Chains Closing Shop In New York City In Record Numbers
Big Retail, Food Chains Closing Shop In New York City In Record Numbers Big business may be becoming a smaller thing in New York City as several large retailers and food chains continue a mass exodus. For the first time in more than a decade, nationally known chains are moving out of New York City, according to a brand-new report that was recently released. According to the study, nationally known retailers are moving out of the area in greater numbers than their coming in, marking the first time in 11 years. The Center for Urban Future determined that a record 124 retailers have reduced their store footprint over the past year, nearly double the 65 retailers t…

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by Zak Failla
Business
Stop & Shop To Acquire Chain Credited With Nation’s First Supermarket Stop & Shop To Acquire Chain Credited With Nation’s First Supermarket
Stop & Shop To Acquire Chain Credited With Nation’s First Supermarket Stop & Shop plans to buy a chain known for its title of "America's First Supermarket." King Kullen, headquartered in Bethpage, has 32 markets on Long Island. Also part of the deal are five Wild by Nature natural/organic supermarkets. “King Kullen is a well-respected grocery chain in the Long Island market that has an 88-year tradition of excellent customer service,” Stop & Shop President Mark McGowan said in a statement. “We look forward to bringing our quality, selection and value to more communities in Nassau and Suffolk counties.” Stop & Shop, which expec…

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by Joe Lombardi
News
Vote Now: What Do You Think Of Dutchess' Ban On Plastic Bags? Vote Now: What Do You Think Of Dutchess' Ban On Plastic Bags?
Vote Now: What Do You Think Of Dutchess' Ban On Plastic Bags? Dutchess County is going green, and plastic bags will soon be a relic of the past at area retailers. Elected officials in Dutchess County have voted to eliminate single-use carryout bag at retail stores, joining several other counties in New York looking to ban plastic bags. The ban will take effect on Jan. 1, 2020. Between 500 billion and one trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide each year, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Less than 1 percent of plastic bags are recycled in the United States and they are not acceptable at certain recycling centers. "T…

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by Zak Failla
Lifestyle
Westchester City May Become State's First To Charge For Paper, Plastic Bags Westchester City May Become State's First To Charge For Paper, Plastic Bags
Westchester City May Become State's First To Charge For Paper, Plastic Bags Retailers may be going greener in an effort to eliminate the option of single-use carryout bags at stores in Yonkers. Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano and members of the Yonkers Green City Advisory Committee announced their plan to submit legislation to the City Council regarding the use of single-use paper and plastic bags in the city. Under the proposed Environmental Protection and Pollution Prevention Act, retail stores would charge a five cent fee on all single-use carryout plastic and paper bags. If passed, Yonkers would be the first big city in New York State to authorize any restriction…

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by Zak Failla
Business
Wegmans, With Store Coming In Westchester, Earns Top Ranking For Best Retail Workplaces Wegmans, With Store Coming In Westchester, Earns Top Ranking For Best Retail Workplaces
Wegmans, With Store Coming In Westchester, Earns Top Ranking For Best Retail Workplaces Wegmans, which is preparing for a new market in Westchester, has been ranked as the top place to work in retail, according to Great Place to Work and Fortune. Each year, Great Place to Work takes anonymous surveys of nearly 650,000 employees in the retail industry to determine which are the best employers. This is the third consecutive year that Wegmans took the top spot. According to Great Place to Work, it “based its ranking on a data-driven methodology applied to anonymous Trust Index survey responses representing more than 631,000 employees at Great Place to Work-Certified organiza…

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by Zak Failla
Business
New State-Of-The-Art ShopRite Opens In Northern Westchester New State-Of-The-Art ShopRite Opens In Northern Westchester
New State-Of-The-Art ShopRite Opens In Northern Westchester A capacity crowd packed the recently paved Cortlandt Crossing Shopping Center to celebrate the grand opening of the newest ShopRite in Westchester. The 65-000-square foot grocery store on Route 6 is officially open to the public following a long wait in the busy shopping center. The newly renovated building comes after years of planning and discussion between local, county and state officials. The new store replaces the smaller ShopRite location in the area, and is expected to create more than 60 new jobs as the old team transitions to the new location. ShopRite will include chef-prepared …

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by Zak Failla
Business
40 New Sears, Kmart Store Closures Announced, Including Three In NY 40 New Sears, Kmart Store Closures Announced, Including Three In NY
40 New Sears, Kmart Store Closures Announced, Including Three In NY Less than a month after it filed for bankruptcy and announced the closures of 142 Sears and Kmart stores, Sears Holdings is saying it's planning to close another 40 stores in February. The new round of closures means there will be roughly 660 Sears and Kmart stores still open. Liquidation sales at the 40 locations set to close will start late next week.  There are three stores slated to shut down in New York among those 40: Kmart 805 New York Ave., Huntington Sears, 3065 Route 50, Saratoga Springs Sears, 21182 Salmon Run Mall, Watertown  The one store in Connecticut in the ne…

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by Joe Lombardi
Business
Nearly 200 Sears, Kmart Workers In Area Will Lose Jobs Following Bankruptcy Declaration Nearly 200 Sears, Kmart Workers In Area Will Lose Jobs Following Bankruptcy Declaration
Nearly 200 Sears, Kmart Workers In Area Will Lose Jobs Following Bankruptcy Declaration Nearly 200 Sears and Kmart employees will lose their jobs following the official filing for bankruptcy by Sears Holdings. Last week, Sears announced that it would be closing another 142 unprofitable Sears and Kmart locations, including several in the area. Those closures will reportedly impact According to the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filed on Oct. 15, 42 employees at Kmart on Route 6 in Mahopac would be let go; 55 employees at Sears in the Jefferson Valley Mall would face termination; 76 employees at the Sears at The Shops in Nanuet; and 12 at Sears on Route 59 in Nanu…

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by Zak Failla
Business
Sears On Brink Of Bankruptcy, Report Says Sears On Brink Of Bankruptcy, Report Says
Sears On Brink Of Bankruptcy, Report Says After years of store closures, Sears, once the world's largest retailer, could be just days away from facing bankruptcy. The 125-year-old company, which has not turned a profit since 2010, has approached several banks to prepare for a bankruptcy filing, according to CNBC. Sears has a $134 million debt payment due Monday that it previously reported it cannot cover, the report said. Eddie Lampert, a hedge-fund manager who took over as Sears CEO in 2013, said in late September that despite changes in the way it does business, the future looked bleak for the once vibrant company. “The journey…

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by Joe Lombardi