The Lights are Back on at the Park Slope Food Coop

Let there be light, at The Park Slope Food Coop!

After three weeks of not having a sign, , the iconic neighborhood landmark is back. 

The green and red neon sign on Union Street, which was installed in the early 1990s, was broken for a while and not all the letters were lit. It was removed on March 1 to be fixed, according to the Coop’s general manager and one of its founders, Joe Holtz.

The sign that now fully reads, “Park Slope Food Coop” in green and “Est. 1973” in red, was reinstalled late this week. And in its absence, some people missed it while others didn’t even notice.

But, there was definitely something missing between Sixth and Seventh avenues.

“I was here a few days ago and I said, ‘That’s not right, I don’t remember that pole being there,’” Neil Blonstein, a 16-year member, said on Friday while standing in front of the Coop. “I am glad it’s back because first-year members might still need it.”

Some felt like the sign was needed for their sense of direction.

“When I drive, the sign serves as a landmark for me,” Juliet Moore, who has been a Coop member for six years and lives in Bay Ridge, said on Friday. “I don’t know I am here unless I look up at the sign.”

Another woman, who was in the office doing some bookkeeping, said that she “doesn’t look up” because she doesn’t need to in order to get to her familiar grocery destination everyday.

“However, you can see it from a distance and it tells people we’re open,” said Penda Aiken, who has been a member since the 1980s and lives in Bed-Stuy.

For most people on Union Street the sign is not about being a physical landmark as much as it’s a beacon of the neighborhood. 

“It’s iconic and I am glad it’s back,” said Carisima Koenig, a 12-year Park Slope resident and a seven-year member. Koenig said that she is drawn to the sign’s beauty, its proportions and how it is perpendicular to the street.

A member who works in the design industry said that the sign is unique.

“It doesn’t subscribe to contemporary design aesthetics,” said Nora Wolf, a Prospect Heights resident who has been a member for more than four years. “It’s classic and has a staying power.”