Business & Tech

Park Slope Food Coop Neon Sign Goes Dark

The iconic sign has been taken down for repairs.

It’s lights out for the green neon sign...for now.

The sign, which read “Park Slope Food Coop” in green neon letters and “Est. 1973” in red, was partially out and was taken down for repairs on March 1, according to the Coop’s general manager and one of its founders, Joe Holtz.

“I forgot to look up in the past two weeks, but now I miss it,” said Holtz, who is also one of the Coop’s founders and was pivotal in getting the broken sign repaired. “When I looked at it and all the letters were not lit, it annoyed me.”

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

Holtz explained that the sign was installed in the early 1990s, which replaced a hand-painted sign, to “make sure people knew the Coop was here.”

But another member, Ken Macdonald, said most members do not even see the sign on Union Street, between Sixth and Seventh avenues, on their way in for daily shopping.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

“It might disorient some people, but most members don’t look up,” said Macdonald, who has been a member since 1991 and is also a coordinator, while he was working in the Coop on Tuesday. “But people who are pointed to the sign may not find us. I hope it comes back soon.”

Macdonald explained that the sign repair company came and checked out the damage two weeks ago and said it needed to be fixed at the shop. Also, repairs needed to be made to the façade of the building where the sign was attached.

Another worker shared Macdonald’s sentiment—going to the Park Slope Food Coop is so ingrained in their daily lives that getting there is all muscle memory.

“With my eyes closed I come here,” said Lou Merlino, who has been delivering juice to the community grocery for four years. “But you got to have a sign.”

Regardless if the sign did or did not help passersby with a sense of direction, the sign is a beacon on Union Street.

“It’s a landmark on this block, it’s sandwiched between Squad 1’s statue and Dixon’s mural,” said CJ Holm, who lives in Flatbush and has been a member for four years. “It’s a triptych landmark of Union Street.”  

And in it’s absence, it is missed:

“I looked up and said, ‘I don’t remember an empty poll,’” said Kevin Rosenberg, the owner of on Garfield Place and who has been a member since 2011. “I was born in ’73, so it was cool seeing ‘Est. 1973’ on the sign.”

Holtz assured Patch that the missing landmark has not messed up his sense of direction so far, especially considering that it will be back soon.

“I am not disoriented,” he said, “yet.”


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here