In a previous post, What a coincidence, I pointed out that a food pantry was scheduled to pop-up in Skate Time’s parking lot on December 7, 2021 – two hours before the beginning of a referendum in which Town of Rochester voters may have decided to buy or not to buy… Skate Time 209!

It’s hard to believe that Skate Time’s owners Stephen Apkon and Marcina Lee Hale-Cristobal made the parking lot available – for free food distribution on the referendum day – without any thoughts of tampering with the people’s good will for a deal in which they stood to pocket a $730,000 profit, while the Rochester taxpayers would have been saddled with potential loans totaling twelve million dollars.

The deal fell through, the referendum was cancelled, and I was curious about the pop-up food pantry.

What food pantry?

During the hours advertised (10:00 am – 1:00 pm), the only thing one could see in Skate Time’s parking lot was the above discarded sign referring to something that took place in the Spring of 2020.

Makes sense! No referendum, no need for the Community Action’s Pop Up Food Pantry…


jdm