STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- If you’re grabbing a cup of coffee at the Hylan Commons in New Dorp and need a WiFi connection, Amazon has got you covered. The goliath e-tailer -- who will still not confirm whether or not it is opening a supermarket in the borough -- is now hosting a public WiFi hotspot titled “Amazon Guest” in the shopping center. And it’s fully functional and ready to use.
“We do not comment on our future roadmap,” a representative for the company noted when asked whether or not the sudden presence of this hotspot is an indication that the location will be opening soon.
Amazon will still not confirm whether or not it is opening a supermarket on Staten Island, but is now hosting a public WiFi hotspot titled “Amazon Guest” in the Hylan Commons shopping center in New Dorp.
A tell-tale green-and-black striped façade is already in place and some black-and-gray shopping cart bays have been installed for months. Also, a license to sell beer at that very address has been filed by Amazon Retail and is pending with New York State, according to records. However, the company is still not making its Staten Island intentions official.
“Over the last year, we’ve focused on expanding the convenience of the Amazon Fresh store shopping experience to customers across the country,” noted a blog post published on Amazon’s corporate website, aboutamazon.com, earlier this year, boasting about openings in a variety of states, but completely excluding New York.
“So far, we’ve opened 23 Amazon Fresh stores in the U.S. -- with more stores confirmed to open in California, Illinois, New Jersey, Virginia, and Washington state -- that enable customers to skip the checkout line thanks to Just Walk Out technology or Amazon Dash Carts,” the blog continued. “We’ve also introduced a new private label food brand -- Aplenty-- that provides delicious meals and is available only at Amazon Fresh. Aplenty offers products that are thoughtfully crafted using high-quality ingredients and cooking methods to deliver great taste at an incredible value.”
First reported by the Advance/SILive in May as a possibility for the borough, the very modern food-shopping experience, which began launching in 2020, was originally born of the brand’s Amazon Fresh online grocery services. Featuring a strong presence in California (14 stores in total), with other locations scattered throughout only four other states, the concept has reportedly been popular thanks to its competitive prices and free same-day delivery and pickup services. Amazon Fresh’s physical stores have spread rapidly in the past two years. If 430 New Dorp Lane turns out to be a Fresh location, it will be the first in New York City.
Welco Realty, which is in charge of leasing the property, did not respond to Advance/SILive.com queries about which supermarket brand will occupy the location, and does not offer much detail about the shopping center on its website. But it does note that the new 44,448-square-foot supermarket anchor will be opening in 2022.
So what can borough residents expect if Amazon inhabits the site?
Notable features in Fresh stores include the aforementioned “Just Walk Out” shopping experience, which tracks everything you take off the shelf and then charges you accordingly. Amazon Dash Cart, a “smart” shopping cart, enables customers to skip the checkout line by scanning a QR code. The cart uses a combination of computer vision algorithms and sensor fusion to identify and charge the items put into the cart. Alexa features are also available, allowing customers to manage their shopping lists, as well as ask the assistant to help them find an item while in store.
The company notes on its website that Fresh stores feature “everything you typically find at a grocery store, with the low prices you expect from Amazon.” The site also notes that you do not need to be a Prime member to shop there, but customers who wish to use the store’s self-serve technologies need to have an Amazon account with a linked credit or debit card.
If the New Dorp store is in fact an Amazon Fresh location, borough residents can also count on an influx of jobs in the neighborhood.
“Amazon Fresh stores have created thousands of good jobs in communities across the country, and we are currently hiring for a variety of roles at new and existing stores,” the brand notes on its website. “All positions offer starting wages of at least $15 per hour, a variety of benefits packages, and opportunities for career growth.”