Another Instant Grocery Delivery Center Is Open In Astoria

ASTORIA, QUEENS — Another company promising grocery delivery in a matter of minutes is opening up in Astoria.

Buyk, a company that promises grocery deliveries within 15 minutes, recently launched in Astoria from the ground floor of a luxury building located at 28-16 21st Street, a spokesperson confirmed with Patch.

The company calls its sites "dark stores," fulfillment centers that aren't actually open to the public and are used by staff for packing up grocery orders.

Buyk opened its first stores in Aug., and has since expanded to 25 citywide locations — part of a grocery delivery app market that's expanded aggressively into New York in recent months, including in Queens where at least two other similar delivery companies have opened since Sept.

A representative for Buyk told Patch that Astoria was the company's next "natural choice" for a dark store, since "it's a fast-moving residential area where people value their time a lot."

Some locals, however, argue that the fulfillment centers harm neighborhoods, possibly taking business away from local bodegas and supermarkets while forcing more delivery workers onto the streets.

Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer even went as far as to suggest that the centers may be illegal, Patch reported.