PATHMARK GETS MAYOR'S O.K. TO BUILD EAST HARLEM STORE

LISA A. TIBBITTS

WOODBRIDGE, N.J. -- Pathmark Stores here received final approval last week from New York City Mayor Rudolph Guliani to build a store in the East Harlem section of Manhattan.

Pathmark's proposal to develop a vacant lot on 125th St. had been held up for months because of opposition from local businesses and community leaders who claimed that the presence of a large supermarket chain would hurt area shops.

To placate opponents, Guliani hammered out a deal in which Pathmark will develop the project in conjunction with neighborhood ethnic groups.

Pathmark will rent the site from the project's developers for an undetermined annual sum. That money is to be used to fund housing developments and similar neighborhood improvement efforts.

Construction will likely begin in about six months, according to a Pathmark spokesperson. The store is expected to create about 200 jobs in this economically depressed area.

The store will be designed in the perishables-heavy Pathmark 2000 format.