SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Allowing extra time for additional bids on Penn Traffic's stores will result in more of the locations being acquired, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said at a worker rally here on Dec. 30.
"Penn Traffic has received numerous bids, and the odds are pretty good that the vast majority of stores will remain open," he said at the rally, a video of which was posted on YouTube last week.
As reported by SN last month, creditors have agreed to extend the bidding process until Jan. 21, with the court scheduled to announce the winning bids on Jan. 30. Penn Traffic filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November and said it plans to seek buyers for all 79 of its locations, 53 of which are in New York.
The bidding has become somewhat of a war between union and non-union suitors, with non-union Price Chopper, based in Schenectady, N.Y., offering $54 million for 22 of Penn Traffic's P&C stores in New York, and unionized Tops, based in Buffalo, N.Y., reportedly set to offer a higher bid for a larger portion of the stores.
Workers at both Penn Traffic and Tops are represented by United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1, based in Oriskany, N.Y.
"Tops is interested in acquiring Penn Traffic¹s assets," a spokeswoman for Tops told SN last week. "At this time we cannot comment on, or speculate about, any outcome." As of Dec. 31, Penn Traffic had not yet filed an offer from Tops with the bankruptcy court.
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