The food-service company tapped to open eateries in Coney Island’s revamped amusement district is leaving a bad taste with a lot of people — neighbors, students, minority employees and Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.
The French cafeteria-services giant Sodexo has paid $100 million in legal settlements since 2005 to settle allegations of overcharging New York students and of denying black employees promotions.
Sodexo — which was quietly selected by the operators of Luna Park to run a full-service restaurant a block off the fabled boardwalk and is expected to operate other food establishments on the boardwalk — paid $80 million in 2005 to settle a lawsuit brought by thousands of its black employees in America.
These employees charged that they were routinely barred from promotions and segregated within the company.
The controversy surrounding Sodexo – which has 380,000 employees worldwide working in hospitals, schools, prisons, military bases and government buildings – doesn’t end there.
Following a state investigation by Cuomo, Zodexo in July agreed to a $20 million settlement for overcharging 21 K-12 school districts statewide and the SUNY college system for food and vending-machine services from 2004 to 2009.
“This company cut sweetheart deals with suppliers and then denied taxpayer-supported schools the benefits,” Cuomo said.
The company also has long been accused of union bashing and providing poor working conditions to employees. Actor Danny Glover was arrested in April protesting the company’s working conditions.
Zamperla USA, which operates Luna Park and controls another three acres of prime seaside land through a city lease, selected Sodexo months ago to operate a $1.4 million year-round, sit-down restaurant now under construction at the corner of Surf Avenue and W. 10 Street — but without any formal announcement.
Zamperla is currently embroiled in a legal battle to evict eight longtime boardwalk businesses – including Ruby’s Bar and Grill and Shoot the Freak – to clear way for their new vision of a cleaner, more sanitized amusement district featuring Sodexo.
These plans include also bringing a sit-down restaurant with waiter service to the boardwalk, along with a sports bar.
Zamperla spokesman Tom Corsillo confirmed Sodexo would run the Surf Avenue restaurant and also have a “significant boardwalk presence.”
Although details haven’t been finalized, sources said Sodexo brought in architects last week to determine how to use space now occupied by the Paul’s Daughter and Piko Pio Riko food stands for the second restaurant.
Anthony Berlingieri, owner of Shoot the Freak and Beer Island bar, ripped Zamperla for “pushing out” the boardwalk mainstays to bring in Sodexo.
“Coney Island has always been for all classes – not just the rich – but everyone is going to suffer because of Sodexo’s high prices and their history of not being warm to all kinds of people,” he said.
Sodexo did not return messages seeking comment, but Corsillo said Zamperla is committed to bringing in an “exciting mix of world-class dining, nightlife and entertainment at all price levels.”
He also said Zamperla remains committed to providing “much-needed jobs and economic opportunity” for Coney Island residents, the majority of whom are black and Hispanic.
Sodexo has also come under fire in editorials from campus newspapers at Fordham University in the Bronx, Montclair State University in New Jersey and other colleges nationwide for allegedly selling poor quality food and overcharging for it.
The news of Zamperla bringing in Sodexo was first reported by the blog Amusing the Zillion.