There’s a lot of crying over spilled milk.
The bankruptcy of local distributor Beyer Farms threatens to kick off a dairy domino effect that could also topple Elmhurst Dairy, the only milk-processing plant left in New York City, according to executives.
Elmhurst Vice President and General Manager Jay Valentine told The Post that Beyer’s collapse slashed 20 percent of his company’s revenue overnight.
Elmhurst processed thousands of gallons of Tuscan brand milk, which Beyer in turn distributed to scores of stores, schools and offices in the New York City area.
“We’re losing money,” Valentine said in an interview.
Elmhurst, which employs about 500 workers, is a 90-year-old family-run business based in Jamaica, Queens. Beyer is practically next door.
Now Valentine is asking for the city’s help to keep Elmhurst afloat, including giving it an edge in local auctions for milk contracts as well as some marketing firepower.
“We absolutely have to have some help from the city,” he said, adding that “they have been cooperative but they are focused on new jobs instead of job retention.”
Valentine said he hoped the city would give a local milk processor a leg up in auctions such as when choosing suppliers to provide milk for city schools.
Elmhurst Dairy currently provides milk for Brooklyn students.
He also would like the city to promote goods made by local manufacturers, perhaps giving them an “NYC local manufacturer” label.
“We also need to do other things as well to make ourselves more well known,” he said.
A city spokesman for the small business department did not return calls.
This is not the first time Elmhurst has said it was in dire straits.
Last year, the company said it was facing possible closure after the milk processing it did for Starbucks was shifted to Dean Foods.
A Dean spokesman declined comment.
Beyer distributed the Tuscan dairy brand, which is owned by Dean. Elmhurst was paid by Dean to process that milk for delivery.
As The Post reported exclusively, Beyer fell millions behind on payments to Dean, which in turn stopped supplying it with milk.
As a result, Dean is using a different distributor and has stopped shipping milk to Elmhurst for processing.
Henry Beyer, the grandson of the founder, didn’t return calls last week for comment.