Small grocery stores in Paterson are notorious for cutting corner, from turning off the refrigerator during closing or keeping the fridge temperature down to scale back on electricity costs, but all of that has a cost. In the past store owners got away with it, but there is a new initiative in the city that changes all of that.

Mayor Jeffery Jones since the day he came to office, almost always talked about quality of life issues — he even issued a document that told city residents to call certain numbers when a law violation is spotted — but now he is doing something about it with his new squad called: The Unit.

During mid-day in the 4th Ward, near 10th ave, The Unit, invaded a block, checked local grocery stores for violations such as: food stored at inappropriate temperature, building code violation, and the likes.

Going into a store, and surprising the owner allows the city to catch them during a vulnerable time, when they least expect city inspectors and health department officials to be scrutinizing their businesses, making the method all the more effective.