Fairway Says Its Video Footage Proves Banned Mom Shoplifted

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Welcome to Day Two of the Fairway Lifetime Ban controversy! On Day One, Upper East Side mom Elissa Drassinower, 33, accused the new Fairway on E. 86th Street of unfairly blacklisting her after she forgot to pay for milk, Red Bull, and a six pack of Corona that she'd stashed in her stroller. Today, the supermarket strikes back.

CEO Howard Glickberg tells the Post that he's got video footage of Drassinower paying for some of her groceries, then placing them in her stroller basket—the same place where she'd stashed the ostensibly forgotten goods. "The security video clearly shows that she sees the products after she's checked out," says Glickberg, who shared the footage with the Post (check it out after the jump.) He also defends the lifetime ban, arguing that the store needs to be consistent in its punishment of shoplifters, whether or not they were acting deliberately.

Meredith Paley, whose nanny was banned for life at the Upper West Side Fairway, says it's possible—if difficult—to get the supermarket to reverse its judgement. Her babysitter forgot to pay for a single mango in the stroller, and Fairway said video footage demonstrated that she was pretending not to see the fruit. Paley eventually convinced the store to lift its ban, but it took her a year of begging.
· Mom Banned From UES Fairway After Forgetting to Pay For Milk [Racked NY]
· Fairway 'shoplift' mom takes video hit [NYP]
· UES mom banned from supermarket after leaving unpaid groceries in stroller [NYP]