Marva Isaacs keeps a close eye on her community from her porch.

“I sit here with a glass of wine every afternoon when I come home from work,” said Isaacs.

As the president of the Hamilton Hill Neighborhood Association, she fights for her fellow residents.

“I’m mad and frustrated, you know, because it's something they should be looking out for, looking out for these seniors,” said Isaacs.

For years, Isaacs has been advocating for a new grocery store in downtown Schenectady, which is considered a food desert.

“Some of them could hardly walk, some of them in wheelchairs. You know, they can’t walk and they can’t push their wheelchairs straight down McCullen Street and go to the grocery,” said Isaacs.

But years of Isaacs sending letters and attending meetings has paid off.

“Our intent is to convert, to demolish this building, build a 15- 20,000 square foot retail supermarket,” said Schenectady County Legislator Gary Hughes.

The city of Schenectady has been awarded $2.75 million to demolish a vacant auto dealership, making way for a new commercial building.

“Where we're standing on State Street, the closest supermarket is two miles away, which, if you don't have a car, is a challenge,” said Hughes.

Facing that challenge is half the population in the Hamilton Hill and downtown areas. The proposed grocery would be located at 742 State Street.

For Isaacs, getting around isn’t as much of her challenge, but for many of her neighbors, it’s a different story. A drive to the closest grocery store is about 5 minutes; by foot, it would be 25 minutes.

Isaacs is hopeful, but said she doesn’t necessarily want to get her hopes up. She says she’ll keep writing letters and attending meetings until the doors to a new grocery store open for the first time.