When times were best, through about 1993, the number of Korean-owned groceries had reached about 5,000, Mr. Ku said.

Instead, Dinkins's term was marked by polarizing events including the 1991 Crown Heights Riot and the boycott of a Korean-owned grocery in Flatbush, Brooklyn.

One contender, he said, could be Colin Moore, a black lawyer who was involved in the long and bitter black boycott of two Korean-owned groceries in Flatbush.

Mr. Spitzer, whose investigation has led to settlements with three grocers for back wages, said the labor-law violations were not limited to Korean-owned groceries.

The first was the black-led boycott of a Korean-owned grocery in Brooklyn, which the Mayor sought to end by mediation.

Dinkins's term was marked by polarizing events such as the boycott of Korean-owned groceries in Flatbush and the 1991 Crown Heights riot.

His store is on the same site as Tropical Market, a Korean-owned grocery that closed after a boycott in 1988.

The Korean-owned groceries advertise plantain and coconut.

Korean-owned grocery in Brooklyn vandalized.

He said three Korean-owned groceries closed down within two blocks of his store in the last two years.