Walmart is the largest seller of food in
Wal-Mart Stores, the world's biggest retailer, reported Tuesday that its U.S. same-stores sales rose by 1.5 percent during the fourth quarter. REUTERS

A new study finds that an opening a Walmart in Harlem could potentially hurt local businesses, forcing dozens of grocery stores and fresh food markets to close.

Manhattan Borough Presidetn Scott Stringer will join owners of local businesses to protest the possibility of the megastore from opening in the community. They say it will force fresh food stores out of business around 125th Street and Lenox Ave, according to NY1.

Stringer's office surveyed 304 food retailers in Harlem and based their results off of other data from a study in 2009, report NY1. The report included data that said about 25 percent of businesses in Chicago's West Side were forced to close after a Walmart opened in the neighborhood.

Walmart