by Sara G. Levin

Whole Foods, Bad Neighbors?

Whole Food’s Christina Minardi and Fred Shank at the CB3 meeting (Speaker Silver’s rep. Jessica Loeser, in the back, is not associated with the company) Public Defender Natasha Lapiner Giresi was among the wine store owners

hole Foods Market representatives sought to “mend fences” with local wine merchants and Community Board 3 members last month. In a hastily drawn meeting that came after the State Liquor Authority postponed their vote on approving the license, concerned residents and store owners said they were being kept in the dark regarding the company’s proposed wine shop, at the corner of the Bowery and Houston Street.

Local wine store owners were pleased last fall when their protests and the CB3 license denial influenced the SLA to deny the corporation its license. The neighborhood, they said, is oversaturated with liquor stores.

But CB3 District Manager Susan Stetzer feared Whole Foods might use its muscle to convince the state authority to reconsider. The supermarket is seeking a wine license for its soon to open downtown store, after its Columbus Circle wine store was closed for violating separation regulations. Under state law, a company may only operate a single wine store, which must have its own entrance.

Throughout December and January, Stetzer kept in close contact with WF’s representatives, but received little information regarding their plans for the Bowery wine store.

Discovering only days before their SLA hearing that the supermarket had reapplied for a wine license without telling her, Stetzer said she and the community board felt insulted.

“It’s been so hard to get information from you,” Stetzer told Whole Foods staff, including North East Regional Vice President Christina Minardi. “There has been distrust because you have not been forthcoming and I did not find out about your hearing until local merchants told me the Friday before.” According to Stetzer, attorneys dealing with CB3 share information on their exchanges with other officials.

In response, Minardi insisted that she desires to be a good neighbor to local businesses. “It’s very important to Whole Foods to have a good relationship with the community,” she said. She added that it was the SLA’s suggestion to move the wine store downtown, and that it will be 1,800 square feet, not 5,000—a number previously given by Whole Foods’ public relations dept.

“We are open to joint wine tastings,” Minardi said, describing how the store on Union Square collaborates with Farmer’s Market vendors in special sampling sessions.

But Steve Flynn from September Wines & Spirits on Stanton Street accused Whole Foods of being underhanded in trying to get around the community. In a heated back-and-forth exchange between locals and Whole Foods representatives, opposing sides found it difficult to see eye to eye.

“The first four stores listed in your state application as your closest competition are incorrect,” Flynn said, implying that Whole Foods had not been as thorough as they were claiming to be in learning about the neighborhood.

He added that, suspiciously, the company only had to wait several days after reapplying to get a hearing, when it takes most applicants six to eight weeks.

Frank Giresi of the Elizabeth and Vine wine store on Elizabeth Street said the quick turnaround for Whole Foods likely resulted from a private meeting between the store’s attorney, William Shrieber, and SLA Chief Executive Joshua Toas. Kevin Hirson, another attorney for WF, insisted that such a conversation would be legitimately private as part of the litigation process.

But when Hirson claimed to have reached out to various local officials as part of WF’s effort to be good neighbors, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s District Office Coordinator Jessica Loeser stated her office had never heard a word from the company.

Still, many of the meeting’s attendees said they favored Whole Foods Market coming to the area, just not the wine store.

Lyn Pentecost who leads the Lower East Side Girls Club was not only excited to have a supermarket selling quality food in the neighborhood, but more jobs.

“There seems to be a big opportunity for employment,” Pentecost said. “Employment is one of the biggest problems we have around here.”

According to Minardi, the store will hire a total of 650 workers.

In response to a question from GSN, Minardi said the projected wine sale portion of overall sales in the new store is 2-2.5 percent. When asked why the store would risk its good name over comparatively negligible revenue, she restated WF’s right to use its license as it sees fit.

But WF’s spokesman Fred Shank said, “By having a wine store, we’re able to deliver a more complete shopping experience that our shoppers have told us they are looking for when they’re at a Whole Foods Market. Many recipes call for wine as an ingredient, and our knowledgeable Team Members enjoy helping our shoppers make the right selection.

“We believe that many of the fears expressed by local liquor store owners are unfounded. Not only do we believe that there are more than enough shoppers in the neighborhood to support all the local businesses, we also know from past experience that when one of our stores opens there is an increase in foot traffic.” This does not ease the nerves of local wine sellers.

“We cannot compete,” said Patricia Kirkland, who started Wine Therapy on Elizabeth Street with her husband Jean Baptiste Humbert in September. “If we had known you guys were coming, we would not have invested our life savings and taken out bank loans to open this store.”

At the close of the meeting, the CB3 SLA committee voted to object in the most stern language to Whole Foods’ opening a wine store down here, and the resolution seems highly likely to be adopted by the full board as this issue is going to print.

Robberies Down, Explorers Up At 7th Precinct

Officer Ruben Tejada leads the Explorer youth group at the 7th Precinct

aptain Frank Dwyer showed a surprising security tape from the Delancey Street Dunkin’ Donuts during last month’s police community meeting. The recording revealed an unsuspecting blonde teacher who failed to realize that her bag was being swiped from under her chair, as she was tutoring a student. The thief—a mother who used her two children as accomplices— was eventually caught stealing from a church pew, and Dwyer warned that “opportunity crime” is fairly common.

“We’ve had more robberies for cell phones than money,” he said, explaining that people distracted by conversation make for easy targets.

Even so, Dwyer reported that robberies in the 7th Precinct were down 50% compared to the same time last year. He added that he had requested new lights for dark sections of Henry Street, and they should be installed in April.

Officer Barbara Jew was introduced to the community as the new Asian Community Liaison. In this recently created position, according to Dwyer, she will be an important asset for the estimated 20,000 area residents of Asian decent. Jew, who speaks Cantonese, has been with the precinct six years.

In an update on the Explorer program for young adults, Officer Ruben Tejada conveyed that twenty teenagers have signed up for activities at the precinct. The program is a nationwide initiative to mentor students by allowing them to practice police drills, receive homework help and coordinate community service.

Although fewer than twenty of the students regularly attend meetings, Tejada is happy that more are coming than in the past.

“It’s slowly building up,” Tejada said. “Rather than having these kids hang out on the corner, possibly doing things they shouldn’t be doing, they should be able to come hang out here.”

Justin Davila, who works for LES Productions, pledged his support to the Explorers. On behalf of his production and event planning group, Davila said that all proceeds from their annual film festival later this year will go to the youth program.

Housing Court Judge David Cohen, who lives in Seward Park, gave a talk on ways to avoid Housing Court. Cohen described lease laws and details about Section 8 and “one shot deal” loans.

According to Community Council President Donald West, the organization’s treasury currently stands at $6,137.

M22 Service Cuts

he CB3 transportation committee discussed last month the MTA’s latest planned bus service cut to the LES: 10 percent reduction in the M22 during peak evening hours (4-7 PM).

The M22 runs along Madison St. to Chambers Street and is this area’s main connection to the Manhattan civic center.

“We’re already underserved when it comes to transportation,” said Morris Faitelewicz, an auxiliary police officer and member of the CB3 transportation committee. “It makes it more difficult for people to get” home from work on time.

CB3 has gone on record many times in declaring that without accessible subway service, much of the surrounding Grand Street area requires more, not less bus service.

According to the MTA, the reduction of service at peak PM hours will only come to 4 percent, increasing wait time between busses from 9 to 10 minutes.

Parents Protest Mayor’s Broken Promise

utraged that Mayor Michael Bloomberg does not have the funds to build two schools he promised downtown residents two years ago, PS 234 parents organized a protest in front of their school last month. The promise was allegedly made in exchange for community support for the newly constructed condominium tower between West and Greenwich Streets, directly across from the school.

The projected schools, whose construction funds are now being pulled, include an addition to PS 234, the 234 Annex, for 140 children; and the Beekman School, on Beekman Street, intended for 630 students grades kindergarten through eight. Both schools serve Lower East Side students.

“PS 234 is already bursting at the seams,” said demonstrators’ spokesperson John Jiler. “Where are the tens of thousands of new downtown residents going to send their kids?”

The “promise-breaking” protest coincides with the ground-breaking ceremony at the Minksoff Organization’s condominium tower near the school.

GSN requested a response from the Mayor’s office, but none was received by the time we went to print.

Local Mother, Families, Fighting to Salvage Heroes’ Remains

Robert Foti’s children at the 2004 renaming of Cherry Street after the 9/11 hero, with Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (left), City Council Member Alan Gerson, and the United Jewish Council’s David Weinberger (center) and Executive Director Joel Kaplan (right).

amilies For a Proper Burial, dedicated to removing World Trade Center rubble and unidentifiable human ash from the Fresh Kills landfill on Staten Island, won a small victory in January, when a New York Assembly committee unanimously passed their bill for retrieval of the remains.

For East River Housing resident Rose Foti, whose son, Ladder 7 firefighter Robert Foti, perished on 9/11, seeing his remains stay within a landfill is unbearable.

“I’m so ashamed of my country, my city, the people who are holding back the innocent and the heroes from a proper burial,” Foti says. “They are cremated and they’re laying on garbage.”

FFPB founder Diane Horning says her goal is to pass bill A0934 through the Ways and Means Committee, so it can reach the full Assembly. Its sponsor, Rockland County Assemblyman Ryan Karben, has been working with a dedicated group of parents and relatives from his district, including Mary Novotny and Maureen Bosco, who both lost their sons, Horning says.

Shiya Ribowsky, Former Director of Special Projects for the Office of Chief Medical Examiner, explains that because so much time has passed, the debris and ash have become part of the ground beneath them.

However, according to Ribowsky, “The decision what to do with the [debris] has nothing to do with science, it’s a political decision the city government has to make, and hopefully they’ll make it,” taking into consideration “the families’ emotional distress.”

Praying With The “Rumanians”

The Rumanian Synagogue on the night its roof collapsed

ebitzen Chana Spiegel welcomed me, and other worshippers, into her small apartment on 383 Grand Street the Saturday after the First Rumanian-American Congregation’s roof collapsed in Late January. With a proud air, she served cake and refreshments while scrambling to find enough seats to accommodate everyone there for Shabbat service. Her son, Rabbi Shmuel Spiegel, led morning prayers.

“I was in Israel when it happened,” the rebitzen said, describing how no one in her family told her about the accident until after arriving home that Thursday. They did not want to upset her, she thought, even though the Spiegels may be as bound to First Roumanian’s history as leather to a prayer book’s cover.

Chana’s husband, Rabbi Yaakov, served as the synagogue’s spiritual leader for twenty years; her son, Rabbi Gershon, is the congregation’s president; and her other son, Rabbi Aryeh, has spent considerable time helping his brothers sift through the rubble. In addition, the block on Rivington Street where the shul stands was named Yaakov Spiegel Way in 2003.

“I’m in exile, that’s the way it feels,” Rabbi Shmuel Spiegel said. “But even in exile, you can prosper.” The Sunday of the same weekend, he and dedicated congregants stayed at the Synagogue until 1 AM, clearing valuables from the arch downstairs. “I appreciate the support,” he said, emphasizing help from synagogue members and especially councilmember Alan Gerson. Council Speaker Christine Quinn visited the synagogue February 2, saying she will be monitoring progress closely. In a party organized at the Chasam Sofer synagogue on Clinton Street, over 100 people attended to celebrate that no one was hurt in the roof collapse.

But monetary support has been hard to come by. Though a construction company hired by the Synagogue is still in the process of clearing debris, Shmuel is striving to collect the means for saving all possible artifacts still within the building. That includes the original arch from the main sanctuary. Unfortunately, based on estimates Shmuel has received, the operation of securely removing the arch might cost around $50,000.

“I’m a realist, I know it’s going to take a lot of time,” Shmuel said, insisting he will return to Rivington Street, the site he visits three times a day. Clearing the debris before Shmuel is allowed back into the Synagogue will take another six to eight weeks, he estimates. As far as rebuilding the entire structure, he said, “I give it at least a year, and maybe even more.”

PS 184 Celebrates Year of the Dog

eneath floppy ears, golden jackets and doggy makeup, students from the Shuang Wen School PS 184 sang the Year of the Dog’s “lucky greeting” in Chinese, during the school’s Lunar New Year Show last month. Smiling excitedly and nervously, dazed and confused, toddlers in bright prints shared the stage with older musicians, singers and dancers.

“Every year when we put kids on stage, they make me cry,” said Ling-ling Chou, the school’s principal. After speaking in English, Chou repeated her welcoming address in Chinese.

The Pre-K to 7th grade school, located on East Broadway, offers classes in Mandarin.

While parents fiddled with digital cameras within the packed auditorium, third graders danced to the Chinese Zodiacs’ New Year Greeting. Grey, statuesque dogs stood in the background as middle schoolers demonstrated fierce Kung Fu punches and blocks. The evening was a fundraising event for the school.

“In this Year of the Dog we note that dogs are known for putting welfare of family and friends at the forefront,” wrote Chou in a New Year address to parents.

GSN Fills Up Potholes

arly in February, City workmen dug up two manholes on Grand Street, corner of Jackson and Henry. They surrounded the ditches with a sweet looking picket fence, which was shortly thereafter smashed into tiny bits by a careless motorist. The holes remained as they had been, gaping and dangerous.

We called up 311 and endured a succession of transfers from one City department to another, until we landed the culprit: The Dept. of Environmental Protection. We complained and they promised to investigate. We also emailed Susan Stetzer at CB3. A day later the holes were filled, albeit shabbily. But better shabby than never, we think.

Got complaints? Write with as much detail as possible to: info@cb3manhattan.org

Yori Yanover

Community Board 3 February 2006 agenda

Please confirm all meetings on our website, www.cb3manhattan.org or call 212-533-5300.

Human Services, Health, Disability, & Seniors / Youth & Education Committees, Tue, 3/14, 6:30 PM, location to be Announced • Parks, Recreation, Cultural Affairs, Landmarks, & Waterfront Committee, Thu, 3/16, 6:30 PM, Casa Victoria, 308 E. 8th St. (Bet. B & C) • SLA & Economic Development Committee, Mon, 3/20, 6:30 PM, JASA/Green Residence, 200 E. 5th St. • Housing, Land Disposition, Zoning, & NYC Housing Authority Committee, Tue, 3/21, 6:30 PM, Project Renewal, Kenton Hall, 333 Bowery (Bet. 2nd & 3rd) • Public Safety & Sanitation / Transportation Committees, Tue, 3/21, 6:30 PM, location to be announced • 197 Plan Task Force, Wed, 3/22, 6:30 PM, CB3 Office, 59 E. 4th St. • Executive Committee, Thu, 3/23, 6:30 PM, CB3 Office, 59 E. 4th St. • Community Board 3 Meeting, Tue, 3/28, 6:30 PM, PS 20, 166 Essex St. (bet. E. Houston & Stanton)