De Blasio, Mark-Viverito Meet with Foes of Fresh Direct
Politico
By Sally Goldenberg and Laura Nahmias
Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito attended a private meeting with a vocal Bronx community group that opposes plans already underway for a FreshDirect in the borough and has long demanded an audience with the mayor.
The meeting did not appear on either of the two officials’ public schedules, but was highlighted in a press release and series of social media posts from the group, South Bronx Unite, several weeks ago.
The organization also has been a staunch opponent of Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, who has emerged as a critic of de Blasio and a supporter of Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the governor’s ongoing feud with the mayor.
In a press release dated Oct. 13, South Bronx Unite said it met with de Blasio, Mark-Viverito and “senior members of the city’s Economic Development Corporation to discuss the environmental and health crisis in the South Bronx” a week earlier.
