Grocery Group Announces Opposition to Fresh Direct
Mott Haven Herald
By Anacaona Rodriguez Martinez
Powerful supermarket mogul, pols, press mayor to stop subsidies
A second front in the battle to keep food delivery company FreshDirect from moving to Port Morris moved to the steps of City Hall, as South Bronx community activists joined a powerful grocery store lobby and two City Council members to urge the mayor to nix the deal.
Speaking on behalf of John Catsamatidis, the CEO of the Gristedes supermarket chain, Vince Dabone called the claim that FreshDirect deserves public subsidies “laughable.” A billionaire and former mayoral candidate, Catsimatidis has thrown his considerable influence behind the New York Association of Grocery Stores, which supports South Bronx Unite’s boisterous opposition to the FreshDirect deal.
The nearly $130 million in subisidies promised to FreshDirect by the state, the city and the Bronx amount to helping “one business to put others out of business,” Dabone charged.Speakers at the City Hall press conference on Nov. 14 said the subsidies were a potential deathblow to many mom-and-pop stores and bodegas around the city.
