YOUR WEEKLY COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER SERVING CHELSEA, HUDSON YARDS & HELL’S KITCHEN
READY TO MAKE A RUN FOR IT Manhattanite Marathoners Put Themselves to the Test (see page 3)
Via Nike+ Run Club/Project Moonshot NYC
Andrew Leibowitz (second from left), training for the TCS New York City Marathon with his “Project Moonshot” group.
WIC VOUCHER PROTEST TAKES PLACE AS PLANNED; BOTH SIDES VOW TO CONTINUE TALKING BY DUSICA SUE MALESEVIC While community activists continue their push for grocery store chain Gristedes to once again accept WIC, the two sides agreed late last week to meet. John Catsimatidis, owner of Gristedes, and Italo Medelius and Miguel Acevedo, the leaders of the effort, had a conference call on Fri., Oct. 27 (Chelsea Now was also on the call). Catsimatidis said that
he wants to take WIC vouchers but he has problems with the way the state runs the program. Acevedo, who is the president of the Fulton Houses Tenants’ Association, suggested that they work together and meet at his office. The important thing is “these single mothers have the opportunity to use the vouchers,” said Acevedo. WIC is a supplemental nutrition pro-
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gram for women, infants, and children. The program, which is federally funded but administered by the state’s Dept. of Health (DOH), helps low-income pregnant women, mothers, and children up to the age of five by providing food, such as baby formula, milk, and fruits and vegetables. Gristedes stopped accepting WIC checks in August 2016. Catsimatidis
said that checks from the program were bouncing, and thus he was incurring fees. In an August 17 Chelsea Now article (“Few Options for Chelsea WIC Participants; Petition Demands Change”), Catsimatidis noted there was inadequate reimbursement from the state, saying that they’re “paying us the same prices as WIC continued on p. 25
VOLUME 09, ISSUE 36 | NOVEMBER 2 - 8, 2017