WE WON!!!!
By Alan Gerson
Our Morton Williams supermarket has received a new lease on its life, literally, at its current location.
As we fully unwrap this Holiday present, I just want to add what a pleasure it has been to collaborate with each of you and our community. I am absolutely confident that we would not have achieved this victory if we did not come together as a united community. We should feel proud that we took the high road, not pitting one segment against another but rather insisting on a win-win-win-win outcome, for the entire community, the supermarket, the garden, the school, and even the university. We pressed our effort with the case for integrity and good government. Our victory goes to show that the community, united in just cause, can prevail!
An historic note: As most of you have probably heard me say, I remember decades ago my mother, Sophie Gerson, working with some of the long-timers like Anne Hearn, Connie Masullo and Chickie Piazza, to “welcome” Morton Williams when they took over from Grand Union and to make sure the supermarket remained community friendly, as they did. We continued their activism.
It was important that we had great turn-outs in each of our demonstrations. Each of you receiving this email, and so many more, played critical roles in achieving our victory. However, I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge my co-Chair, Judith Callet, and my colleagues on the SOS Executive Committee: Ray Cline, Larry Goldberg, Keith Rorjensen, Anne Hearn, Jeannie Wilcke, Susan Goren, Lois Rackoff, Art Kriemelman, Ellen Resnick, Mary Mitchell, Amy Cappell, Ashley Bernstein, in the random order of our list. In addition we greatly benefited from, and enjoyed, the support from the unions, and their leaders, representing Morton Williams workers: RWDSU Local 338, Nikki Kateman, and UFCW Local 342, Debbie Dunn, and their members. We should also acknowledge the important support of our local elected officials: Borough President Mark Levine, Councilmembers Christopher Marte, Carlina Rivera; Assemblymember Deborah Glick, Senator Brian Kavanagh, Congressmember Dan Goldman, and our friends in the Adams administration and their office staffs. We must thank our local press for their fair coverage: The Village Sun, The Village View, Washington Square News and others. As I mentioned to Lincoln Anderson, our successful effort underscores the importance of community journalism, for without their coverage our voices could not have achieved the same reach. A special salvo to the terrific Morton Williams team who, in addition to producing great supermarkets, produce great t-shirts: Avi Kaner, Morton Sloan, Richard Lipsky, and Jonathan Rubin.
Those t-shirts now join the annals of community victories won. Let us treasure and save them (they might be worth something as historic items one day) as we move on to more victories for a better community and a better world. I wish each of you a Happy New Year — in a world at peace.
Alan Gerson, a former City Council Member and Community Board 2 Chair, served as Co-Chair of Save Our Supermarket, which organized community and political support for the Morton Williams supermarket.
