New York, NY – On Tuesday, December 13, a rally and press conference was held in front of
the Morton Williams supermarket at La Guardia Place and Bleecker to present petitions with
thousands of signatures, calling on the City and NYU to work with the community to keep the
grocery store at its current location.
During the rezoning process which has enabled yet another NYU expansion, assurances were
made by both parties to that effect, yet when the City issued the legally binding restrictive
declaration, the pledge to preserve the supermarket was missing. This after when during the
original ULURP process, the preservation of the store remained front and center.
As a result, the downtown Manhattan neighborhoods of Greenwich Village, SoHo, NoHo and
East Village and vicinity communities will lose their only full-service supermarket unless the
City and NYU honor their commitments.
The community has organized the Save Our Supermarket (SOS) campaign to protect this vital
community institution that serves over 3,000 neighborhood residents and small businesses daily
and a community of over 23,000 inhabitants.
Local 338 RWDSU/UFCW President John R. Durso said, “Morton Williams has served as a
critical lifeline for thousands of residents in the area for decades and is the main accessible
grocery store in the community. It served as a lifeline during the pandemic, as one of the only
stores open in the area for residents to get their necessities.” He also pointed out that 60 union
workers, members of his union, could lose their jobs.
Former Councilmember and community leader Alan Gerson said, “Initially, the City reserved the
option to utilize the Bleecker Street site to become the future home of a school for children with
learning disabilities with the supermarket relocated to the new NYU building at 181 Mercer
Street. The University now states that it cannot accommodate the supermarket there despite
initial assurances that it would. We support the school in our vicinity, but without dislocating a
crucial necessity to our community from its half-century plus location, and without endangering
the vital and much-loved award-winning LaGuardia Corner Community Garden abutting the
site.”
Gerson also described the rally, where around 150 people turned up despite the frigid
temperatures. Elected officials also made an appearance. Councilmember Christopher Marte was
there, and Congressman-Elect Dan Goldman sent a message saying that he would work with the
community to save the supermarket upon taking office in January. Gerson himself is a former
Councilmember, as well as one of the chairs of the SOS movement, along with Judith Callet.
The gathered crowd “wound up singing a resounding chorus of the classic labor song (my
mother taught me) ‘We shall not be moved’ adding the refrain ‘Mort Williams is our market, it
shall not be moved’” he added.
Gerson said in an interview with LaborPress that the supermarket had been on this site “for over
half a century.” He also spoke of the workers at the store, saying, “We as a City need to mean
what we say when we describe the supermarket and its employees as an ‘essential’ service and
‘essential workers’.”
Speaking of the shameful potential for competition between the supermarket and the school,
Gerson said, “We are not going to pit the proposed school for the site (not a local school but one
for children with disabilities) and the supermarket against each other. We can and will have both.
The supermarket at its current site and school nearby. Other sites affordable to the City exist in
the area – even more affordable to the City because those sites will not involve the demolition of
the supermarket.” Referring to the abandonment of the assurances by the City and NYU and the
City’s issuance of its binding restrictive declaration with no mention of the supermarket at all,
Gerson said, “Something smells funny – and it’s not the supermarket’s produce department.”
Economic fall-out would also affect the area, he said, as “the supermarket supports the small
business and restaurant and nightlife economy by being available 24 hours with supplies.”
At the rally. Debbie Dunn of Local 342 UFCW, representing the butchers, and Nikki Kateman,
of Local 338 RSDSR, representing all other employees, spoke about the value of the supermarket
to the community and workers. The supermarket was the first market in the area to reopen when
electricity became available after Hurricane Sandy. Workers have delivered vital service during
times of crisis: Sandy and the pandemic, for two examples. Workers know and have relationships
with community members, and are part of the community. Workers look out for the community.
Gerson said that the supermarket also has another vital function: it serves the needs of the
elderly, disabled and special needs of the community. It delivers to the homebound and the sick,
including people sick with COVID. It provided shopping assistance for people who are in need
of that service. It stocks goods for people with special dietary needs, for diabetes, sugar free, as
well as reduced salt or salt free, etc. It is fully accessible. It offers an affordable hot meal buffet
for those who need hot food. It gives charitable donations to community charities. It is walking
distance from a major cluster of the elderly, folks with wheelchairs, walkers, and canes.
Finally, he addressed more of NYU’s actions. “NYU previously issued a statement saying they
are working with elected officials to find a resolution which preserves the supermarket in the
area. Our response: NYU should join with the community to keep the supermarket at its site and
find an alternative spot for the school. The school for children with learning disabilities would
work synergistically with NYU’s school of education, which NYU should welcome to the
campus. NYU throughout the rezoning process promised that it would relocate the supermarket
if needed into the new building on Mercer Street. The supermarket serves NYU faculty and
students, both of whom joined the rally.”
Gerson added, “We are calling on the City and the New York University administration to honor
the commitment made to the entire community – including university faculty and students – of
the continuous operation of a full-service supermarket on the block where it currently sits. We
call upon the City and the NYU Administration to work with the community to find a
responsible resolution, which maintains the supermarket at its current site, preserves the garden,
and locates the school in the vicinity. We call upon the Mayor and every one of our elected
officials to intervene to protect and Save Our Supermarket.”
