To the Editor:

I am in full agreement with the remarks made by Nina Lublin in the issue of May 27, 2000, concerning Gristede's. It is still the same understocked food store it was then. Instead of more food choices, we are given hardware, flowers, and a pharmacy, although we had these on the Island already.

What we wanted was more and better food choices, and better quality food, as well as better prices. What we got was the same as it was before the change. Food quality is poor, and prices outrageous. Take the "large" peaches at $1.49 a pound. They were hardly any bigger than marbles, and old and with wrinkled skins on many of them. If these are what they call large, I would hate to see what they call small.

I wasn't so lucky this past autumn. I waited for some chestnuts, and waited some more. By the time they got them in, it was past the season for them and most of the nuts were rotten, and the ones that weren't were bone dry. At a lower price, do you think? No, they were $3.99 a pound. My neighbor got some nice ones at about half the price in Queens.

A jar of Greenhouse pickles I bought there in about February were marked 09/99. Some of these are still on the shelf. I wound up throwing them out, because they were soft enough to come apart when I tried taking them out of the jar.

I am sure all of you have had similar experiences in this store, and no one likes it.

Then the foods I want are often on high shelves. I have to look around for a clerk to get them down for me, as I am only five feet tall, and can't reach them. There is not always a clerk around, so I can't buy what I intended to get.

Gristede's opened this megastore hoping for more business than they got. They put extra cash registers on the other side of the store, but don't even need the ones where the clerks are. They seldom have need for more than one or two people at the registers. The extra ones are used as storage space.

Will they ever learn? Why not ask the customers what they want, instead of trying to force what they want down our throats? Then maybe they would get the extra business. But after eleven years of living on this Island, I have abandoned all hope of a better food store here.

Dorothy Cusce

 
To the Editor:

I want to thank you for the article about the principal of PS/IS 217 that appeared in the May 13 WIRE. This community has not been given enough information about Ms. Gregory. She is a very important part of our children's daily experience. However, I must say that as a parent I have some concerns.

Perhaps you can do a follow-up article explaining specific ways Ms. Gregory plans to put her philosophy into the practices and procedures that involve the curriculum.

There are some alarming stories floating out here on Main Street involving safety and the natural human development of children. However, at this time I think it is prudent to concentrate on the article.

I want Ms. Gregory and the community to know that I appreciate her candor and questions concerning the changing demographics of the student population. This issue requires much more than observations, particularly since understanding the student population is a key element involved in the educational process.

In the article, Ms. Gregory is quoted as saying that "there has also been an underlying issue and I am not sure why." That statement was preceded by the reporter's statement about how changing demographics of the Island have "led to the decline of the school."

This is a powerful observation with significant implications that can be detrimental. Therefore it is important to address this matter with diligence and analysis. Therefore I am asking The WIRE to follow up on this matter.

I will also forward this letter to Ms. Gregory. I am asking her to work with the community and organize a multi-cultural interdisciplinary panel to research, analyze and explore the issues concerning demographics and curriculum.

As a black Native American parent I am attached to this issue and I plan to follow up. Our children are blessings from the Great Spirit and we are charged with watching over them and making sure there is justice, harmony and peace in their lives.

This country exists and flourishes because of diverse demographics and the contributions of people of color all over the diaspora and reservation X. Therefore it is critical how we refer to the young minds that will have the mission of advancing our society.

Finally, without people of color this country would cease to exist. Therefore we must learn how to educate on this small globe we call home. (Roosevelt Island is a small reflection of greater society.)

I look forward to your responses, Editor and Principal.

Lael Dancing Leaf Freewood

 
To the Editor:

Anyone who walks around the Island early in the morning has noticed this problem: The sprinklers are on even on rainy days. When it is not raining, they don't always water the grass, but sometimes they water walkers. If there is nobody, the water falls in the river.

Last summer while counties or cities were asking residents to refrain from watering lawns to save on water because of the drought, the sprinklers on Roosevelt Island were following the pattern above.

Water shortage is a real problem around the world. The problem exists here despite the fact that the Island is surrounded by water.

How and why can't sprinklers be turned off on rainy days? And you "early-birds," please don't duck away when the sprinklers are watering you or the river. Stop. Since you cannot turn the water off, you can at least turn and direct them back to the plants or grass.

Thank you for helping to save that precious resource called water.

Beatrice Luvwefwa-Miller