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Scoopy’s Notebook, June 9, 2016

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Incumbent Gigi Li, pictured above, is being challenged by Chad Marlow, photo below, in C.B. 3’s chairperson election. Board members will vote on June 24. File photos
Gigi Li.
Gigi Li.

Take it to the limit: The reason Gigi Li isn’t seeking re-election as chairperson of Community Board 3 is not that she does not want to since she is running for Assembly in the 65th District in the upcoming September Democratic primary. It’s because she can’t. “I have had the honor of serving as board chairperson of C.B. 3 for four years, and am proud of what we have been able to accomplish,” Li told us. “Last year, we passed a new set of bylaws that included a four-year term limit for the chairperson position, which I supported. I continue to serve as a board member and I look forward to becoming the next assemblywoman for our community.” Asked what she felt the highlights of her four terms heading the East Village community board were, she said: “Leading resiliency and recovery efforts to rebuild our community after Superstorm Sandy. Increased transparency regarding board process and procedures. We held developers accountable for delivering public benefits and community uses at the Essex Crossing project. Playing a central role in developing a [Lower East Side / Chinatown] rezoning plan in partnership with the Chinatown Working Group.”

Prophetic Penley: Former East Village activist John Penley’s prediction has come true: Rolling Stone recently reported that Prophets of Rage — Rage Against the Machine minus former front man Zach de la Rocha — will be playing and stirring it up in and around the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.

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Mostly empty shelves at the D’Agostino supermarket at Greenwich and Bethune Sts. are making regular shoppers extremely nervous about the neighborhood’s food future. Photos by Sara Kimbell

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D’Ag-nam it! Readers are reporting that the shelves are increasingly barren at the D’Agostino supermarket at Greenwich and Bethune Sts. Writer and activist Michele Herman recently checked it out and gave us the report. “Many shelves are empty, shockingly so,” she said. “I got the deli guy to talk to me a little — just as a shopper, not a reporter. He says the same thing I heard from the manager: They’re waiting for the truck. Apparently ALL their stuff, including produce, comes from one supplier, C&S in New Hampshire. D’Ag has money troubles and hasn’t been able to pay for the shipment.” Villager reader Sara Kimbell also said she is very concerned at the market’s state. “I’m a longtime West Village resident and have always shopped locally,” she said. “It’s getting harder and harder to do so. We’ve already lost one supermarket — D’Ag at Christopher and Greenwich Sts. — and now this one on Greenwich and Bethune Sts. looks like it’s heading the same way.” And let’s not forget the recent shuttering of longtime local food standby Associated on W. 14th St. “It’s very sad when you can’t even shop for the family dinner in your own neighborhood,” Kimbell lamented. “One employee said, ‘Problem with deliveries.’ Another employee mentioned ‘cash flow’ problems. Markets are being forced out due to high rent.” She sent us some photos of the place’s nearly empty shelves taken this past Mon., June 6. According to sources, the D’Ag has been feeling it ever since Mrs. Green’s opened nearby.

Correction: In last week’s Scoopy’s Notebook, former New York State Senator Thomas Libous was referred to as Thomas Libelous — though Libelous sounds almost right! In July 2015, the late Libous, who was the state Senate’s deputy majority leader, was convicted of lying to the F.B.I. and had to vacate his seat. He was not sentenced to jail time, however, because of his terminal illness.