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www.desitalk.com – that’s all you need to know 5 CITY VIEWS July 18, 2025 Analysis: City-Run Supermarkets Aren’t New. But No One’s Tried Them In A City Like New York largely relies on raising taxes on New York’s wealthiest one percent and ad- ditional corporation tax. The city already spends millions on FRESH, a program launched in 2009 to tackle the lack of neighborhood grocers in select com- munities. There are now more than 50 FRESH-supported stores that are open or in development and receive a mix of zon- ing benefits and tax breaks. But a report from the comptroller’s office found the program’s impact on food access has been limited at best. Mamdani has jumped on those find- ings, criticizing the program for having little accountability for affordability, labor standards or acceptance among those eligible for food assistance. “There’s no guarantee those groceries are cheaper,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg’s Odd Lots podcast in May. Benjamin Lorr, author of The Secret Life of Groceries, which examines the human labor that goes into the industry, said the idea of city-run stores may sound radical but is a natural response to deep imbalances in the current grocery market. If the market is failing to provide basic goods affordably and equitably, it’s not unreasonable for the public to step in, Lorr said. “The question is: Can it be done well? Is the juice worth the squeeze?” Much of the criticism of Mamdani’s plan comes because it risks threatening existing businesses, which have been pressured to increase prices due to rising costs. Bodega owners, for example, worry they could be undercut by city-run gro- ceries, which under Mamdani’s proposal wouldn’t have to pay rent or city license fees. A spokesperson for Mamdani said the new stores would be placed in food des- erts, where there isn’t existing competition – but the genuine existence of true food deserts in the city is debated. IsabellaWeber, an associate profes- sor of economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, was one of 30 progressive economists (including Yanis Varoufakis) who signed a letter backing Mamdani’s policies, and sees municipally- run grocery stores not as a cure-all, but as a necessary experiment amid what she calls an “affordability crisis” engulfing food, housing and childcare. This crisis, she said, is further exacerbated by over- burdened food banks amid the eroding safety net of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which will face deep cuts under Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. “These are things where you can’t say, ‘I’m not in the mood of eating today,’” Weber said. “They’re necessities of life.” A public store could reduce prices by eliminating markups, using public land and applying subsidies, she said. If scaled, it might also force private grocers to lower prices. “But that’s a big ‘if,’” she said. An alternative use of the funds could rely on a model seen in Mexico, where the government negotiated with major grocery chains to cap prices on essen- tial goods. India has taken a different approach too through fair price shops, which offer high-calorie foods at subsi- dized rates. THE VENEZUELA COMPARISONS The mayoral candidate’s idea has prompted sharp warnings from local supermarket operators. John Catsimatidis, owner of the Gristedes and D’Agostino grocery chains (and a former Republi- can candidate for NewYork City mayor), threatened to leave the city if Mamdani is elected and warned of “Soviet bread lines” if the plan goes forward. “Everything Mr. Mamdani is suggesting was already done by Hugo Chavez in Venezuela and Fidel Castro in Cuba,” Catsimatidis wrote in an opinion piece for theWall Street Journal. Comparing the plan to Venezuela, whose food crisis is a cautionary tale of state-controlled food systems gone awry due to corruption and economic collapse, is not unique to the billionaire. Francisco Rodríguez, a former eco- nomic advisor to the United Nations and longtime researcher of the Venezuelan crisis, said there are lessons to learn from the country’s approach to operating city- run stores. While the Chávez government’s subsidized food stores initially helped reduce hunger and shore up political sup- port, the model unraveled when oil prices collapsed and the country could no longer foot the bill, leading to extreme hunger. “Those stores worked while the gov- ernment was riding high on oil prices. Once that revenue fell – first frommarket forces, then sanctions – it couldn’t keep subsidizing food, and the whole system collapsed,” said Rodríguez, now a pub- lic affairs professor at the University of Denver. NewYork, he said, would also have to contend with other problems that Venezuela faced, including exploitation of the subsidies by people who didn’t need cheaper groceries and black markets that flourished as people bought products to resell. “Most economists, and I would concur, say that universal subsidies aren’t the most efficient use of public funds,” Ro- driguez said. “You end up helping people who don’t need it.” Instead, he recom- mends targeted support that delivers food directly to needy families, expansion of other programs to those near poverty and social policies to support the middle class. For now, Mamdani’s proposal is still just a proposal. If he’s elected in Novem- ber and able to enact his plan, the pilot stores will become an important case study for democratic socialists. But their success will depend less on ideology than on execution. “It’s about trying, piloting, and see- ing what works,” saidWeber, the UMass Amherst professor. “If it works, it can be scaled. If not, at least we’ve learned some- thing valuable.” - Bloomberg - Continued From Page 4 Guru Purnima Celebration At Flushing Swaminarayan Temple H indus around the world celebrated Guru Purnima on Friday, July 11, 2025 on the full moon which also marked the last day of the month of Ashadh. The festival is devoted to honoring the Guru or the teacher or the mentor. The Guru plays an important role in the Hindu Dvaita or dualistic philosophy which con- siders the soul as separate from Godhead, but can become one with the Godhead with the help of a spiritual guru. Hindus also worship Lord Vishnu that day by keeping a vrat and engaging in spiritual and charitable acts. The festival is celebrated in temples in various ways including honoring a spiritu- al guru, organizing talks, offering prayers and singing bhajans. It is also celebrated by thanking teachers and mentors. The day is also celebrated by the Buddhists as the day Buddha delivered his first sermon at Gaya in Sarnath. Guru Purnima, also known as Vyas Purnima, is also celebrated in temples in the U.S. The Swaminarayan Temple in Flushing, NY, celebrated it on Sunday, July 13, 2025, as it does every year, with an evening full of programs. The highlight of this year’s program was a talk by Chaitanya Murti Swami from Akshardham in Robbinsville, NJ. In his pravachan, he spoke about the role of the guru as a guiding light. Explaining the reason for the day to also be named Vyas Purnima, Chaitanya Murti Swami informed the audience howVed Vyas, who dictated the Mahabharata to Ganesha, was an eternal guru. Other swamis spoke about their late guru Pramukh Swami and the current guru Mahant Swami and their experiences of receiving guidance from them. The evening’s program also included video presentations, skits and devotional songs. In a special ceremony, the Temple also honored and recognized the achieve- ments of graduating youth members. Also on Sunday, the Flushing Swami- narayan Temple began their month long celebration of Hindola. This year, however, hindola at the temple will be celebrated with a small replica of the swing and not with the usual life-size swing. Hindola is a festival for Vaishnavas including the Pushtimargis, celebrating Krishna and Radha. Images of both are placed on a swing and scenes of their life in Vrindavan are recreated around the swing. Devotees can pull the small chain, usually made of flowers, and swing Krishna and Radha. By Archana Adalja PHOTOS:Provided byExternal Affairs Administrator Dr.Vipul Patel. Chaitanya Murti Swami of Akshardham, NJ, speaking at Guru Purnima celebration at the Flushing Swaminarayan Temple, NY. A small replica of a swing is placed in front of the images of Krishna and Radha at the Flushing Swaminarayan Temple, NY. A devotee pulling the Hindola chain to swing images of Krishna and Radha at the Flushing Swaminarayan Temple, NY.