The federal government touts the program as an effective way to offer senior citizens choice and flexibility. But many seniors, including those at the Elmhurst-Jackson Heights Senior Center, say that Part D has left them confused and frustrated.

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Some Fairway shoppers said it was well worth budgeting the extra bucks to keep organic foods on the table.

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Katia Frishman tried for four years to get pregnant and finally underwent in vitro fertilization, only to miscarry after three weeks.

The 37-year-old Upper East Side woman and her husband didn’t give up, but decided to supplement their efforts with a method rarely mentioned in Western fertility clinics: Acupuncture.

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The City Council passed a measure Feb. 27 to issue 1,000 new permits for “green carts” that would sell fruits and vegetables in neighborhoods considered “underserved” by grocery stores.

While Mayor Bloomberg, health advocates and shoppers hailed the move, the green carts victory had owners and employees of local delis, supermarkets and bodegas seeing red.

Business Loss Feared

“We have to pay utilities, we have to pay employees and the vendors don’t. It’s not fair… The mayor, what is he thinking?” asked Park, an employee at Lee’s Fruits Market on 116th and Third Avenue in East Harlem. “If my boss starts making less money because of this law some people will lose their jobs. What are they going to do?”

But Teresa Ramos, a mother of three and a resident of East Harlem, said she likes the idea.

“Right now I only buy fruits and vegetables from the deli. The supermarkets are very expensive. And in the summer I only buy it from the street vendors because it looks fresher, I think,” said Ramos in Spanish. “It would be better if we could buy more fruits and veggies from street vendors because it’d be cheaper.”

Health Concerns Cited

The city’s 4,100 existing food carts primarily sell pretzels, hot dogs, soft drinks and chicken and lamb platters, among other streetcorner delicacies. Only about ten percent offer fruits and vegetables.

The Bloomberg Administration contends the high incidences of obesity and diabetes in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Harlem and southeast Queens are related to the lack readily available fresh fruits and vegetables. City Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden believes the measure will give people living in these neighborhoods more access to fresh produce.

“Access to healthy foods varies widely throughout New York City, and in many lower-income neighborhoods supermarkets are few and far between,” Bloomberg said in a statement. “There is demand for fruits and vegetables in these neighborhoods. This regulatory change will enable the market to meet that demand.”

The permits for the new fruit and vegetable carts will be phased in over two years.

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The Wishing Well community garden in the South Bronx soon will install a new toilet friendly to the environment but with a twist - the waste will be composted, and will end up a few feet away in plant and vegetable beds tended by students from nearby Public School 333.

Not everyone is thrilled about the cutting-edge composting toilet planned for Rev. James A. Polite Ave.: One garden volunteer doesn’t want schoolchildren using “human manure” - and some scientists say the fertilizer could be deadly.

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Dozens of women scheduled to give birth at Victory Memorial Hospital this holiday season had to find alternate sources of care weeks, even days, before giving birth.

Without a staff, the Bay Ridge hospital prematurely shut down its labor and delivery unit Dec. 21 — 10 days earlier than the original Dec. 31 date that was listed on employees’ termination letters.

Residents of Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights and Bensonhurst are already worried about Victory’s projected Feb. 1 closing date.

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There is no cure, but the disease can be controlled through regulation of sugar intake and laser surgery.

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The event was part of a discussion series sponsored by GMHC called Lives at Stake. This installment focused on black gay men and HIV in New York and around the world, and it was held in conjunction with World AIDS Day 2007, which was commemorated on Saturday.

The panelists took turns broaching difficult topics with a candidness that seemed much appreciated among the fervent crowd, who listened attentively to every word spoken.

Robert Miller, a black HIV-positive man who is on the faculty at the University at Albany, talked about spirituality and what it means for gay men, and how it can help them cope with an HIV-positive status. He said that spirituality helps people reconnect.

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