NY1, by Michael Herzenberg, July 21, 2011. Several dozen protesters hit the streets Thursday to denounce Walmart once again. This time they took aim at another company, as well, handing a letter to a representative of Related Companies to demand that it stop negotiating with Walmart to lease a property in East New York to the big box chain.
PolitickerNY, by Azi Paybarah, July 21, 2011. The legal options to block Wal-Mart from opening a store in East New York are rather limited. So, opponents are trying to win (or hold onto?) public sentiment that the big megastore will drive smaller, well-liked stores out of business. A labor-backed anti-WalMart group is out with a video today, featuring Councilman Charles Barron and other local residents talking about their appreciation for local store owners who go out of their way to help local residents.
The Langar Hall, by Brooklynwala, July 21, 2011. I just got an email from the Working Families Party (a progressive political party in NYC) about the latest developments in mega-corporation Walmart’s latest attempts to set up shop in NYC. One of the biggest real estate development companies in the city called Related is reportedly in discussions with Walmart about building its first NYC store in the Brooklyn neighborhood of East New York. The below video put together by ALIGN, the Alliance for a Greater New York, features a Sikh business owner, Iqbal Chhabra.
Buffalo News, By Maryellen Tighe, July 20, 2011. The state has powerful business incentives that could be used to promote urban reinvestment and slow down sprawl, advocates of reform say, but current policies prevent that. Industrial development agencies are funded by the deals they make, so numerous large plans are sought, and that prevents smaller local companies from benefiting, Sam Magavern, co-director of the Partnership for the Public Good, said Tuesday at a forum hosted by the group.
New York Observer, By Emily Witt, July 19, 2011. The day after the boisterous opening of Duane Reade’s Wall Street megashopping emporium, a rally was taking place a few blocks away from the new store. New York state assemblywoman Inez Barron and union leader Rich Whalen stood outside the New York State comptroller’s office on Maiden Lane to announce their request for an audit of a controversial land deal: the purchase by the Related Group of what is the rumored future site of a Walmart in East New York.
Buffalo News, By Dale Anderson, July 18, 2011. "Subsidy Reform" is the topic as Bettina Damiani, who runs Good Jobs New York, speaks at a downtown public forum sponsored by the Partnership for the Public Good at 4 p.m. in Suite 1200, 237 Main St. The subsidies she targets are the ones the governments give to companies in hopes that they'll create jobs, but it doesn't always happen that way.
Talk of the Sound, By Robert Cox, July 13, 2011. Members of the Getting Our Money's Worth Coalition responded positively to New York State Comptroller DiNapoli’s annual report on Industrial Development Agency (IDA) performance, which concluded that despite improvements in reporting, more needs to be done to accurately evaluate the effectiveness of these economic development agencies.
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, By Cara Matthews, July 12, 2011. Reporting requirements for New York's industrial development agencies are lacking and there is no apparent connection between higher tax exemptions and job growth, state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said in a report released Tuesday.
Radiohive, hosted by Danny Valdes, July 11, 2011. With its sweatshop products, town-killing megacenters, and anti-woman and anti-union policies, retail behemoth Walmart is no stranger to controversy. The company is a true capitalist juggernaught – in 2007, the IMF reported it’s sales revenue was greater than 144 economies in the world and it is the second-biggest contributer to the U.S. GDP – and the juggernaught now has its site fixed on New York City. Our guest is part of the David & Goliath struggle to keep Walmart out of New York City. He is Austin Guest and is leading the fight with Align against Walmart’s first New York City store.
Gotham Gazette, by Dan Steinberg, July 8, 2011. In the absence of leadership from the Bloomberg administration, the task of coordinating the city's economic development activities with its sustainability plan has largely been left to non-governmental organizations such as Urban Agenda (now the Alliance for a Greater New York), the Pratt Center for Community Development, NYC Apollo Alliance, and grassroots efforts such as Green Worker Cooperatives.