According to the “I’m Boycotting Duane Reade to Save Williamsburg” facebook group, a Duane Reade will be opened on Bedford, directly across from Kings Pharmacy this Saturday.
First off, I need to state that I don’t really give a shit about saving small business in this case.
I do, however, give a shit when urban planning is totally disregarded and services are doubled up. We already have several pharmacies all of which are a stone’s throw from each other, reminding me of the Lewis Black sketch where he declares “the end of the universe” when he discovers a Starbucks across the street from another Starbucks. Duane Reade will be open 24 hours, which will probably end up being the downfall of Kings. This “perk” still does not justify its existence. Space is at premium on Bedford and needs to be utilized effectively.
You know what we could use? A Trader Joe’s. Or a Bank of America. Or better yet, how about some green space? Williamsburg and Greenpoint have one of the lowest people to park space ratios in all of Brooklyn at .06 acres per 1,000 residents, when the city planners recommends at least 2.5 acres per 1,000 residents. It’s only getting worse with the likes of the Domino Sugar development and Duane Reades among us.
Let’s face it, we are maybe 40 baby-filled strollers and one more high-rise away from being a perfectly lovely and totally gentrified Brooklyn neighborhood (read: Park Slope). Corporate outposts don’t spring up spontaneously in neighborhoods. They did their cost-volume-profit analysis and, bingo, Williamsburg looks good. Our consumption habits are bringing them in. But when corporate businesses have to waste our time with their march on independent business, we lose out.
So, instead of the hollow-sounding and vague argument of “Saving Williamsburg,” don’t forget that corporate greed is actually wasting our space for their purposes, not ours.
“…I don’t really give a shit about saving small business…You know what we could use? A Trader Joe’s. Or a Bank of America.”
wow.
truly fuckin’ blows my mind.
FYI: DR is going to have a walk in beer room and the other tenant is going to be HSBC; HSBC in Greenpoint and on Broadway will shutter and consolidate to this spot.
I really don’t understand your argument though. This has always been private land and there was 0% chance that it’d become open space. How is King’s a small business anyway? They’re all over the city. The market is going to dictate the tenant and, if it’s any consolation, they signed exorbitant leases at the height of the bubble; it’s close to 100 bucks a sf. And why would you want Trader Joe’s there, to put a real small business like Tops out of business? Density is what makes this city special. Open space is great, but move to Denver or something if that’s so important to you.
it’s happened elsewhere, and it’ll happen here. it’s basically too late for Wburg- just ride out the good times while it lasts. people already put in a bazillion dollars into making those overpriced ‘luxury’ condos/apts. it’s all about gradually jacking up the rent all over the place so everyone can profit- they don’t care about culture. i hate corporate greed, and always for the underdog, so i’ll join the boycott anyway.
Wholefoods…
I’m all about the Duane Reade, if only because it has a Chase ATM and doesn’t have $10 credit card minimums. It sucks to have to scrounge together $10 of stuff at a Bedford Ave bodega when I only need trash bags and a soda.
Duane Reade is going to drop the bottom out of the Sparx and Kombucha market and totally own Williamsburg…just you watch. Any urban planning initiative to make Williamsburg more like Park Slope has my support!
When King’s Pharmacy came in I boycotted it because I didn’t like them putting the squeeze on Northside Pharmacy, and also because the owners of that building, using the Fire Dept., callously evicted the long-term artist-tenants on a frigid Xmas eve and one of them even had a newborn baby.. newer spiffier tenants moved in within months..
I find the “fight the corporate bully” sign in Kings’ window ironic given that history.
Oh GOD, Williamsburg needs more national banks. There are 4 bank of america outlets near Bryant Park and they need to throw Brooklyn a few. Seriously, it’s hard to be self-sustaining bank-wise in the neighborhood, with all the cash-only places, and I always have to run into Manhattan to withdraw money if I don’t feel like victimizing myself to those awful bodega atm fees…
what does urban planning have to do with two pharmacies across the street from each other?
we don’t have a planned economy, so therefore stuff like that happens.
Nothing worse than an ignorant hipster who knows how to string some sentences together.
i’ve found very few people, actually nobody, that realizes that the ceo of whole foods has said that he loves wal-mart, and that he would love nothing better than to be responsible for the demise of every co-op in america.
here’s a slogan i came up with, to help people along:
whole foods = wal-mart
I lived in Austin during the Slacker years when WF’s “flagship” store there was still a refitted IGA, A&P, whatever. Grad school friend working then for the mgr, now CEO, claimed he was a complete asswipe. His subsequent Texas-style “right2work ” (=union-busting) policy pretty much shows she was right. Just ask yer friends in Berkeley or Cambridge about how WF rubbed out the local chains there. Get ready to bend over, Williamsburg, and remember to enjoy the ride!
I don’t really see williamsburg as a mecca for small business. Tops may be be a small business but they are INCREDIBLY overpriced. The mark up doesn’t come with organic quality either. Same with Sunac, it’s a business that sprung because someone saw an opportunity to make money off an area where money isn’t really an issue. Now if there was a farmers market or a co-op that was being put out I would be a little more upset. If you are for “smaller” businesses don’t shop at Duane Reade, but williamsburg is full of douchey college kids that don’t give a shit and will shop there anyways. The landscape is reflecting the demographic.
Bad post
You don’t care about small business in Williamsburg? Some small independent businesses that have offerings different than what you get in a strip mall can really add to the unique flavor of a neighborhood
You want a Bank of America? – Next door will soon be an HSBC!
Also you act as if its by chance they open across the street from their main competition – just to waste space.
No on the contrary they open across the street for a reason, to put the competition out of business. By taking half the business away they can wait it out and force the smaller competitors to eventually close up.
i say we move our cafes, art spaces, organic restaurants, DIY venues, bike shops and such to Bushwick…oh wait! im sure locals would welcome all this over a Pathmark or a Duane Reade
If you really want small town mom and pop stores why do you move to New York City, the bastion of capitalism? It’s like why even bother complaining about “the man” as we take a paycheck from him and live in our state of the art condo financed with money made by hedge funds?
Pack up and move to Vermont….
I lived in billyburg for 5 years before the boners found out it was ‘cool’. Shot a b/w film thingy at Teddy’s. Wrote stuff. Ate greasy food. Drank lots of wine. Wondered around the desolation along the river, happy in the b-burg clam, before all the cheap screwdrivers decided to pry it open and kill it. But it was only a stupid fucking clam, man.
Free Williamsburg? Dude—fuck Williamsburg. Free yourself instead. There are plenty of clams. lol, u ziplock.
YESSSSSSSSSSS, TRADER JOOOOOOEEEEEESSSSSSSS. FUCK Whole Foods.
Williburg has been Gentrified, which is good for some, progress is progress, now your complaining that your being Gentrified (Corporate Gentrification).. LOl What goes around CUMS arounds.. LOl
Reminds me of the the Euros who came over & said the Natives are in our way, so they kept pushing & pushing, until no Natives were left too push. Corporate America is PUSHING now & you can’t RUN.. Run 2 Bushwick & they will follow, because you will always CONSUME, that’s what we Americans do BEST.
Consume, Consume, Consume & Bank of America is a JOKE, it’s nothing but a Confederate Bank happy to outdo the BIG Yankee Banks. You folks are nothing but “PONZI’S” for Bloomberg & his gang of Merry Billionaires. Which equals TISCH & Co. do your research & STOP acting like you created the Universe.
Why do you think Bloomberg didn’t want to give UP POWER?
After the market crashed all these Billionaire could buy their stocks back at the fraction of the price, knowing it would go back up and much more within a year or less. How could the Banks pay that money back it such a short time, without giving out loans or creating anything to sell.
10 Billion dollar loans, stock drops 75% plus or minus, then you buy back your stock at a bargain basement PRICE, it goes back up & much more. Now you haved 40 Billion, 10 Billion back to the Gov.(our TAXES), 20 Billion back to the Company, 10 Billion to split with your Shareholders, CEO etc. etc.. What a SCAM & we fell for it. “SUCKERS we TAX PAYERS are”.. You see what’s happening in Europe & Greece, their hitting the streets.
I wonder what the CEO of CitiCorp is doing now with his Billions that he made from our TAX DOLLARS? Maybe buying a new Island? While we’re camplaining about “DRUG STORES IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD”
We’re BEGGING Asian Countries to BAIL us OUT!! Someday they won’t need us as much.. What will we do then?
Turn your IPOD over, Designed in California, Assembled in China.. Corporate GREED & you don’t even question it.. LOl
So Boycott all you want, we’re all “ONE BIG CORPORATION”
Called the U.S.A. LOl
Enjoy.. 🙂 I Do!! So turn those IPOD’s UP & let the Chinese folks buy us UP. South America will be our future Landlords after Brazil host the 2012 World Cup & 2016 Olympics, can’t wait to go DOWN.. Fun in the SUN
Peace!!
Kings is a staple in the community – williamsburg has very few chains in the neighborhood which is part of its charm. I think its a shame that they are going to take the business from Kings but it is up to you guys (the WB residents) to continue to shop at Kings to keep it from failing.
Your comparison to Park Slope is unwarranted. Brooklyn has most certainly become increasingly more gentrified throughout the last 10 years but the historic brownstones have mostly just been renovated and restored in Park Slope. Williamsburg however was raped by the condo developers. I lived in one of those buildings for a year and it was the biggest disaster I have ever had to deal with. After the ordeal I moved to the Park Slope area and truly enjoyed it there is still so much beauty in Park Slope, Cobble Hill Brooklyn Heights etc – where WIlliamsburg has become full of empty half-completed, poorly constructed condo buildings which will become public housing in the next 5-10 years (or so my building manager told me) If you should be mad at anyone right now it should be The Developers Group and NOT Duane Reade. Kings and the other mom and pop shops still have a chance as long as the residents continue to support their businesses.
Williamsburg is getting nice and wealthy and becoming mince meat for the numerous thieves and low lifes who are stealing cars, robbing drunk hipsters wearing eye-pods, eye-pads, eye-fones. the number of assaults has risen dramatically and now with a 24 hour DR the homeless will have a place to hang when the weather gets peaked.
It’s going to take lot’s more than a DR to gentrify the hipster/homeless/hasidick haven, they still outnumber the noobs in the hood.
Wal-Mart is coming to Bushwick…. I can not wait. It’s awesome.
Jackie Snow: I have to agree with the others, you are the worst person.
…and i resent the whole stroller comment.
i don’t see what babies have to do with gentrification.
i have over 125 friends on facebook, and not one of them has a child.
BUT, if you walk by the least gentrified areas of williamsburg, say, by the PUBLIC HOUSING projects, then you’d see plenty of strollers.
Funny, the same people who forced the prices to go up for the locals are now experiencing the same thing.
Here’s a wake up call, Williamsburg was never the cracker infested hipster shit hole it is now. That’s a recent thing.
You fucking people need to get over yourselves. Build your next utopia out of Bushwick.