Monday, June 25, 2007
Fearing Wal-Mart Will Bring Too Much of the Outside In
It seems whenever Wal-Mart proposes a new store, controversy sprouts. Across the country, environmentalists, unions, civic associations and churches have objected to the retailer’s plans to drop anchor in their communities, citing concerns about traffic and crime, merchandise and employment policies and the overall quality of life.
But the protest of a planned 215,000-square-foot store here has a decidedly religious overtone.
When residents talk about traffic, they are fearful for the safety of families walking to synagogue on Saturdays. When they fret about merchandise, they wonder if frowned-upon items like bikinis and lingerie will be on display for everyone to see. And when they imagine the outsiders who would shop at the store, they worry that their presence could transform the town’s pious, sheltered atmosphere.
“The reason a lot of us came to live in Monsey is because we wanted to raise our families in a safe place, away from the influences of the outside world,” said Yossi Weinberger, 30, a father of four who works at a local travel agency. “I’m not sure it will be easy to do it if we have such a gigantic piece of the outside world move to our town.”
Philip H. Serghini, a public affairs manager for Wal-Mart, has visited the community of 28,000, most of them Hasidic Jews, at least six times since October. He has met in private with about two dozen rabbis to explain the company’s proposal to turn a shuttered drive-in theater on Route 59 into a retail magnet for miles around.
But two years after Wal-Mart unveiled its plan, opposition persists, as the Community Design Review Committee, an advisory group to the Planning Board in Ramapo, of which Monsey is a part, reviews the project’s environmental impact statement.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/25/nyregion/25walmart.html?em&ex=1182916800&en=2fe4f73e8b27b948&ei=5087%0A
It seems whenever Wal-Mart proposes a new store, controversy sprouts. Across the country, environmentalists, unions, civic associations and churches have objected to the retailer’s plans to drop anchor in their communities, citing concerns about traffic and crime, merchandise and employment policies and the overall quality of life.
But the protest of a planned 215,000-square-foot store here has a decidedly religious overtone.
When residents talk about traffic, they are fearful for the safety of families walking to synagogue on Saturdays. When they fret about merchandise, they wonder if frowned-upon items like bikinis and lingerie will be on display for everyone to see. And when they imagine the outsiders who would shop at the store, they worry that their presence could transform the town’s pious, sheltered atmosphere.
“The reason a lot of us came to live in Monsey is because we wanted to raise our families in a safe place, away from the influences of the outside world,” said Yossi Weinberger, 30, a father of four who works at a local travel agency. “I’m not sure it will be easy to do it if we have such a gigantic piece of the outside world move to our town.”
Philip H. Serghini, a public affairs manager for Wal-Mart, has visited the community of 28,000, most of them Hasidic Jews, at least six times since October. He has met in private with about two dozen rabbis to explain the company’s proposal to turn a shuttered drive-in theater on Route 59 into a retail magnet for miles around.
But two years after Wal-Mart unveiled its plan, opposition persists, as the Community Design Review Committee, an advisory group to the Planning Board in Ramapo, of which Monsey is a part, reviews the project’s environmental impact statement.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/25/nyregion/25walmart.html?em&ex=1182916800&en=2fe4f73e8b27b948&ei=5087%0A
Comments:
I am quoted in the story as Shlomo Zalman.
(Thanks VIN for getting me in touch with the reporter.)
The reporter took my comments somewhat out of context. Nothing surprising coming from the NYTimes (or any major media for that matter.)
I told her I supported the store. But her angle was that everyone is against it, so she made my comments appear that way.
Even my comments she used were not a direct quote, even though she put it in the paper as a direct quote. She took my answers and rewrote it as a direct quote.
The quote “I don’t know if I would shop there” I did not give bchlal.
(Thanks VIN for getting me in touch with the reporter.)
The reporter took my comments somewhat out of context. Nothing surprising coming from the NYTimes (or any major media for that matter.)
I told her I supported the store. But her angle was that everyone is against it, so she made my comments appear that way.
Even my comments she used were not a direct quote, even though she put it in the paper as a direct quote. She took my answers and rewrote it as a direct quote.
The quote “I don’t know if I would shop there” I did not give bchlal.
Comment Credit ---This article posted by 
: June 25, 2007 11:21 AM
: June 25, 2007 11:21 AM
“The reason a lot of us came to live in Monsey is because we wanted to raise our families in a safe place, away from the influences of the outside world,”
Get a life, Mr. Weinberger. Do you really think that there is a greater chance that Monsey children have a greater chance of becoming "At Risk" because of Walmart?
Get a life, Mr. Weinberger. Do you really think that there is a greater chance that Monsey children have a greater chance of becoming "At Risk" because of Walmart?
Comment Credit ---This article posted by : June 25, 2007 12:57 PM
: June 25, 2007 12:57 PM
No one is being forced to shop in Walmart. If the Chassidish community wants to avoid the store who is stopping them? They can shop in their own stores all they want.. Maybe they're afraid of losing business to Walmart because the prices there are much better. There's already a Walmart on Rte. 59 only minutes away from Monsey, so I don't know why Walmart needs to open another store anyway.
Comment Credit ---This article posted by : June 25, 2007 3:22 PM
: June 25, 2007 3:22 PM
if you read the article it says they would close the other one.
Comment Credit ---This article posted by : June 25, 2007 9:06 PM
: June 25, 2007 9:06 PM
This is truly silly. The only reason a store like this is worried is because they overcharge us other frum yidden like crazy, and dont want to lose our business...believe me when I say that if they would charge the same prices as Walmart then all of us would gladly buy our stuff there..the traffic issue will be a major problem, Ifeel like I live in Brooklyn again already(UCH) Where is Preserve Ramapo when we RELLY need them? We arelosing tons of life quality daily, and it has NOTHING to do with Walmart!!
Post a Comment
Comment Credit ---This article posted by : July 08, 2007 6:45 PM
: July 08, 2007 6:45 PM
