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Anti-Walmart Flash Mob Strikes Again - Walmart Free NYC & Jobs for Justice

A Few Weeks After Focusing on Related Co., the Flash Mob Disrupts Wal-mart CEO Mike Duke Appearance in Bryant Prk

Activists Promise to Continue Disrupting Wal-mart and It's Partners

On April 27, Walmart CEO Mike Duke visited New York City to have breakfast with the Wall Street Journal and a roomful of corporate elites. Everyday New Yorkers weren't invited. But we have a lot of strong opinions about his plans to take over our city and flood it with poverty wage jobs. So we decided to throw him a little surprise party, brass band in tow!

A hundred singing and dancing activists converged on Bryant Park on Wednesday to protest Walmart for its record of mistreating women, African Americans and Latinos and the LGBT community, and to confront Walmart CEO Mike Duke in person.


New York Jobs with Justice and members of the Walmart-Free NYC Coalition, including RWDSU, the Retail Action Project, New York Communities for Change, and Make the Road NY, held up yellow frowny-face masks and surrounded the windows of the Bryant Park Grill, chanting “Walmart cheats, Walmart hates, Walmart discriminates!” for nearly an hour as Mike Duke spoke inside.



Amid the chanting, a brass band loudly performed a dance number in front of the windows called "Mr. Walmart," modeled on Jean Knight’s “Mr. Big Stuff,” with a drag-clad Lady Liberty telling a performer dressed as Mr. Walmart on stilts, "Who do you think you are?/ Mr. Walmart/ You’re never gonna get my love."



“Walmart can spend as much money as it wants to buy its way into New York,” said Javier Valdes, Deputy Director of Make the Road NY, one of New York City’s largest community organizations. “But that doesn’t change the fact that Walmart doesn’t share New York’s values. They have settled a lawsuit for discriminating against black truck drivers, fired Latino workers who complained about being called racial slurs, and is facing the largest sex discrimination lawsuit in U.S. history.”



Walmart is reportedly looking to open many stores throughout the five boroughs. One possible location is the Gateway II development in East New York, Brooklyn, which is being developed by the Related Companies, who was the focus of the first Anti-Walmart flash mob. The site was subject to a lengthy community planning process, and Related’s recently reported move to introduce a Walmart into those plans without community consent have raised a flurry of opposition from concerned residents, community organizations and local elected officials.



At a recent Housing Preservation and Development hearing, concerns were raised that the City-sponsored appraisal of the land was incomplete.



According to event organizer Austin Guest of NY Jobs with Justice, “If Walmart opens stores in our city, there is no indication that they will stop their track record of killing local jobs, treating workers poorly, and eliminating competition from responsible employers. We will keep following Walmart and its allies to make sure that New Yorkers know what Walmart will bring with them into New York.”



For more information, visit www.walmartfreenyc.com

Victims of Gun Violence to Mayor Bloomberg: Condemn Wal-mart for Increasing Gun Sales

Wal-mart’s Cure For Struggling Sales? Reverse its Decision to Stop Selling Rifles, Shotguns and Ammunition at Many U.S. Stores

Communities and Families Plagued by Gun Violence Call on Mayor Bloomberg, a Strong Anti-Gun Advocate, To Tell Nation’s Largest Seller of Firearms it is Not Welcome in NYC

Victims of gun violence and leaders and families in communities plagued by gun violence, along with New York City elected officials, today denounced Wal-mart’s decision to sell more rifles, shotguns and ammunition at hundreds of stores nationwide after removing them from many stores five years ago.


Wal-mart’s decision comes after 7 consecutive quarters of same store sales declines in the U.S., which has spurred the retailer to pursue an aggressive urban expansion plan into New York City including a location in East New York, a neighborhood plagued by gun violence.


In 2008, Wal-mart enjoyed a major public relations boost when it announced it would participate in Mayor Bloomberg’s Responsible Firearms Retailer Partnership- a move even the NRA derided as nothing more than a “public relations stunt.”


The families of gun violence victims urged the Mayor to be as serious as he says he is about preventing firearm deaths before they happen, by telling the nation’s largest firearms dealer that it is not welcome in New York City.


Jackie Rowe Adams from Harlem Mothers Save said, “The mayor needs to step up and renounce Wal-mart’s awful decision. We have seen what guns have done to our communities, and bringing in a Wal-mart to our communities would send the wrong message- that we condone their gun sale policies which put people’s lives in danger.


Parents United to Rally for Gun Violence Elimination (PURGE), founder Freddie Hamilton said: “I hope a strong anti gun advocate like Mayor Bloomberg will recognize a disastrous decision when he sees one and calls on Wal-mart to stop. We need fewer guns on the streets, and Wal-mart’s decision will only mean more guns on the streets.


Public Advocate Bill de Blasio said:"As the largest seller of firearms and ammunition in America, Wal-Mart does not belong in New York City. I urge Mayor Bloomberg to continue his leadership on gun control by joining the fight against Wal-Mart coming to our City.”


Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer said:“The Wal-mart charm offensive ends today with news that the conglomerate plans to expand considerably the sale of weapons and ammunition. We know that the bullets that killed six people and wounded a United States Congresswoman in Arizona were purchased at Wal-mart, and now the retailer wants to make ammunition more accessible in both rural and urban markets. If the city wants to remain a leader on gun control, we need to take a hard stand against Wal-mart’s decision and make it clear that any corporation that looks for new markets to sell guns and fosters a culture of violence is not welcome in New York."


Councilmember Tish James said: “Any commercial establishment that sells guns by the truck-load does not belong in New York City. Guns are a scourge in New York City and no one sells more guns than Wal-mart, they don’t belong in our city.”


Councilmember Charles Barron: "East NY is plagued by the scourge of gun violence. And at the same time that Wal-mart is trying to buy their way into New York, they are quietly starting to sell guns and ammunition again. This is Wal-mart once again going back on a promise they’ve made because of their terrible sales, what other promises will they break?"


Councilmember Jumaane Williams said: "The gun violence in my district cannot be ignored and it cannot be accepted. Wal-mart bringing stockpiles of guns and ammo into our city would be a public safety hazard of the most heinous kind. This is the opposite of what we need to end gun violence in my district and in the City. Wal-mart is a company that will put lives in danger in order to turn a profit and I will not stand by and watch this happen without a fight."


When it comes to gun control and gun violence prevention, Wal-mart doesn’t appear to share New York’s values:

• Firearm sales: Wal-mart is the # 1 seller of fire arms in the US and takes in millions in profits from gun sales.
• Arizona: Wal-mart sold Jared Lee Laughner the ammunition he used in the Arizona shooting earlier this year, as was widely reported in the news media.
• Evading Laws: Wal-mart has a history of not complying with gun laws. In 2004, Wal-mart paid more than $14 million to settle a lawsuit brought by the California Attorney General alleging that the company committed thousands of violations of California state gun safety laws, including selling ammunition to minors and selling firearms to convicted felons, as was reported by the news media at the time.
• Wal-mart’s Responsible Firearms Retailer Partnership is a sham: The partnership relies on voluntarily compliance, and there are no actual obligations for Wal-mart to comply.

EAST NEW YORKERS ORGANIZE AGAINST MEGA-DEVELOPER RELATED COMPANIES FOR FAILING TO COME CLEAN ON WALMART

Barron, Small Business Owner, Local Leaders Say Related Wouldn’t Have to Duck Gateway Mall Questions if it Partnered with Trustworthy Stores

Barron to Go Store-to-Store to Mobilize Small Business Owners in Fight Against Developer’s Plans for a Wal-mart

Today Councilman Charles Barron joined with community leaders, residents, local business owners including the owner of New Lots Hardware Eddie Peralta in front of his local business to slam Gateway Mall developer Related Companies for failing to come clean on plans for Gateway II with regard to Wal-mart

Neighborhood residents and business owners oppose Wal-mart because they say the world’s richest retailer can’t be trusted, with its past record of pushing out local retailers, discriminating against African-Americans, Latinos, and women, and running expensive public relations campaign instead of answering questions at public hearings.

“Wal-Mart is trying to buy its way into our communities with a massive ad campaign, fancy commercials, and a slick website, instead of participating in open and public hearings and answering the community’s concerns. We are demanding that the Related Companies honor the City Council agreement not to bring Wal-Mart to our community,” said Councilman Charles Barron. “The reality is that Wal-Mart is a predatory retailer that pays low wages,provides inadequate healthcare and pensions and are anti-union. If Wal-Mart comes in, jobs will be lost.

Nathan Bradley of Community Board 5 says, "I have placed many phone calls to Related companies to asked them to come to our community board meeting to present their plans for Gateway II to CB 5, but they have ignored the community and have not responded to the many requests".

“I have tried to communicate with Wal-mart with no success. We would like them to participate in our community forum on April 28, 2011. It will be a good opportunity to speak with community residents. Unfortunately no one has responded," said Anna Aguirre, from community organization UCC.

• Wal-mart says it will build stores with union labor and pay employees above-average wages. They said the same thing in Chicago- spending $2.5 million on favorable advertising in the first 6 months of 2010. But as soon as Wal-mart won the zoning approval it needed, it said it never made a wage promise (June 2010), and publicly distanced itself from union labor (Feb 2011)
• According to an April 2011 Crain’s Chicago investigation, Wal-mart’s “benefits to minority contractors didn’t match the hype,” with much of the large-scale work going to non-minority firms.

“Wal-mart doesn’t share our values- they’re facing the largest gender bias class-action lawsuit in U.S. history, they sell more guns than any company in the world, and they deny workers a fair day’s pay and breaks,” said Maria Maisonet, East New York resident. “New Yorkers know better. We know past track records matter. And that’s why small business owners, tenant leaders, and community leaders are coming together to agree: Wal-mart doesn’t share our values, it can’t be trusted to keep its word, and doesn’t belong in East New York.”

Related suffered a week of negative press around its rumored partnership with Wal-mart, including a flash mob at the company’s head quarters, public scrutiny of the Gateway appraisal, and criticism for obfuscating its plans to bring Wal-mart to New York City.

East New Yorkers urged Related Companies to ditch Wal-mart, and instead choose responsible retailers and grocers like Shoprite, who has publicly expressed interest in the site.

According to a recent Crain’s New York article, full-time workers at ShopRite start at $11.75 an hour, and those wages go up to $12.50 within a year on the job. Wages continue to rise, based on experience, and the average full-time wage at the supermarket chain is $16 an hour. Employees also receive either a $1-an-hour bonus or time-and-a-half for working Sundays, depending on their length of service. Health care and pension benefits are fully paid by ShopRite, and 87% of ShopRite workers receive health coverage.

Wal-mart, on the other hand, says it pays an average hourly wage of $13.09 to full-time associates in its New York state stores, but it won’t release starting salary information, and has consistently denied an invitation from New York UFCW locals to have the state controller audit its records to ascertain actual wage levels. According to IBISWorld the average Wal-mart sales associate working full-time hours earns$8.81/hour.

After the press conference, Councilman Barron visited nearby small business owners to engage them in the fight against the developer’s plans to bring in Wal-mart.

“We make New York great and keep the money in our communities where it belongs. We can’t let Wal-mart, or Related Companies, push us out now,” said Eddie Peralta, small business owner of New Lots Hardware.

Unions Squeeze Walmart Partners - by Daniel Massey Crain's New York Business

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Opponents of Walmart plan to ratchet up the pressure on heavyweight developer The Related Companies this week, in a concerted campaign to show the city's real estate community that there's a potential cost to doing business with the nation's biggest retailer.

Related has had contact with Walmart about leasing a site at its 650,000-square-foot Gateway II shopping center in East New York, Brooklyn, that already received the City Council's approval, enraging those unions, small storeowners and council members that oppose the retailer's entry into the city. Opponents hope to persuade Walmart's local partners—with threats of pickets outside their headquarters or homes and other actions—that doing business with the retailer will damage their future council dealings.

“The Walmarts of the world may think they can ignore us, but the Relateds of the world can't,” state Sen. Diane Savino, D-Staten Island, told Crain's last month. “These are guys who want to develop in other places in the city. They could find that their relationship with Walmart may permanently damage their relationship with the city.”

Opponents believe they have leverage over Related in part because it is one of 29 firms that have expressed interest in redeveloping Willets Point, a run-down section of northeast Queens slated to be remade with retail outlets, housing, a hotel and office space. The city will issue a request for proposals for the redevelopment in April.

On Monday, three elected officials who represent the Willets Point area—Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras, state Sen. José Peralta and Assemblyman Francisco Moya—will send a letter to Related Chief Executive Stephen Ross, pressuring him to shun Walmart.

“We have a long working relationship together, creating new economic opportunities for New Yorkers and building more vibrant neighborhoods, and we hope to continue that strong partnership moving forward, perhaps at Willets Point,” reads the letter, a copy of which was provided to Crain's by the Walmart Free NYC coalition. “That's why we're urging you not to do business with Walmart at Gateway II or any other New York City location.”

Mr. Ross said Walmart has expressed interest in the Gateway II site, but the two sides are not yet negotiating a lease. Related officials were so upset that labor engineered the defeat of its Kingsbridge Armory mall in late 2009 that it is believed to be willing to buck the council this time. “We're not going to back down, and we're going to do what's good for the city of New York in the long term,” Mr. Ross said.

“Very dangerous”

Other industry leaders denounced the opponents' strategy, saying it could send an anti-business message to companies that are considering locating or expanding in the city.

Robert Knakal, chairman of Massey Knakal Realty Services, says he has several as-of-right sites that he's trying to market to Walmart. “It gets very dangerous when politicians start saying who you can rent space to and who you can't,” he said.

Mr. Knakal added that some developers and landlords might be concerned about backlash over dealing with Walmart, but that “ultimately if you believe something is best for the city, you do it.”

While the council does not have a say in which developer the city chooses for Willets Point, its Queens members will have to approve the sale of land to the winning firm. Those members won't weigh in until the developer is chosen, but the council could presumably use the vote as a pressure point.

A majority of council members oppose Walmart's entry into the city, arguing that it would drive down wages of unionized workers and hurt small businesses. As many as 20 council members are expected to sign a similar anti-Walmart letter to Mr. Ross. Plans are in the works to bring a group of former Walmart workers to Mr. Ross to talk about their experiences with the retailer. Other actions against Related are also being planned, including demonstrations outside board members' homes and the firm's Columbus Circle headquarters.

Sending a message

“They need to feel like, 'You know what, we don't need to be the people who bring in Walmart, it's just not worth it,' ” said Jon Kest, director of New York Communities for Change and a member of Walmart Free NYC. “We want to drive them to that point.”

By pressuring the firm on Willets Point, opponents hope to send a message to other developers, landlords and brokers that dealing with Walmart isn't worth the risk, especially when unionized companies like ShopRite are waiting in the wings, willing to open stores.

Vornado, the landlord of Walmart's North Bergen, N.J., store, tried to team up with the retailer in 2005 in Rego Park, Queens, but the deal fell apart amid heavy opposition. The developer would also become a target if it started talking to Walmart about New York City again.

Related's flirtation with Walmart didn't hurt it last week, when it was selected by the city as part of a team to build nearly 1,000 affordable-housing units at Hunters Point in Queens. Some took that decision as a sign that Related's connection to Walmart would not hurt its chances to win big city projects. But the council didn't have a say in the pick.

Walmart is looking at sites controlled not just by major developers, but also by smaller landlords that may not have other business before the council, said Director of Community Affairs Steven Restivo.

Kenneth Fisher, a partner at Cozen O'Connor who deals with land-use issues and a former councilman, said that the council should ideally base decisions on the land-use impacts of projects.

“Is it some form of extortion, saying, 'I won't give you my government approval if you are doing business with a third party?' ” he asked. “If I were Speaker [Christine] Quinn, I'd ask my lawyers to look at it pretty carefully before encouraging members to go down that road. I think there's potentially some exposure there, though any prosecutor would be reluctant to stick their nose in.”

Jeremy Smerd contributed to this story.

File Under Wal-Mart Believe It or Not...

1 Day After New National Study Links Wal-mart to Increased Obesity, Retailer Promises to Promote Healthy Foods

Smoke Screen PR Push Comes From Largest US Employer of Workers on Food Stamps

New York City Green Grocers Say They’ll Be Squeezed Out by Wal-mart

Wal-mart’s announcement today to promote healthy, affordable food was met with skepticism by New York City’s anti-hunger advocates, faith leaders, and green grocers.

“Wal-mart’s rhetoric doesn’t match reality,” said Bertha Lewis, President, The Black Leadership Institute.

“They promise to create jobs- but they just squeeze out the little guy. Now they’re promising to promote healthy foods. The fact of the matter is, right here, right now, they’re contributing to the obesity epidemic.”

“If Wal-mart wants access to OUR communities, it should come back when its track record is as impressive as its PR campaign,” Lewis continued.

The retailer’s announcement today comes on the heels of a new national study reported yesterday by NPR linking Wal-mart to increased obesity rates. According to Charles Courtemanche, an assistant professor of economics at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro: “the most obvious story is that Wal-mart lowers the price of foods and a lot of the foods it has big price advantages on are the processed, inner-aisle types of food that aren’t that good for you."

New York’s green grocers said they’re working hard to provide high quality fruits and vegetables in every corner of the city, but they don’t stand a chance against Wal-mart. Studies have shown that Wal-mart pushes out small businesses and the workers they employ when it opens new stores.

“More than 1,200 green grocers offer fresh, affordable produce to New York’s low-income communities,” said Sung Soo Kim, President of the Korean-American Small Business Service Center of New York. “If Wal-mart moves in, they’ll all be squeezed out.”

A 2009 study by the University of Illinois at Chicago and Loyola University Chicago found that the closer a store’s proximity to Wal-mart’s location in the Austin neighborhood of Chicago, the more likely they were to go out of business.

In Chicago, 82 local retailers were pushed out by Wal-mart: “The findings support the contention that urban Wal-mart stores absorb sales from other city stores without significantly expanding the market.” In addition, the study found that there was no increase in retail activity or employment opportunities.

“This study reveals what we have suspected to be true all along, When Wal-Mart comes to urban areas, communities suffer. Not only jobs and small businesses are threatened but peoples bodies are put at risk. NYC needs solutions that cultivate the image of god in our communities; that support local business and public health,” said Lisa Sharon Harper, Executive Director of New York Faith and Justice.

Adults in East New York and New Lots, where Wal-mart is proposing a new store, have an increased risk of heart disease, obesity, and diabetes- 3 in 10 adults are obese.

ABOUT Wal-mart FREE NYC

Wal-mart Free NYC is a coalition of concerned workers and residents, small business owners, community leaders, clergy and elected officials who are committed to increasing economic opportunities, preserving local businesses, and bringing more jobs to communities across New York.

It's Not About Walmart by Assembly Member Darryl Towns - NYPOST.com

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Debate Ignores Real Issues

Part of the picture: A Walmart (like this one in in Oakland, Calif.) would be one store in a shopping center that East New York needs.

In New York City, few topics spur such polarizing debate as Walmart -- savior of some clamoring for local employment, scourge of others who cite poor labor practices and a detrimental impact on local economies.

I've listened closely to both sides of this argument and taken the time to look at a broader picture that is being drowned out while the Walmart battle rages: the planned Gateway II shopping center with its full spectrum of retailers -- not just Walmart -- effectively doubling the number of merchants in southern East New York.

The Fiscal Policy Institute puts unemployment in East New York at a staggering 19.2 percent. The Community Service Society's recent study shows that only one in four black men ages 16 to 24 had a job from January 2009 to December 2010. A study conducted by my office shows 68 percent of my constituents have trouble making ends meet and 70 percent are concerned about the lack of local employment.

East New York sees most of its workforce commute daily to neighboring communities. We are obliged to seek goods and services elsewhere in the city and beyond: 42 percent of my constituents have trouble finding clothing, household items, fresh meat, produce and dairy products locally, and 40 percent have issues finding quality supermarkets, pharmacies, restaurants and banks.East New York was ravaged by disinvestment and crime during the '70s and '80s. By the '90s and into the last decade, thousands of homes went up while the crime rate, once the city's highest, went down significantly. As terrific as that sounds, rebuilding the local economy hasn't been as successful.

Walmart's own recent study shows two thirds of New Yorkers ready to welcome the store in their community, despite statements to the contrary. That said, it is critical for the sake of the local economy to look beyond any one retailer. Why single out Walmart? It's far from the first big-box store in our community or city. Is there a double standard here?

Most important: Will these debates take into account the specific issues plaguing East New Yorkers? My constituents, through the massive block-by-block study my office conducted, have spoken clearly to me to take action as one of the area's elected public servants.

A healthy exchange that answers these and other questions needs to happen, and East New Yorkers need to play a prominent role in that discussion. One starting point is exploring how Walmart and the other potential merchants of Gateway II can be responsible community partners. Knee-jerk reactions to a single merchant isn't the way to build these partnerships.

The right approach is to learn the unmet needs of our local economy, work with all the new merchants (not just Walmart) to ensure that those needs will be met, build strong partnerships to monitor how they're meeting our needs and use these relationships to evaluate their efforts on a regular basis.

I encourage my fellow elected officials to join me in a constructive dialogue between the big-box retailers and the communities we're entrusted to serve and make sure that the broader discussion of economic development doesn't get overshadowed by Walmart's detractors.

Economic development is the heart of the matter, not a single retailer, and that is what I am in clear support of.

Assembly Member Darryl C. Towns represents the 54th Dis trict in Brooklyn.

Wal-Mart Meets Resistance in New York City - Video - CNN.com

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CNN's Mary Snow reports activists in New York are fighting plans to bring a Wal-Mart to Brooklyn.

Health Disparities Affecting Minority Women Forum - September 23rd, 2010...

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What: Health Disparities Affecting Minority Women Forum

When: September 23, 2010

Time: 8:30 am - 11 am

Where: East New York Northeast Brooklyn YMCA

60 Williams Avenue @ Corner of Atlantic Avenue

Pennsylvania Avenue/Fountain Avenue Restoration Annual Tour – July 20, 2010

This year's tour was entitled “Rolling Hills Tour 2010” and it provided sweeping vistas and panoramic views of Jamaica Bay from the soon to be parks which have been remediated from the former landfill sites.

In my estimation when completed these parks will provide the communities and people of New York City with beautiful new natural areas for relaxation and outdoor activities.

Click here to view these pictures larger

Click here for full screen slide-show and view photo captions...

The tour participants met at the Brooklyn Sports Club and attended a pre-tour power-point presentations of the history and present state of the cleanup and restoration by the Citizens Advisory Committee and the NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

After the presentation, the participants broke up into groups and boarded vans for the trip to the facilities at the parks on Pennsylvania Avenue and Fountain Avenue.

Penn Park is scheduled to open for public use by 2012 and Fountain Park will follow in 2014.

The parks are the highest spots on Jamaica Bay within New York City, with the Penn Park elevation at 87 feet above sea level and Fountain Park reaching a height of 128 feet above sea level. The parks encompass a total area of 440 acres.

There have been over 40,000 plants, shrubs and grasses planted at the site by DEP, including eight varieties of trees which had been extinct to the area by the mid 19th century. The plant species have been specially selected to be indigenous to the area's climate and seasonal conditions.

During the restoration process DEP has trucked in over 4 million cubic yards of gravel, grading material, sub-soil and top soil. The top-soil is a special mixture of sandy loam produced in the site to complete pre-planting. There are over 25 miles of roadways and trails throughout the sites.

The parks will have many public amenities including an amphitheater at the Fountain Park site for community events such as concerts, a bay fishing pier, a boat launch for non-motorized boating (kayaks, canoes, etc.), sail boating classes, rest areas for open air observatories, gazebos for shade and bicycles paths extended into the parks from the present bike paths along the Belt Parkway .

There will be areas set aside for overnight camping for nature study.

Parking lots will be able to accommodate between 350-500 vehicles. There will be refreshment courts and ample restrooms throughout the parks. Both parks will be accessible to individuals with disabilities.

Media attending the tour included Agnes Green of the Spring Creek Sun, WNYC Radio reporter Matthew Schuerman,  Channel 12 News and a photographer from the Wall Street Journal.

The major contributors to the tour were the Brooklyn Sports Club and Tacfield Associates, LLC.

Anais Fernandez, 16, Dies After Alleged Drinking Binge; Neighborhood Distraught by Erik Badia Will Cruz - NY Daily News

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Anais Fernandez was found passed out in Highland Park, and later died. An autopsy will be conducted Tuesday. Noonan for News

The teenage girl who died after drinking in a Brooklyn park was remembered Monday as a straight-A student who adored animals.

Anais Fernandez, 16, aspired to become a veterinarian, heartbroken relatives said. The student at Queens' Grover Cleveland High School passed out Sunday in Highland Park in East New York and later died at Wyckoff Heights Medical Center.

"Ay, Dios mio!" her distraught dad, Jose Fernandez, cried outside the family's Queens home.

Anais was hanging out and drinking with her unidentified boyfriend in the reservoir area of the park when she "just started throwing up," said a friend named Jose, who didn't want to give his last name.

Cops don't suspect foul play. The medical examiner plans to conduct an autopsy Tuesday.

Anais was preparing to go to college, her father said.

"She was all A's," he said in Spanish through an interpreter. "A lot of offers from a lot of universities."

Relatives and friends insisted that Anais didn't drink. "She never, ever drinks," said family friend Ana Rodriguez.

In her Ridgewood neighborhood, friends remembered Anais as a sweetheart who'd try to rescue birds and cats.

"This girl, she loved animals," said neighbor Patrick DeFillippino. "She used to take all the cats and feed them."

Quinn Goes Back to the Future on Wal-Mart - The Neighborhood Retail Alliance

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City Council Speaker Christine Quinn went back to the future yesterday when she emerged from office and led an anti-Wal-Mart rally on the steps of city hall. The rally, led by the RWDSU’s Stu Appelbaum and supported by the entire UFCW, was designed to send a clear message to the developer Related that it wouldn’t be a great career move to tenant its Gateway Mall expansion with the Walmonster: “Council Speaker Christine Quinn joined labor union activist and other opponents of Wal-Mart’s supposed efforts to break into the New York City market at a rally today on the steps of City Hall that sent the world’s biggest retailed this unambiguous New York message: “FUHGEDDABOUDIT!”

Yesterday was a real retro day as Quinn, who started off as a community activist who was a valued ally to those of us who were fighting box stores in her Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood, channeled her old rabble rousing self. Daily Politics reports: “You know, it isn’t that we don’t want Wal-Mart,” Quinn said at the rally. ”It’s that we don’t want companies that have led the nation in law suits being brought against them by workers. We don’t want companies that have the largest class-action in history brought against them. We don’t want companies where women are, over and over, paid less than men and not promoted. You can be very clear that I don’t want that.”

And make no mistake about it, Brooklyn is in the eye of this storm: “Though Wal-Mart officials have denied that they are negotiating with Related Cos. to locate in it’s the Gateway Center in East New York, leaders of unions representing retail and food workers are keeping up their public and behind-the-scene pressure to prevent the non-union Wal-Mart chain from scoring a breakthrough in a city that still has significant union strength.”

The NY Post underscores the possible scenario: "While unions and New York officials lock arms to keep Wal-Mart from opening up a store in the Big Apple, the giant retailer might still have a golden opportunity to open its first city store. The opportunity rests with a Brooklyn development -- a commercial and residential project called Gateway II being built by real-estate giant Related Cos. near Jamaica Bay -- that has already won key zoning approvals from city officials, sources said. Those opposing Wal-Mart are trying to persuade Related and others to bring a smaller supermarket or other retailer to the site."

And, as we have pointed out before, the Brooklyn scenario is complicated by the fact that a chunk of the land slated for the mall’s expansion is owned, and must be conveyed, by the state. This is the pressure point that, although the expansion has already been approved by the city council (never buy a pig in a poke Charles Barron), gives the labor leaders-and the entire small business community some leverage over the situation. The state senate district where Wal-Mart is seeking to perhaps locate is represented by Senator John Sampson who is mulling over possible hearings on the retail giant.

And, as for Barron, he might be learning a bit about the value of oral contracts: "Councilman Charles Barron, whose Brooklyn district includes the Gateway II development site, said that during the approval process for the shopping center he extracted oral promises from Related executives that Wal-Mart wouldn't anchor the shopping center. "I had to accept Related's verbal commitment," Barron told The Post. "If they want to go against their word, they're going to have to deal with city officials in other projects who will see them as a company that cannot be trusted."


Still, Quinn was forceful yesterday-and underscored her labor-driven objections to the Wal-Mart incursion. As Daily Politics points out: “Wal-Mart’s corporate philosophy, Wal-Mart’s business plan is in fact a plan and a philosophy which runs counter to the core values of New York City, the core values of our workers, the core values of people who spend money to buy goods for their family. Now we in the Council feel very strongly that we need to get more retail establishments, particularly those that sell supermarket food good for people. That is why we are the first city in the country to pass a rezoning encouraging supermarkets to develop in the city of New York. But in that rezoning we were clear about the types of supermarket jobs we wanted and that we wanted them to be assets to the community and help build the community. That’s simply is not Wal-Mart. Now if Wal-Mart wants to usher in a new day we are happy to sit down with them and write a New York philosophy and a New York business plan. But until that happens they can call themselves whatever they want, they can have a new urban store that’s smaller, but until they change their ways they are Wal-Mart and they are not welcome in our five boroughs.”

Of course, the labor objections are the only reasons why the Walmonster is a bad idea for Brooklyn-and we have outlined the traffic, community quality of life, and small business rationale for opposing the mega-store. Still, it was nice to see Quinn channeling her earlier self-we hope she likes the old garb and keeps in on for more frequent anti mega development efforts in the future. Related has a lot to think about.

Beekeeping in New York City at East New York Farms by Ella Morton - RocketboomNYC

Rocketboom NYC's Ella Morton gets the buzz on bee keeping at East New York Farms in New York City.

Link: East New York Farms

Walmart Protest Fizzles — Is Opposition to Retail Behemoth Slowing? by Stephen Witt - YourNabe.com

Opposition doesn't seem to be slowing to me, as evidenced by this community protest...Wait until the unions get involved...Wal-mart needs to pay living wages if they want to gain a foothold in NYC...

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A smaller-than-expected crowd showed up last week at Starrett City to protest Walmart’s proposed first New York City superstore.

Organizers of the rally last Thursday at the nation’s largest low- and moderate-income housing complex predicted a turnout of 100 people, but about half that attended — many holding placards decrying the big-box retail giant’s alleged history of employee abuses, discrimination and wage theft.

“The last thing we need is a Walmart coming in to take over the neighborhood and give out minimum-wage jobs,” said Starrett City resident Maria Maisonett. “We need real jobs that pay living wages, not ones that wouldn’t even allow us to pay our rent.”

Starrett City resident Sofie Rosenblum said she was at the protest out of worry it would affect her current job.

“I work for Pathmark and my job is on the line,” said Rosenblum. “I represent the union. Walmart doesn’t treat its workers well.”

Rosenblum admitted that she occasionally shops at the non-union Target located at the nearby Gateway shopping center at Jamaica Bay — adjacent to the undeveloped Gateway II site that Walmart is eyeing.

“I do shop there, but they treat their workers better,” said Rosenblum.

Walmart executives have challenged that conventional wisdom, saying that Walmart salaries are competitive with what Target offers to both its full- and part-time workers.

“At Walmart, our associates have real opportunities to advance and build a career,” said Walmart President and CEO Mike Duke at the company’s June 2009 shareholders’ meeting. “Nearly three-quarters of store management in the U.S. started with us as hourly associates.

“And when the company does well financially, we share our results with associates,” he added. “In fact, for their 2008 performance, we distributed well over a billion dollars worldwide to hourly associates in incentive bonuses.”

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Workers at Brooklyn’s three Target stores reported the starting salary for part-time employees is $8.50, including options to sign onto a medical and retirement plan.

Similarly, employees at Walmart’s North Bergen, N.J. store said that starting salaries for part-time workers ranged from $8–$15 per hour, depending on department — also including options to sign up for the medical and retirement plans.

New York Communities for Change, an offshoot of the controversial grassroots organization ACORN, organized the protest, calling it the start of a full-fledged campaign to stop the Bentonville behemoth from coming to the city.

“There will be more events in the future,” said organization spokesman Jonathan Westin. “In the future, we will get a lot of City Council people and more community support against Walmart.”

Residents Plan to Protest Brooklyn Wal-Mart By R.M. Schneiderman - Metropolis - WSJ

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Wal-Mart has yet to officially announce that it is considering the Gateway II shopping center in East New York for its first New York City store, but protests are beginning already.

Citing what it claims is a history of employee abuses and discriminatory practices, a New York community group and roughly 100 East New York residents plan to protest Wal-Mart’s reported plans this afternoon near Spring Creek Towers, a large low and middle income housing complex formerly known as Starrett City, in Brooklyn.

“We’re not opposed to development,” said Jonathan Westin, an organizer for New York Communities for Change, a city-based non-profit. “We just want stores that will pay people fair wages and treat the community the way it should be treated.”

As The Journal reported in April, Wal-Mart has been looking for potential sites for stores across the five boroughs, saying that its presence would would bring jobs and tax revenue.

The Gateway shopping center is reportedly one of them.

Last year, the city approved development of Gateway, which is owned by Related Cos., the company that also developed the Times Warner Center in Midtown.

But in presenting its plan to the City Council, Related did not say that Wal-Mart might become one of its tenants. Bringing in Wal-Mart is a potential political liability for Related, the City Council already approved the company’s development plan, and thus would not be able to block it.

“Wal-Mart is trying to come in the back door,” said Westin.

If Wal-Mart does indeed attempt to move to East New York, many pundits expect a heated battle between the City Council and unions, which spoiled the retailer’s previous efforts to bring stores to Queen and Staten Island.

For years unions have thwarted the retailer’s the much-needed expansion plans into cities.

In April, Mayor Bloomberg came out in favor of the discount retailer’s plan to come to New York.

“People that live in this city are going outside the city to shop at Wal-Marts,” he said. “So, if they’re going to shop at Wal-Marts, they might as well live here, they might as well have the jobs here and the tax revenues here.”

That argument seemed to work in Chicago where city officials had resisted Wal-Mart’s overtures until 2009, when in the throes of the recession, officials suddenly became receptive to them.

On Tuesday, Wal-Mart said that its same-store sales declined by 1.1% as consumers continued to struggle with unemployment and high gas prices.

Earlier this month, the company said it was donating $2 billion in food and money to national food banks over the next five years.

Walmart is Trying to Follow in the Footsteps of Home Furnishings Giant Ikea by Opening a New Location in Brooklyn - WPIX

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Walmart is trying to follow in the footsteps of home furnishings giant Ikea by opening a new location in Brooklyn.

The proposed site is reportedly the Gateway II shopping center near Jamaica Bay in East New York.

The Jamaica Bay site is being presented as one of several possible sites, but community groups aren't waiting until Walmart's selection becomes official to mount their protests.

Local labor groups such as the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1500, are accusing Walmart of dirty dealing, saying that they have refused to incorporate local political and labor leaders in the planning process.

They also cite the potential impact that the new Walmart could have on local businesses and the community.

"The loss of small businesses, the trading off of jobs from existing retailers in Gateway One, increased traffic from cars coming into the area from all around the surrounding area, more pollution etc.," said President of UFCW Local 1500 spokesperson Patrick Purcell, "the list goes on and on."

However, Walmart says that the potential East New York location would benefit local communities by providing jobs and affordable groceries.

This isn't the first time that Walmart has attempted to open an NYC location -- plans to open outlets in Staten Island and Queens crumbled after protests from labor and community groups, with then-Walmart CEO Lee Scott reportedly calling the plans not 'worth the effort.'

Q56, Q32 Buses Win Dubious Honor as Queens' Slowest by Philip Newman - YourNabe.com

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The Straphangers Campaign is out with its annual Pokey Awards for the city’s slowest buses and the Q56 and Q32 have won the laggard sweepstakes for Queens.

The transit advocacy group presented its eighth annual Pokey worst-in-show recognition to the M42, the transit system’s slowest bus, clocked at an average “speed” of 3.7 mph.

“A 5-year-old on a motorized tricycle would outpace the M42,” the Straphangers’ report said.

The Straphangers also presented a new citation, the Trekkie, in recognition of the bus with the longest running time. It went to the M4, which takes nearly two hours from midtown Manhattan to Upper Manhattan.

As for the Q56, it averages 6.3 mph to run from Jamaica to East New York in Brooklyn.

The Q32 chalks up a running time of one hour and 27 traveling from Jackson Heights and Penn Station.

Help At Last for City Cypress Hills Police Burial Ground by Lisa L. Colangelo - NY Daily News

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The Boy and Girl scouts were on hand today at Cypress Hills Cemetary to pay their respects and to remember. Rosamilio/News

Better days are on the way for the Police Gardens, a longneglected police burial site at Cypress Hills Cemetery.

The cracked walkways are being dug up and replaced with smooth concrete. A group of active and retired police officers have promised to gather on the site on May 16 for a somber wreath-laying service in honor of Police Memorial Day.

They hope to festoon the small granite headstones with American flags.

But replacing the 6-foot bronze statue of a policeman and the plaques stolen from the grounds more than 40 years ago by vandals might be a tougher feat.

"I almost believed it was a lost cause," said retired cop Robert Berl, who lives near the cemetery and has been lobbying to get it refurbished. "I think it's great that something is finally going to be done."

Since the Daily News first wrote about the plight of the Police Gardens last month, dozens of people have contacted the cemetery to offer assistance.

Cemetery President John Desmond, a retired New York City police officer, was so heartened by the response that he donated the materials and labor to fix up the walkways.

"We are offering all our resources and will be ready to do whatever they want," said Desmond.

Patrolmen's Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch is planning to attend the Saturday ceremony to show support.

"We certainly want to see it restored," said PBA spokesman Al O'Leary.

The cemetery and volunteers are limited in what they can do. The Police Gardens, also known as the Police Arlington, is technically owned by the NYPD Honor Legion, which controls who is buried at the site.

A call by the Daily News to the Honor Legion, a fraternal organization that recognizes cops involved in gun battles and other life-threatening situations, was referred to the NYPD's public information office.

The site, established more than 100 years ago, has a rich history, but there is no marker to show it is a police burial ground. The bronze statue, stolen in 1966, was never replaced and only its pedestal remains.

"These are officers who worked for the city," Berl said. "Their families thought that this would be a place of honor."

lcolangelo@nydailynews.com

After Two Years of Trying, Owners Give Up on Selling Starrett City by Charles V. Bagli - NYTimes.com

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Starrett City, with 5,881 apartments in 46 towers spread across 140 acres, nearly sold for $1.3 billion in 2007, but that deal was blocked. Now it is off the market. Todd Heisler/The New York Times

The owners, a group of investors led by Disque Deane, cited the faltering economy and a lack of financing as the reasons. But the sale may have foundered over price, said Donald Cogsville, who until Monday led a consortium of nonprofit organizations and developers that had been negotiating to buy Starrett City for the past two months.

Neither side would discuss details of the proposed sale, although some real estate executives familiar with the talks said that the group had offered about $700 million. Mr. Cogsville said his consortium was unwilling to raise its offer to meet the seller’s demands.

“We weren’t prepared to offer a higher price that jeopardized either long-term affordability, or a commercial return,” Mr. Cogsville said.

The owners had put the complex — 5,881 apartments in 46 towers spread across 140 acres overlooking Jamaica Bay in Brooklyn — on the auction block at the height of the real estate boom in 2006, hoping to sell it for at least $1.2 billion. But prices have plummeted since then.

Along the way, the potential sale ran into widespread opposition from tenant groups and elected officials who feared that a high price would force a new owner to oust longtime residents in favor of higher-paying tenants, or defer maintenance at what is a highly regarded complex.

Their fears were heightened by a sudden buyers’ frenzy in which private equity firms bought dozens of brick tenements in Harlem, the South Bronx and East New York with plans to profit by converting rent-regulated apartments to market rents.

In a statement Monday afternoon, the owners said that Starrett City was no longer for sale, and indicated that they did not plan to pull out of the state’s Mitchell-Lama program, which subsidizes middle-class housing, as they had once threatened.

“We plan to continue working with government to operate Starrett City as an affordable housing complex into the future,” said Martin J. McLaughlin, a spokesman for the owners, Starrett City Associates.

The efforts to sell Starrett City had unsettled many of its 14,000 tenants. But now with the sale canceled, residents expressed mixed emotions, with some saying they feel the complex’s future remains uncertain.

“We’re stuck in limbo,” said Rebecca Caraballo, 58, a retired medical assistant and a member of the Starrett City tenant association.

The possible sale of the housing complex, long a haven for working and middle-class families, had unsettled tenants. Todd Heisler/The New York Times

The owners have told public officials that they were exploring their options, including a possible refinancing of the complex, which has a relatively small $234.4 million interest-free mortgage.

Senator Charles E. Schumer and other public officials want the owners to abide by an agreement both sides signed last year intended to ensure that the complex remains affordable for the next generation of tenants.

“If the owners of Starrett City want to retain the property, then they must continue to follow a long-term affordability plan that preserves the complex and lives up to the Memorandum of Understanding we agreed to last year,” Mr. Schumer said in a statement Monday.

Starrett City, situated between Canarsie and East New York, is something of a rarity, a large housing complex that works, according to tenants and housing advocates. Its racially and ethnically mixed population of 14,000 residents have their own shopping center, post office, houses of worship and power plant.

The current owners got extensive tax breaks when they invested in Starrett City in the 1970s and annual rent subsidies from federal, state and city governments in return for rent regulation and restrictions limiting the annual return to 6 percent.

In 2007, their attempt to sell the complex to a real estate developer, David Bistricer, for $1.3 billion was blocked by tenant groups and local officials, who protested the escalating loss of moderately priced housing.

Starrett City Associates, which had initially barred bidders from talking to government officials, then worked out an agreement with Senator Schumer and state and city housing officials ensuring that the complex would remain a haven for poor, working and middle-class families.

A second effort to sell brought offers, albeit far smaller, from six separate groups that included both nonprofit housing operators and developers.

With the decision to end the sale, some real estate executives say the owners may seek legislative changes to the regulations restricting the annual profit and the amount of debt on the property.

If they are successful, the owners could do perhaps a $500 million refinancing, enabling them to pay off the old mortgage and distribute hundreds of millions of dollars to investors without having to pay taxes on capital gains. The owners could later sell the complex when the market improves.

Karen Zraick contributed reporting.