Group challenges proposed NYC Wal-Mart

Mark Tanis, the general manager of Shoppers World on Pitkin Avenue in Brownsville, Brooklyn, takes a dire view of what would happen if Wal-Mart opens its first New York City store nearby.

"Right now there are about 200 stores on the avenue; I feel like it would be a ghost town if Wal-Mart was to come to the area," Tanis said. "Wherever he goes, he just blows everybody to pieces."

But Tanis and the members of Wal-Mart Free NYC, a coalition of anti-Wal-Mart groups, may not have much say in the matter. The retail giant is believed to be negotiating with Related Companies, which is developing Gateway II, a 620,000-square foot shopping mall near the Belt Parkway in East New York, though neither side would confirm talks.

Opponents have argued that the city should halt the $35-million sale of the land to Related, asserting that the land's appraisal was flawed. City officials, though, said the approval process is continuing within the current terms. And unless any proposed Wal-Mart store requires a zoning change, the City Council, where Speaker Christine Quinn and other members are critics of the store, has no jurisdiction.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the city should not work against those wanting to do business in New York.

"The city shouldn't be telling companies that want to locate here, invest here and create jobs here that they can't," said Bloomberg spokesman Andrew Brent. "We don't pick individual stores or companies, and we shouldn't restrict individual stores or companies."

Wal-Mart has been attempting forays into the five boroughs since at least 2004, when its efforts to open in Queens and later Staten Island were eventually withdrawn in the face of intense resistance, particularly by labor groups incensed by its anti-union stance.

This time, the world's largest retailer has launched a major public-relations campaign in the city, hiring former Bloomberg campaign manager Bradley Tusk, airing advertisements and sending out direct mailings. A company spokesman also said it is looking at putting in smaller stores - modest enough to fall under the radar of zoning restrictions that would require Council approval.

"With different formats, it allows us to ensure that the store is a reflection of the neighborhood it's in," said Steven Restivo, Wal-Mart's director of community affairs. "Our site selection process is really focused on underserved communities in terms of jobs and access to affordable food."

The East New York location, described by Restivo as one of several "rumored sites," is in one of the city's poorest communities, where, according to Census data, the 1999 median household income was $16,919. A 2009 study by the Fiscal Policy Institute, a liberal think-tank, found that unemployment in East New York was the city's highest, 19.2 percent.

"Of course people need jobs, but they need decent jobs. We're sick of predatory retailers saying people will take any jobs, and starting in East New York where unemployment is high," said Bertha Lewis, president of the Black Institute community activist group and a member of the anti-Wal-Mart coalition. "Wal-Mart's record is a record of discrimination, a record of low wages, a record of being vehemently opposed to any unionization in their store, and they are just not right."

Restivo disputed this, saying the company's public-relations campaign in New York is aimed in part at dispelling misinformation. "Our wages and benefits are as good if not better than the majority of businesses we compete with who are operating in New York City today," he said.

An independent Quinnipiac poll in March showed that a majority of New Yorkers believe elected officials should allow Wal-Mart to open, and 68 percent of the 1,115 registered voters polled said they would shop there if it were convenient. But 68 percent also agreed with the statement that Wal-Mart's low prices hurt small businesses.