After years of being blocked from a NYC location due to vigorous opposition by labor unions, Wal-Mart may have
finally found a location in Brooklyn that the city cannot fight.
The site, which is currently vacant, meets many of the parameters of what Walmart is looking for in a New York City location: an as-of-right location in an outer borough, with a low-income population nearby and pent-up demand for jobs and supermarkets. Walmart is believed to be examining other unspecified sites in the outer boroughs as well. The company's attempts earlier this decade to open outlets in Queens and on Staten Island were thwarted by labor unions and community groups worried that the chain's low prices and modest wages would eat into the market share of unionized retailers like Pathmark, Key Food and Duane Reade and put mom-and-pop shops out of business. That organized effort led then-CEO H. Lee Scott to say that opening a Walmart store in New York City was not “worth the effort.”
Unions and labor activists have already announced plans to give Wal-Mart "the fight of their lives."
Labels: Brooklyn, NYC, retail, unions, Wal-Mart
After years of being blocked from a NYC location due to vigorous opposition by labor unions, Wal-Mart may have finally found a location in Brooklyn that the city cannot fight. 
