Labor leaders see a victory as retailer drops Island plan

 

Monday, August 28, 2006

By KAREN O'SHEA

ADVANCE STAFF WRITER

Labor leaders are claiming victory over news that Wal-Mart dropped plans to build its first store in the city in Richmond Valley, saying the company was responding, at least in part, to opposition from community and union groups.

Wal-Mart announced last week its decision to pull out of an 18-acre industrial site on Arthur Kill Road because of concerns related to a scheduled environmental cleanup of the property.

Those worries can be significant for a retailer, said one industry insider who thinks Wal-Mart is not giving up on New York City, despite fierce opposition from labor groups worried the retailer will drag down wages and hurt small business.

It's not very meaningful, Richard D. Hastings, a retail analyst with Bernard Sands LLC, said of Wal-Mart's departure from Staten Island. They are always monitoring opportunities in the metro area.

Some observers thought Staten Island, with its suburban feel and big box store shoppers, might be the easiest place for Wal-Mart to open in the city. But Richard Lipsky of the anti-Wal-Mart Neighborhood Retail Alliance, which has the support of unions, said that may have been a mistake. He credited the Tottenville Civic Association with raising alarm bells here about Wal-Mart. Opposition from politicians and labor unions prompted Wal-Mart to drop out of a development deal in Queens early last year.

The hardest place to put a large retail development is in middle class and working class areas, because the communities are well organized and they have long histories of working with their elected officials on quality of life issues, said Lipsky.

Lucent Technologies has committed to cleaning lead contaminated soil at the site by placing a synthetic clay liner and two feet of fresh soil across the property. But new development there would likely puncture that cap and prompt another round of reviews by the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) -- a fact that might have scared Wal-Mart.

It also was uncertain if Wal-Mart would get required approvals from the City Council to open a store at the manufacturing-zoned site. Councilman Andrew Lanza (R-South Shore) said the Council would have had to have considered traditional land use matters, such as the store's impact on traffic in the community.

I don't care why they decided not to open there, I just think it's appropriate that they don't open in New York City, said Stuart Applebaum, president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, which represents 45,000 union workers in the city. Wal-Mart keeps on saying it's going to open and it has yet to open a store in New York City, he added.

 

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