WalMart Nightmare
Sometimes the vanishings get into my dreams. Some months ago I dreamed I was walking past the Korean deli on 14th and 8th when I saw workers hauling out equipment.
"Are you closing?" I asked. Yes, a woman told me, empty coffee pots in her hands. "What's coming here?"
"A big store," she said, "you'll never guess."
"Brooks Brothers?" I asked. Nope. "Marc Jacobs?" Nope.
I begged her to tell me. "WalMart," she said. WalMart.
8/08
Recently, news came out that WalMart was "sniffing around Union Square," and now they're roaming around Ladies' Mile.
As for that corner of 14th and 8th--where the Korean deli, a bodega, and a liquor store all sit in the shadow of One Jackson Square--I'm still waiting for the inevitable. I checked in with someone who works in one of the businesses and he said the owner has turned down offers of up to $45 million for the whole lot. But on one sunny morning, I overheard two people talking about it, apparently a broker and a buyer.
She aimed her red-lacquered fingernails at the site and said, "It's good to have two floors."
3/09
"Are you closing?" I asked. Yes, a woman told me, empty coffee pots in her hands. "What's coming here?"
"A big store," she said, "you'll never guess."
"Brooks Brothers?" I asked. Nope. "Marc Jacobs?" Nope.
I begged her to tell me. "WalMart," she said. WalMart.
8/08
Recently, news came out that WalMart was "sniffing around Union Square," and now they're roaming around Ladies' Mile.
As for that corner of 14th and 8th--where the Korean deli, a bodega, and a liquor store all sit in the shadow of One Jackson Square--I'm still waiting for the inevitable. I checked in with someone who works in one of the businesses and he said the owner has turned down offers of up to $45 million for the whole lot. But on one sunny morning, I overheard two people talking about it, apparently a broker and a buyer.
She aimed her red-lacquered fingernails at the site and said, "It's good to have two floors."
3/09
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