Uh-oh. Just because New York City has worked really hard in the past decade to keep that boxy symbol of America, the Wal-Mart store, out of our fine city doesn't mean New Yorker's wouldn't shop at them if they had the chance. That's what a new Quinnipiac poll is saying. 51% of the 1,072 New Yorkers polled say that they wouldn't mind one of the big-box shops opening in the five boroughs.
Of course, 74% of those polled also said they think that "Wal-Mart cuts into local mom-and-pop business, and 57% said Wal-mart workers are underpaid." So really what this poll is telling us, if we're reading this right, is that the average New Yorker is an average American. While they may not particularly like a company, its policies, or even its effect on their neighborhood, they really like cheap merchandise. But just because some New Yorkers might like it, doesn't mean that they, or any of us, need a Wal-Mart.
We mean, come on. Like "no-rights-on-red" the fact that New York is completely Wal-Mart-less is one of those great New York quirks that we need to fight hard to preserve. Luckily there are many who agree with us. Witness the recent deal that developers of the Bronx Terminal Market had to make with the City Council promising that a Wal-mart wouldn't open there. Or the fight over the store that they tried to put up on Staten Island. Keep the Mart out of Gotham!
