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Wal-Mart pitches Brooklyn

The Brooklyn Papers reports:

National discount retailer Wal-Mart is so interested in opening a store in New York City, and specifically Brooklyn, they’re willing to change their big-box-store image, executives said at a June 30 meeting with Brooklyn reporters.

"Willing" to change their image? I wonder what they'll sacrifice: the labor-abusing community killing? The sex discrimination? Or the craven profiteering?

Sources say Wal-Mart officials are willing to make concessions on the sex descrimination and evidence tampering but are vigorously defending the right to commit labor violations and to gut local businesses.

Fortunately, many local groups are organizing against Wal-Mart. Check out Wal-Mart Free NYC, Brooklyn's Wal-Mart No Way, and the Neighborhood Retail Alliance, for example. For the latest news on Wal-Mart's misdeeds, I find Wake-up Wal-Mart and New York-based The Boxtank the most helpful.

But step one is to simply call 311 and tell Mayor Bloomberg's people that you oppose Wal-Mart in New York. It takes a few seconds. Painless!