Monsey Wal-Mart Too?

With Lee Scott exhibiting frustration over his company's efforts to build stores in NYC, how do things look to the north in Monsey, New York? As we have been reporting, there is a growing Orthodox opposition to the proposed super center on Route 59.

This opposition is lent credibility by the just completed traffic study done by Brian Ketcham, the Alliance's consultant. As Ketcham points out, "Monsey is not a great site for a Wal-Mart Supercenter...Route 59 cannot accommodate Wal-Mart's huge traffic impacts without extensive expansion at huge costs to taxpayers."

The Monsey community agrees. As is reported in the current issue of the Rockland Bulletin, the members of the Yeshiva Association of Rockland County have organized to defeat the proposed store. Rabbi Schneibalg told the paper that it was important to be "united in trying to convince local elected officials and representatives of the Town of Ramapo that a Super Wal-Mart would be a danger to our community."

The rabbi went on to say that, "Our legal representative {I guess they mean me} stated that a Super Wal-Mart on Route 59 could bring an additional six million vehicles a year into an area that already suffers from traffic congestion." The rabbi also stressed the negative impact that the Walmonster would have on the "heimishe businesses" that are so important to the community. We can't believe that Ramapo hasn't started to get this message loud and clear.