Wal-Mart's Money Back Guarantee

As Fred Dicker reported exclusively in the NY Post yesterday, the Senate Democratic Campaign Committee sent back that $15,000 donation from Wal-Mart straight back to Bentonville: "State Senate Democrats have bowed to pressure from furious labor leaders and returned a controversial $15,000 campaign contribution they received from Walmart, The Post has learned. The action came just days after last week's disclosure in The Post that the Democrats had accepted the cash from the union-resisting Arkansas-based retail chain, which is believed to be interested in putting its first city store in Senate Democratic Leader John Sampson's Brooklyn district."

Wow, talk about radioactive! But the real issue that should be addressed, in our view, is what the impact of a Walmonster might be on the East New York community-and that's the question that should be addressed by a senate hearing on the issue. But kudos to Stu Appelbaum and the RWDSU for their advocacy on this: "The July 15 contribution, to the Senate Democrats' little-noticed "housekeeping" account, had been denounced as "blood money" by Retail and Wholesale Workers Union President Stuart Appelbaum and other union activists."

It's about time that we had it out on the Wal-mart to NYC question. We have throttled the retail giant in a number of different site fights-and we've found that there is no widespread clamor for the store. In fact, neighborhoods don't want all of the disruption and devastation that the Walmonster brings in its wake-just ask Tottenville and Monsey, NY.

We have lived through eight years of mega development by a two faced mayor who talks sustainability out of one side of his mouth, while promoting pollution heavy and car dependent developments out of the other-he's a real talk-the-talk kind of guy. So let's get it on-and by all means bring Wal-Mart and its defenders into a hearing on the potential Gateway site.With all of the traffic generated on the Belt Parkway by Gateway itself, we look forward to hearing from all of the environmental justice people on the auto proliferating mega store.