7-Eleven storefront
Two East Village community groups are lobbying for new zoning rules that would keep more chain stores from coming into the neighborhood, EV Grieve reported. The 11th Street A-B-C Block Association and No 7-Eleven will present their proposal tonight to Manhattan Community Board 3.
A 7-Eleven store on Avenue A at 11th Street is the impetus for the push for a zoning crackdown. In the resolution, the groups claim that retail chains crowd out local businesses, increase commercial rents and limit consumers’ choices.
“7-Eleven is coming to Avenue A at 11th Street,” the groups wrote in an invitation to a previous meeting. “The residents of 11th Street won’t sit for it. We’re drawing the line of suburbanization here. We have had enough of chain stores and suburban franchises, Duane Reades, Walgreens and Chase Banks on every corner. We’ve chosen to fight.”
As previously reported, 7-Eleven alone has grown by 72 percent in the city since 2008. The chain plans to open 30 more locations in the next five years.
EV Grieve did not include comment from the companies cited by the groups. [EV Grieve] –Zachary Kussin
