While a Wal-Mart moving in to Atlas Park in Queens may have been an April Fools joke, there may be one coming to Brooklyn, for real. According to Crain's, the superstore is scoping out the Gateway II shopping center near Jamaica Bay. This would be the city's first Wal-Mart, but this is certainly not the company's first attempt to get their foot in the door here.
The store has long been protested, with efforts of opening being thwarted by protests from local labor and community groups over the years. While in the past they've said moving in wasn't worth the effort, a talking head at the company now insists, “We know that New Yorkers want to shop and work at Walmart, and as a result, we continue to evaluate potential opportunities here. New Yorkers want quality jobs and affordable groceries, and it remains our goal to be part of the solution.”
While Reverend Billy will surely "take that company to the LAKE OF HELLFIRE" if they dare sink their teeth into one of the five boroughs, City Councilman Charles Barron is also ready to fight. He says: “We don't like how they treat workers as it relates to salaries and benefits, and we're not going to have them in our community. They will have the fight of their lives.”
