The citizens of the East Village are fighting the corporate, convenient menace known as 7-Eleven, attempting to thwart the company’s intention of building dozens of stores in Manhattan. To voice their disapproval, East Villagers are marking the sidewalks with anti-7-Eleven statements, like the one above.
A meeting on East 11th Street brought out more residents opposed to the idea, including Bob Holman, founder of the Bowery Poetry Club.
They are boring. They are bland. They are not New York. They are Pringle-izing our population.
A spokeswoman for 7-Eleven said ideally, there would be 100 stores within the next five years. There are 32 now. An optimist might think the two sides could maybe find a compromise to divert major business away from mom-and-pop stores, but I don’t think Slurpees can be locally grown.
(Photo: EV Grieve)
