Trader Joe's run out of Portland

http://ricochet.com/main-feed/Community ... Portlandia


Community Organizers Chase Trader Joe’s Out of Portlandia
Jon Gabriel, Ed. · February 4, 2014 at 12:41pm
Portland Sign
Trader Joe’s wanted to build a new store in Portland, Oregon. Instead of heading to a tony neighborhood downtown or towards the suburbs, the popular West Coast grocer chose a struggling area of Northeast Portland.

The company selected two acres along Martin Luther King Blvd. that had been vacant for decades. It seemed like the perfect place to create jobs, improve customer options and beautify the neighborhood. City officials, the business community, and residents all seemed thrilled with the plan. Then some community organizers caught wind of it.

The fact that most members of the Portland African-American Leadership Forum didn’t live in the neighborhood was beside the point. “This is a people’s movement for African-Americans and other communities, for self-determination,” member Avel Gordly said in a press conference. Even the NAACP piled on, railing against the project as a “case study in gentrification.” (The area is about 25 percent African-American.)

After a few months of racially tinged accusations and angry demands, Trader Joe’s decided it wasn’t worth the hassle. “We run neighborhood stores and our approach is simple,” a corporate statement said. “If a neighborhood does not want a Trader Joe's, we understand, and we won't open the store in question.”

Hours after Trader Joe’s pulled out, PAALF leaders arrived at a previously scheduled press conference trying to process what just happened. The group re-issued demands that the now-cancelled development include affordable housing, mandated jobs based on race, and a small-business slush fund. Instead, the only demand being met is two fallow acres and a lot of anger from the people who actually live nearby."...

Sad.

Looks like TJ folded and they got nothing.

Hard to understand, you'd think that two buck Chuck would be a top seller in that market...

It seems to me like the drowning man was asked if he needed help, help was offered but it wasn't the specific help the drowning man wanted. Plucking the man out of the water and helping to save his life wouldn't be enough; the drowning man wanted a ship built under him, supplies for life, and some sort of subsidy to be paid to every man, woman, and child that was ever born, lived near, and all future generations in the area.

What has happened to the work ethic in our nation?!

otisptoadwater wrote: Hard to understand, you'd think that two buck Chuck would be a top seller in that market...

It seems to me like the drowning man was asked if he needed help, help was offered but it wasn't the specific help the drowning man wanted. Plucking the man out of the water and helping to save his life wouldn't be enough; the drowning man wanted a ship built under him, supplies for life, and some sort of subsidy to be paid to every man, woman, and child that was ever born, lived near, and all future generations in the area.

What has happened to the work ethic in our nation?!

:YeahThat: Well said.

I'm sure Trader Joe's won't have a hard time finding another location devoid of race hustling leaches.

People in Denver are planning to camp out for the Trader Joe's to open here.

Of course this right wing blog failed to mention the real reasons why that particular Trader Joes was opposed by the local community. Trader Joes was demanding a $2 million taxpayer subsidy to build the store which would have put numerous local grocery stores out of business. Funny how that particular fact was not disclosed in that blog. Instead of describing the demand for corporate welfare, the right wingers make it about race and the need for cheap wine in african american neighborhoods. The local community thought that the $2 million would be better spent on affordable housing and local amenities rather than on subsidizing a highly profitable corporation selling high priced groceries that did not fit into the needs of the neighborhood.

Typical.

As with EVERYTHING......the devil is in the details.....

Have you got a source for any of that, STDS?

From what I have read (example, http://www.ibtimes.com/trader-joes-pull ... on-1553231 ), the opposition was all from non-locals.

Your so-called "$2 million taxpayer subsidy" was a reduction in the cost of the property as an incentive to move the project forward. I haven't seen anything about the "numerous local grocery stores" that would be put out of business.

“All of my neighbors were excited to have Trader Joe’s come here and replace a lot that has always been empty,” said Nghi Tran. “It’s good quality for poor men.” (The property has been vacant for 20 years.) Tran, who has lived in the neighborhood for 15 years, blasted the PAALF, noting, “They don’t come to the neighborhood clean-ups. They don’t [even] live here anymore.”

Some local businessmen also expressed their frustration. “There are no winners today,” said Adam Milne, owner of Old Town Brewing Co., which is located near the proposed Trader Joe’s complex. “Only missed tax revenue, lost jobs, less foot traffic, an empty lot and a boulevard still struggling to support its local small businesses.” Another resident, Kymberly Jeka, an artist, wondered: “Was there a vote? This should be re-evaluated. This is not what the neighborhood people want. This is terrible.”

Something the Dog Said wrote: Of course this right wing blog failed to mention the real reasons why that particular Trader Joes was opposed by the local community. Trader Joes was demanding a $2 million taxpayer subsidy to build the store which would have put numerous local grocery stores out of business. Funny how that particular fact was not disclosed in that blog. Instead of describing the demand for corporate welfare, the right wingers make it about race and the need for cheap wine in african american neighborhoods. The local community thought that the $2 million would be better spent on affordable housing and local amenities rather than on subsidizing a highly profitable corporation selling high priced groceries that did not fit into the needs of the neighborhood.

Typical.

You are such a good spin doctor for your side. Do they send you checks or is it direct deposit?