'New Big-Box Store May Make East Harlem a Target Market'

'New Big-Box Store May Make East Harlem a Target Market'

I am writing to clarify some misinformation that was included in The New York Sun article entitled "New Big-Box Store May Make East Harlem a Target Market," [New York, July 3, 2008].

East Harlem lags behind Central Harlem in home prices because of the difference in housing stock, not shopping amenities, as a real estate broker was quoted as saying.

The housing stock of Central Harlem is made up of rowhouses and brownstones, and therefore more conducive to lucrative housing prices than the housing stock of East Harlem, which is made up of mostly walk-up tenement buildings.

The article also said that East Harlem residents need to go to New Jersey or Westchester to buy groceries, but nothing could be further from the truth.

East Harlem has many local grocery stores for essential residential shopping, although supermarkets are fast disappearing because of land speculation.

Most East Harlem residents go to East 86th Street for their regional chain store shopping, movie theatres, and bookstores, which are sorely lacking in their own neighborhood.

The Urban Land Institute said in the article that stores like Target generate more local businesses. While this might be true in generating more chain stores and eating establishments, it does not generate more mom-and-pop stores. Just go to the Target on East 225th Street in the Bronx, which is now surrounded by chain stores and eateries.

While it is true that East Harlem has one of the highest unemployment rates in the region, East River Plaza will not make a significant dent in that statistic. While 2,000 jobs have been promised, how many of the well-paying union construction jobs have gone to East Harlem residents?

My objection to the East River Plaza project is based on the lack of sensible city-planning criteria: It does not make sense to put a regional shopping mall in a primarily residential neighborhood; to build a mall that will attract thousands of cars and trucks on a daily basis to a neighborhood that has one of the highest asthma rates in the country; and finally, can anyone tell me how a shopping mall with a Home Depot, Costco, Target, Marshall's, and Best Buy benefit a community where the median income is $22,000 a year?

RAYMOND PLUMEY

New York, N.Y.