Hey, there! Log in / Register
Petco won't be stopped in Roslindale
By adamg on Sat, 12/13/2014 - 10:32am
The Unleashed by Petco is a done deal, Wicked Local Roslindale reports.
Earlier:
Roslindale residents join merchants to oppose Petco.
Neighborhoods:
Topics:
Free tagging:
Ad:
Support Universal Hub
Help keep Universal Hub going. If you like what we're up to and want to help out, please consider a (completely non-deductible) contribution.
Comments
What now?
So lots of people were encouraged to show up and make a fuss about this, led by RVMS, when in reality it was a done deal. I suppose tomorrow night we'll see a repeat with lots of people railing against the expansion above Redds/Tonys and then, as the zoning allows for it, it will happen anyways. I would love to see our local gov't folks get involved in leading vs. just putting a show of support at meetings where public comment is requested, but irrelevant.
I know it's really an entirely different aspect of life in Roslindale, but it would be nice if they could charge someone with the murder of Brandon John seeing as it's almost been 1 year now. But hey, at least it didn't involve an evil corporation, so who cares, right?
Um, what?
At the first Tony's/Redd's meeting, most people actually seemed to be cautiously in favor of the expansion - they just wanted their questions answered (yes, Tony was angry, but most of the rest of the people were more upset with the fact the landlord's lawyer couldn't answer really basic questions, like about the floor-area ratio).
But, really, a merchants' group is supposed to be at the forefront of the investigation into Brandon John's murder?
Just venting
I feel like there was all this passion and outcry about something which in the end was a done deal and not at all impacted by the time spent by the people who attended the meeting. So really, what was the point of all that? Meanwhile, actual bad things that happen in our neighborhood aren't given much thought or public consideration - there's unsolved murder, litter, empty store fronts, I've found used condoms on my street twice in the past month, etc... but it's a chain pet food store that gets people to care about their neighborhood? This isn't a RVMS issue, just a factor of living in an urban environment I know but it's frustrating some times.
We'll see what happens tomorrow, but I think most of the people who spoke at the last meeting didn't want more apartments in town, didn't want any more traffic in town, didn't want to fight to find parking spots, NIMBY, etc... Joe from Rosi Hardware and Steve from RVMS spoke out in favor of more density, but I don't think that was the popular opinion.
What was the point of all that?
I remember another done deal - the Southwest Expressway. Land taken and cleared. Well on its way. Protests got louder and louder. It didn't happen.
That's the point of all that.
It's a little bit different
One involved millions of dollars of taxpayer money, the seizing of property through eminent domain, and the approval of government bureaucrats. The other involves a lease signed between 2 private parties for an existing commercial property.
I hope that cleared things up for you.
Bad Example
Yeah bringing up the Brandon John murder is really a red herring here and almost insulting honestly to suggest people don't care about it as much as they do about Petco even though I don't think that was your intent. I know a lot of people care about that - there was a community meeting on it at Sacred Heart where scores of folks from the immediate streets and larger neighborhood were there concerned about the crime and also for the family. The people opposed to Petco are not police officers or detectives so I'm not sure what they can do about solving that case. I get you're venting because you've made it clear on here many times you think a lot of this opposition is NIMBY, but just not the right comparison at all. Littering in the business district? Fair game since it's within the RVMS purview, though just because there aren't large scale meetings on it doesn't mean it's not being worked on.
Also, as clarification, the meeting on the Tony's/Redd's building is Monday night, not tomorrow.
Good!
Good!
Bummer for Roslindale
Bummer for Roslindale neighbors... though I know most uHubbers were vehemently opposed to the efforst of Roslindale residents. I stick by the people of Roslindale and the small businesses.
Thank you!
I'm a Roslibdale resident and happy to hear Petco is coming! Thank you for sticking by me!
Done deal? Well.. how about the law?
It's interesting that so many people were against the plan, but few seem to have understood what the laws say. How a property is handled and who can do what has limitations. The specifics are codified in laws and regulations.
If a property owner has an "as of right" standing for their property, sometimes what a group of people think is better, or that they don't like the specific kind of business moving into an already-zoned as business storefront, is not always going to fly. Intimidation and sabre rattling has its limits, and my best guess is the high-paid legal eagles for Petco were never intimidated what so ever.
We hear complaints about elected officials not doing their part. Well, what exactly did you expect them to do? While "representatives" they do not have the power to over-ride the laws and regulations. They are not tribal lords.
If RVMS and the people really don't want that to happen they can engage legal counsel and try to oppose it in the courts, but my guess is that a decent lawyer will tell them that they didn't have a shot at stopping this at all - ever.
Loading and unloading
If he is concerned about such things, he should take a good look at the Dollar Store's operation.
I really don't see a meaningful basis for opposing Unleashed. According to the folks at Pet Cabaret, they charge less for competing products, so they should "win" and people looking for items not at Pet Cabaret might be able to find the items in a neighborhood store instead of trekking to West Roxbury or Dedham.
Dollar Store
Not sure what point you're making...?
I walk by the Dollar Store every day, commuting to and from work. Every time they re-stock, they have a semi-trailer parked on Corinth St and the sidewalk is completely blocked off to pedestrians.
Right now it's a weekly minor annoyance, since you can just switch to the sidewalk on the other side of the street. But it could turn into a problem for cars and pedestrians if all the other stores were doing that same thing. Luckily, all the other (non-chain) stores aren't doing that.
The point is that it is far
The point is that it is far more of an obstruction to pedestrians than most other operations. If RVMS is concerned about chains and obstructive loading zones, start with the one that already is problematic. So you disagree, perhaps you also won't be bothered by unleashed. But RVMS is, so be consistent.
Family Dollar
Okay..., now I understand. You're actually in agreement with Steve Gag and RVMS (and so am I) - that chain stores don't always make the best neighbors. They do things like partly blocking off the streets and closing down the sidewalks during rush hour. And just like me, you're annoyed that Family Dollar does this every week! That wasn't clear from your first post, instead it sounded like you were citing Family Dollar as an example of a good neighbor.
What made it confusing is, you came to the opposite conclusion. Despite your sounding quite upset by the behavior of chain stores like Family Dollar, you "don't see a meaningful basis for opposing Unleashed."
As far as I can tell, your argument is: that it's hypocritical to oppose Petco unless we also oppose Family Dollar, so... we should do nothing.
I'm with you almost up until the end, but come to a different conclusion. We could try to make both situations better. Try to get Family Dollar to be a better neighbor, and head off any issues with Petco before they begin. (Along with any other chain stores considering moving in).
And if it's possible to prevent a place as unique as Roz Vil from becoming just another strip mall, I'm all for it!
I didn't know where Dollar
I didn't know where Dollar was so I looked at Google street. It is where Kresge's was.There is a street beside it , Taft Court , that runs between South and Corinth. Well , once upon a time , this was a service alley for the Kresge's , loading door rear right corner of building , as well as this alley went to the back doors of Roche Brothers supermarket and the other businesses proximate to this service alley that is now a street or court. Parke Snow's is gone ,so now the court connects South to Corinth. Self inflicted wound , take a perfectly good service alley , make it a through way, and now deliveries are a problem.
The street is still there
Granted, a lot of the space is parking, but the question is, how does Village Market get their deliveries? The Family Dollar truck could just take a right from Corinth and stop somewhere along the side.
Heck, the cashiers are at the rear of the store, which is the oddest thing.
No longer a street
The passageway between South Street and Corinth that forms the Village Market's parking lot was decommissioned as a dead end street quite some time back. That is now all owned by the Village Market.
The Dollar Store did try to use a back entrance off that driveway and parking lot. This was the old back door to Kresges. But the same thing happened. The large trailer truck was parking there long hours and taking forever to unload. The result was that it prevented the Village Market customers from getting in and out of the parking lot, not to mention accessing the parking spots by the front door. So they stopped allowing them to use that driveway. It is owned by the Village Market so it is their parking lot to control as they wish.
Note the "DO NOT ENTER" sign that was put up to control traffic flow in and out from the Corinth side was put up privately. It is not a city sign and cannot be enforced. At best it is a suggestion and hopefully some people will honor it. Most don't.
I now have first hand experience
I actually saw the Family Dollar truck this morning making its delivery. At 7:30. On an empty street. Parked completely legal (since I was at the bus stop at Romano's, I didn't see if a ramp was blocking the sidewalk, but the back of the truck had space, since there were no cars parks anywhere.)
If he is concerned about such
It's been brought up in many meetings I've been to before. People are pissed that the Dollar Store said they wouldn't do this with their deliveries but have gone ahead and blocked half the street anyway. Fair or unfair, but part of why people feel burned by some chains as unresponsive and not caring.
Why can't RVMS work to
Why can't RVMS work to pressure the appropriate authorities to ticket (and tow??). If they get tickets and fines every week they do it, eventually they'll stop doing it. That would be a noticable positive impact for the store, unlike rabble rousing against something that hasn't even proven to be a problem yet.
I'm venting too and I think that
Competition is a good thing and I believe we need more of it in Roslindale. The drug store that is currently in the square for instance is the only one around the square area and should have competition especially when you give them your prescription to fill and they don't put the proper amount in there. Then you bring it to the owners attention and he don't do nothing about it. The reason being is that they need competition or else they can keep on doing that to people. I hope everybody who gets their prescriptions filled there make sure they count each and every pill.
You're kidding, right?
If so, great satire. If not, does anyone else want to tell the tale of Ashmont Discount and the Brook Pharmacy that was stopped before it got off the ground? The tale, if told properly, involves a dead body left undiscovered in the parking lot for a few days.
I remember when
Brooks Pharmacy wanted to come into the square, the truth of the matter is that the owner of the pharmacy in the Square now was a good friend of tom menino and if your a friend of the mayor then forget it. If you want something and you were a friend of his then you got it made because he had a lot of friends and if he said no then you know what the answer to brooks pharmacy is, no. Just look at other towns in the city I think they all have a big pharmacy chain in the town. Hmm, what's up with that. Staples didn't or wasn't a bother to anyone so no one put up a fuss and called Uncle Tom. Another thing is that the main streets have merchants in the square either on the board or have connections to the board so brooks or any other pharmacy didn't have a chance. I suggest that they try again now that there is a new mayor. I am not in the know it's just my opinion.
deliveries
I have been stuck in traffic behind 18 wheeled trucks making deliveries to
Pet Caberet on Washington St. Just saying...
Here's an ideas...,
Who cares if Petco shows up there.
Just don't shop there. They will get the point.
They are paying to lease the space & They will be hiring people from the area.
I have actually calls BTD to
I have actually calls BTD to tell them that The delivery truck for Family Dollar has been oolong the sidewalk for over 2 hours several times. I've pointed out that the BTD sign says 1/2 hour delivery but their response has actually been that even though the sign says 1/2 hour they can stay as long as they want. I have witnessed people that are forced to walk out on the Street most get hit. I hope they enforce the Family Dollar situation befor it gets too late!
Call McCarthy's office
It's the one thing a city councilor is good for. If you don't get Tim, ask for Lee Blasi. She knows the Square better than most of us (though can't match kvn for old history).