Noticias
y campañas
de la OCA
en español
Henry Moses, a proprietor of Moses and Moses Tobacconist & General Store, was working a fairly large midday cigar when I found him this week behind the front counter of his store, a place he calls Brooklyn's second town hall.
His eyes grew a little wider and he took an extra long contemplative puff when I explained I was in town to find out what people think about Wal-Mart's plans to open a superstore in their bucolic little corner of northeastern Connecticut.
"Yes, there are a lots of opinions out there," agreed Moses, his heavy flannel shirt a reminder of the November morning chill that lingered inside the store. "But I don't have one."
Moses, he went on to explain, is on the town's Planning & Zoning Commission, and has no plans to tip his hand on the Wal-Mart question before the company finishes officially presenting its proposal for a $20 million, 158,0000-square-foot store.
But he directed me down the road, to Route 6, the short commercial strip through the east end of town, a road that couldn't be more different than the Route 169 scenic approach from the south, where first timers delight to come upon a quintessential New England mix of classic clapboard houses, agricultural fairgrounds, an antique Town Hall and, of course, a general store.
On Route 6, five lanes wide if you count the center turning aisle, I passed a mile or so of strip malls with the usual mix of pizza houses and liquor and auto parts stores. Two of the big retail anchors are a tired looking Ocean State Job Lot and the Salvation Army Thrift Store.
Across from a big Ford dealership I found Lisa Therecka in the backyard of her trim little white house, a stone's throw from the passing traffic. The property, if all goes according to plan, could soon become part of the Brooklyn Wal-Mart parking lot.
Full Story: http://www.theday.com/re.aspx?re=742cd378-fac4-4823-a547-e1fe91b68f7b
