A while back we wondered whether the folks behind No 7-Eleven would embrace the chain now that it’s offering to hold on to their spare keys. Nyope. In June they showed up at a meeting to protest a 7-Eleven going into 403 Grand Street (it opened anyway) and yesterday afternoon, as you can see above, they were back in front of the store bound for 170 Avenue A.
This is the second time the group has mobilized in as many weeks. At the Tompkins riot reunion, they performed “the Margaret Chabris skit”, in which they mocked 7-Eleven’s PR director for being an interloper “from the Great State of Texas” (where the chain’s headquarters are located) who is so clueless about the East Village that she asks, “Is there a North Village?” and says, “Loisiada… Now I don’t see that in our map app.”
That jab might’ve been more effective if 7-Eleven hadn’t misspelled Loisiada [sic]. But also: Chabris isn’t exactly the clueless “lady from Texas” they make her out to be. Fun fact: her grandmother lived on Avenue C (yep, Loisaida) and Chabris herself was born at St. Vincent’s Hospital while her parents were residents of Stuy Town.
Of course, it’s probably silly to demand factuality from a playwright by the name of Sugar Di Abetes.
Tiresome people protesting against a clean well-lit store. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz………….
NO711’s goal is a city-wide zoning rule that would require all chain stores and banks to get local community board approval before opening, to help reduce commercial rents that kill local stores. It’s not just about 7-Eleven. (And Sugar spelt it right in the script — the “local” pronounces it correctly, but the “lady from Texas” drawls it. The skit is about corporate distance, predatory rent-taking and NYC character, not about Margaret Chabris.)
Daniel Maurer has witten on NO711 before without contacting its members or given any evidence of having researched the group, its literature or program. This is not journalism but glorified blogging in the ironic poser mode. I wouldn’t be surprised if the comments from the ad hoc names were made by him — except that NIMBY has only one “y” (Not Yn My Backyard??).
I see the troll who misspelled “nimby” has deleted his comment, his tale between his legs. Who are these incompetent corporate shills anyway?