In Defense of Mom and Pops

The closeness of the 5th District race, in which candidate Paul Koretz won (despite the fact that the homeowners associations threw their support to his opposition) says something about "the tenor of the city," according to a guest-written OpEd in the Daily News. What's that tenor saying exactly? More via the editorial: "City policy, despite the oft-repeated smart growth mantra, is causing dramatic changes in the neighborhood. Little of the new commercial development is for the local residents. You don't see the small markets selling fruits and vegetables and staples or hardware stores or shoe repairs. They been displaced by businesses that target people who live outside the area... These aren't neighborhood mom and pops...They don't have the same stake in the neighborhoods and attract customers from other areas whose cars clog streets and take up the limited parking that's available." According to the editorial, this isn't an "anti-development sentiment," but "really an anti-corruption sentiment. There has been an imbalance in which special interests have used their financial resources to get their way." [Daily News]