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Bowery Poetry Club founder Bob Holman protests the opening of a 7-Eleven on Avenue A in the East Village.
Credit: Maja Lundager Pedersen

 

“Hoping to ignite city opposition with another protest, a grassroots campaign once again rallied against a forthcoming 7-Eleven in the East Village Sunday. Shouting “7-Eleven sucks—built on corporate mega bucks,” a handful of protestors argued that a branch of the convenience store on 11th Street and Avenue A, which will open in a couple of months, serves no purpose in the community.”
“It’s a historical place with a special spirit that we want to preserve,” said Ingrid Kelleman, 44, one of the group’s organizers and a resident of the area.
“The rally was part of several organized by the coalition since November. Protestors worry 7-Eleven, which last year announced plans to open over 100 more locations in Manhattan, will destroy small businesses.

“If we keep having these chains in, all the beauty of local community is going to be undermined,” said Sarah Timmons, 23, who worries onslaught of 7-Elevens will spread to Central Harlem where she lives.”