Chain Stores Invade New York, Not San Francisco

"At a glance, the junction of Broadway and Steinway Street could be mistaken for any intersection in Midtown. There are bank branches - Commerce, Chase and Bank of America - on three of the corners, and the fourth is home to a Rite Aid drugstore. Nearby are stores usually found in suburban shopping malls." New York City urban planner Jeanne Giordano, explains: 'The tipping point is that it's happening beyond the obvious places. The boroughs are all going down like bowling pins.' She continues that some New Yorkers are worried that 'it's getting boring around here.'"

"In contrast, the anti-chain sentiment in San Francisco remains strong. A ballot proposition to require planning review of proposed chain stores or restaurant outlets received about 60 percent of the votes, said Gerardo Sandoval, the city supervisor who sponsored the proposition. He says, 'Our position is: We're San Francisco; you can do what you want in other cities, but here we are going to protect local neighborhood character.'"

"Lawrence B. Badiner, assistant director of San Francisco's planning commission, explains that a few proposed Starbucks cafes had been rejected by the commission. He says: 'The predominant view in most parts of the city is, ‘We've got enough; if we want to go to Starbucks we know where to find one.'"