
Originally Posted by
londonlawyer
Things are not as black and white as you think. Nice things don't have to be chains. In addition to living in the city, I have a house in Scarsdale, and in Scarsdale Village, which is beautiful and pristine, there are no chain stores. The clothing stores, cafes and restaurants are all very nice, and they're all independent. It's pristine, but not homogenous.
With respect to your statement regarding the haughty way of life that's emerging on Sixth Avenue, consider the housing that's rising there. Apartments in the O'Neills building cost millions of dollars. This area is not what it was ten years ago. Like it or not, areas with upscale housing generally have upscale stores. As I noted in an earlier post, when my friend first moved to Bayswater in London 8 years ago, it was grimy, as was the retail. The area has gentrified and the shoddy, run down shops have been replaced with nice ones. People who buy multi-million dollar apartments don't shop in bodegas. They shop in Balducci's and Whole Foods among other places.
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