The Talk of New York Starbucks Erodes N.Y. As Old Shops Say Farewell By BOB YAMPOLSKY	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
スターバックスがＮＹを侵略？ 大手コーヒーチェーンのスターバックスは、ニューヨークにどんどん進出しており、筆者の家の近所でも営業しています。N.Y. ではこうしたトレンディーな店が勢いを増す一方、好景気に伴う賃貸料の高騰で、昔からある小売り店は青色吐息です。

A while back there was a Far Side cartoon that showed some aliens landing on Earth, looking around and exclaiming, "Oh no! There are Starbucks everywhere here, too!"

Those aliens could have landed in New York. Everywhere you go, you see another Starbucks. It is, without a doubt, a symbol of the times here.

It's a business success story, for one; and for another, with everyone working long hours these days, the whole city seems to be fueled by large doses of caffeine. And while most blue-collar workers and office workers still get by on 60-cent cups of coffee from the deli, there are plenty of people making enough money that they don't think twice about paying $3 (¥321) or more for a cup of Starbucks. All across town, you see people walking down the street, clutching their cup of Starbucks coffee.

As far as I can tell, there are two distinct types of Starbucks customers.

First, there are the people who camp out there for hours at a time: students and the self-employed, and mothers who let their children run wild to the great annoyance of the aspiring poets peering into the screens of their laptops.

Then there are those who buy coffee to go; it's probably busiest in the morning, when people on their way to the subway stop in. The cups come with a cardboard sheath, which keeps them from getting too hot for your hand, and with caps with holes that prevent spills while at the same time allowing you to drink, rather like a baby's bottle.

My neighborhood got its first Starbucks a couple of years ago, and to be honest, I still have not gotten used to it. I grew up in this neighborhood, which is the area around Columbia University, and it has never been terribly upscale or trendy. We've always had more than our share of crazies and drug addicts, and beggars and poor folk, with a great mix of different ethnic groups; "tolerant" and "diverse" would be the nice way of describing it; "dangerous" and "dirty" would be another.

But in the past few years all that has begun to change; rents have skyrocketed, young white professionals have moved in and, lo and behold, trendy shops like Starbucks have followed.

The Starbucks near my apartment replaced a small green grocery that had been in the same location for more than 70 years. It was a nice, neighborhood store, open 24 hours a day.

The owner did not want to close, but with the neighborhood rapidly "improving," the landlord found a tenant (Starbucks) that could pay three times the rent that the grocer was paying.

This is happening all over the neighborhood. Established, unexciting stores that are run by local people and that cater to everyday needs are being forced out as the rents go up, and are being replaced by trendier shops, restaurants and chain stores. We've got tons of restaurants and bistros, and cafes, but I've got to walk to a different neighborhood to get my hair cut as the two barber shops are long gone.

In fact, the closest place that gives regular haircuts is a beauty salon, more than 10 blocks away. I went there the other day and the proprietor cut my hair, and he told me his story.

He had been in the same location for 50 years, and his rent, which used to be $700 (¥74,900) a month, had gone up to $3,000 (¥321,000), and he had only recently started cutting men's hair, as a way to increase his business. He was charging me $12 (¥1,284) for the haircut, which meant that he would have to cut 250 heads of hair a month just to cover his rent. He sighed. He was losing money, and did not know how long he could continue.

Across the street from my apartment, there is a one-story building that houses, among other things, a fish market, a check-cashing establishment, a hot-dog stand and a supermarket. The fish market is the only one around.

The check-cashing establishment caters mainly to poorer people, who do not have bank accounts. The hot-dog stand advertises a "recession special": two hot dogs and a drink for $2 (¥214). The supermarket is a magnet for the homeless or near-homeless who spend their days gathering returnable cans for recycling.

All these stores are to be torn down soon, to make way for an upscale high-rise apartment building.

So this is the flip side to the economic good times: The more the neighborhood improves, the harder it is to live here, particularly for those who are not well off.

Oh, and yes: Our second Starbucks opened just a couple of months ago. Starbucks erodes N.Y. as old shops say farewell

Shukan ST: June 30, 2000

(C) All rights reserved