Protecting the right to do business should be everybody’s business

Competition is a part of life, at least it is in the free world. So when people oppose projects like the one to develop a new supermarket in the village of Millerton because they say it will create competition for other businesses, they’re treading on thin ice. Yes, certainly a large store like the one being proposed (believed to be a Hannaford but not yet confirmed as such by developer John Joseph of Southern Realty and Development LLC) could take away some business from local shops. It’s bound to happen, just as it happens when any new business opens its doors. Some people, for the sake of convenience, may buy their magazines while grocery shopping rather than running to Terni’s. Maybe some will buy a bouquet of flowers while shopping for produce instead of visiting Country Gardeners or Kamilla’s Floral Boutique. These situations are unavoidable, but they do not equate to the downfall of a village. They simply mean those who live in and value all Millerton has to offer must make a concerted effort to walk along Main Street, buy coffee at Irving Farm, eat at the diner, pick up a book and CD at Oblong and do as much to support the local economy as possible. That is what will keep the village alive, not the barring of a much-needed, well-planned and thoughtfully-designed new supermarket — a market that will in all likelihood not only keep local residents in town to do their shopping but draw residents from outlying areas to visit and shop in Millerton as well. In reality, the Millerton community, for the most part, has rallied behind SRD and its plans to develop the supermarket (for details, read the story on Page A1). The loudest critics, interestingly, have been from other towns, like Amenia, that fear competition will affect their bottom line.For example, Freshtown owners Dan and Noah Katz made early attempts to derail the application process by submitting environmental and engineering reviews of their own, calling the site “unbuildable.” Locally there are Freshtowns in Amenia and Dover Plains. Freshtown approached Grand Union plaza owners Skip and Robert Trotta and Grand Union suppliers, C&S Wholesale Grocers, to lease its space and sell its business, respectively, in an attempt to quell SRD’s plans (which include taking over the Grand Union as one of its options). The Katzes, however, did not meet with success.Nonetheless, the Amenia contingency has kept on course. The owner of Calsi’s General Store in Wassaic, Sharon Kroeger, has been one of the most vehement opponents. She again read a statement at the Planning Board’s meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 27. In that statement she wrote the board “allowed its consultants to state untruths ... and that it ‘will encourage economic development’ when communities have been telling you the opposite is true.”That’s a strong accusation, and Kroeger was out of line. Not only do the board’s consultants have research, education and hard facts supporting their comments, they have experience — and it’s not tainted by personal interest. Kroeger is merely relying on what “communities” have been telling the board. Where is their science? Where is their objectivity?What’s worse is throughout the process Kroeger, herself a businesswoman, has been belying what this country stands for — and that everyone ­— regardless of who they are or where they’re from should be given equal opportunity. That means SRD’s Joseph and his tenant (whether it be the Belgian-owned Hannaford or not) have just as much right to do business in Millerton as she has to do business in Wassaic. That’s something everyone should agree on, regardless of whether one wants a new market. Kroeger also stated the “megastore will suck the resources away from the area which normally circulate within this region, thus undermining long-term sustainability, ongoing economic development and historical preservation.”Having such concerns is valid, and regardless if one agrees with them Kroeger’s right to voice those concerns is absolute. But for her or any others to do so at the cost of taking away another’s right to do business, and to exist as others exist, is just plain wrong.