Keeping It Really Local
By Danielle Beurteaux, Photograph by William Hereford
Popular Internet blogger Miss Heather’s following includes the mainstream press.
Anyone who reads the blog New York Shitty knows about El Blablazo. And anyone who reads the blog knows that the blog’s owner and writer, Miss Heather, loves El Blablazo. Which is why, on a windy, wet Saturday in early December, I found myself heading to El Blablazo, in the company of Miss Heather, carrying a Ziploc bag filled with Christmas tree lights.
The debate over whether chain stores in Williamsburg are good for the neighborhood is nothing new. Indeed, Reverend Billy (a crusader for sustainable consumerism whose 2009 mayoral campaign was endorsed by L Magazine) launched a massive protest in 2001 when it was rumored a Starbucks was opening on Bedford Avenue. For nearly ten years, however, the main drag of the ‘Burg has remained relatively chain-free. Until now. Duane Reade opened a store at the Northside Piers on Kent Avenue in September, and recently a “coming soon” sign from Duane Reade appeared on Bedford and North 3rd Street— right across the street from Kings Pharmacy.