he didnt say “downtown” he said “gramercy park” which i enterpreted to mean “white areas of manhattan” becasue his “educate yourself” link was clearly about how fast food is marketd as an institutional genocide against black people.

one of the existing applebees is in battery park. pretty white last time i checked.

“…while providing low wage low skilled jobs.”

What would you rather see put in on 125th St. then – some biotech research labs? A supercollider?

There are a whole lot more barely-literate people in this world than Ph.D.s. Unless you want massive unemployment and no service economy for some reason, there’s gotta be a lot of “low wage, low skilled jobs.” It’s like a pyramid. Lots of EZ, low-paid jobs at the bottom and a few hard, high-paying ones at the top.

Of course you’ll wreck your body if you eat out all the time, but you’d have to be a lunatic to do that. I’ve lived in Harlem for ten years and get 98% of my food from a five-block radius, and my health has only improved in that time. You only have to make a litte effort to learn how to eat well, and you can do just fine anywhere.

Con: I’m down on franchises, all of them, as they basically are bridges to take money that’s in a community OUT of the community while providing low wage low skilled jobs. (Magic Johnson Theaters, iHop, etc.) The money they make circulates minimally in wages – the majority of a $1 spent in Applebees makes it’s way to Overland Park, KS. Franchises like this are bad because they are “enablers to detroying the health of a community” without paying the consequences of their product. An Examples is Quiznos, which this web site applauded when it arrived to Harlem, however the truth is their hot sandwiches are so fatty and unhealthy, as a matter of corporate policy Quiznos refuses to disclose the nutritional data on many of their products, this is well documented and broadly reported, just google it.

Especially in a community like Harlem where so many don’t have insurance, and rely on the public tax dollar to pay for their triple bi-pass, their health costs for a dozen years of eating at McDonald’s, or these other Chains that destroy health.

Big Tobacco has had to pay for the damage their products make, Quiznos, McDonald’s, Applebees, all of the should be tax’ed like crazy. Governor David Patterson did try and tax sugar drinks…remember.

Dateline June 2, 2009, Daily News – “There’s a supersized secret about what chain restaurants are the worst for your waistline. A new report finds you’ll really pack on the pounds if you’re a regular at popular chains like T.G.I. Friday’s, Chili’s, Applebee’s and The Cheesecake Factory”.
http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/food/2009/06/02/2009-06-02_popular_slow_food_chains_worst_for_waistline.html

I predict this new Applebee’s will be a big hit. I gotta be honest, when my parents from Cleveland, OH vist me, the wife, and our 2 kids here in Harlem, we will dine at Applebee’s, the parents will love it, it will feel “just like home”, and I’ll get out of having dinner for 4 + 2 kids for less than $75 including tip. Of course I’ll have to pay down the line in alka seltzer, pepto bismol, etc. and might have the runs for a few days…