The best citizen’s quote of the month in a Wal-Mart protest comes from Deptford, New Jersey, where dozens of protesters braved rainy weather to picket outside the town hall the saturation of Wal-Mart stores in what one newspaper called a “retail-heavy township.” The Deptford Planning Board is considering a proposal from an Alabama developer, AIG Baker, who wants to build a Wal-Mart and a Sam’s club in Deptford. The town just approved another Wal-Mart in July. Township officials have said the Arkansas retailer plans to build a third store in Deptford as well. “(Wal-Mart) just saturates the area,” one resident said. “It will put a lot of small businesses out of business and that’s not fair.” So far, township officials have been passive in confronting this overdevelopment. That ineptitude led to resident Tony DeMasi’s quote of the month: “Our protest is as much against the mayor and planning board as it is against Wal-Mart. Do you blame the rat or the hole? I blame the hole because it gives the rat a place to hide.” A group called Concerned Citizens of Deptford has hired two lawyers to help fight the approvals. “We don’t believe the additional ratables (taxable properties) will be beneficial in dollars and cents to the taxpaying citizens of Deptford,” the group said. “Why in God’s name does Deptford Township need three Wal-Marts when we’re already overwhelmed with big box stores?”
The Deptford Planning Board hearing is slated for October 8th. For an earlier story on this community, search this datbase by “Deptford.”