What’s Canarsie To Those Who Forgot Where They Came From? Take THAT Starbucks!!!

What kind of coffee do you prefer? If you enjoy going to one of the local bodegas or mini-marts, you’ve got plenty of options. Favor Dunkin Donuts? We’ve got several of those in the Canarsie area – one of the first locations I remember back in the early 1980s was at East 83rd Street and Flatlands Avenue, where they actually made donuts at the shop every morning.
Sure, commuters now have plenty of places to grab a good cup of java (whatever qualifies as “good”). At the train station, you can get a quick bite and a cup of coffee from one of those food trucks.

However, while diners were opening and closing and the number of restaurants decreased, Canarsiens had a decreasing number of options where they could really get their caffeine fix. Canarsie was always changing and businesses fluctuated during the 1970s and 1980s. Meanwhile, a certain Mr. Howard Schultz graduated from Canarsie High School and his athletic skills earned him a scholarship to Northern Michigan University. The dashing former Bayview Housing resident shifted his interest from sports to business and by 1987 he purchased Starbucks Coffee Company. Soon, he became CEO and chairman of the company! Ain’t this motivation for ANY Canarsien? Isn’t he proof that someone like YOU can live right here in a small community and work your way up to owning one of the most successful companies in the world? Let THAT percolate!

If you’re wise, you’ll refer to Howard Schultz as an inspiration – but you’ll also refer to him as one of the locals who forgot where they came from. Yes, I’ll be honest about my view on this former resident, who refused to give a simple phone interview to his hometown newspaper.
Let’s get real! There are hundreds of proud success stories that came out of Canarsie, including sports figures and activists – and plenty of people who love to share their stories and give back to our community. If you wonder why there’s no Starbucks here – where its CEO grew up, and possibly honed his professional skills, the reason might just be more embarrassing than you think.
I always wondered why Mr. Schultz didn’t open a Starbucks in Canarsie once he became successful. It’s as if his success stopped him from looking back at his roots. Last week it was announced that Starbucks will open a new shop in Williamsburg – another hipster spot in Brooklyn. Really? Nearly every neighborhood in Brooklyn has a Starbucks except for us, Brownsville, Crown Heights and East New York (you could count the Starbucks on Crossbay Boulevard – but if you’re two or three exits away and not in Queens, that’s not exactly a convenient place to make a morning pit stop). I’m seeing a pattern here…Then again, who’s in charge of where Starbucks opens?

Maybe Mr. No Coffee In Canarsie has no control over where his franchise sets up. Still, we tout ourselves as one of the small communities that turns out some of the most successful people – but when was the last time someone as big as Schultz came to our neighborhood to share stories of their years growing up here? Politicians, borough presidents and big shot mayors have visited frequently to celebrate ribbon cuttings and milestones – even if they’ve never lived here!
I can’t blame my inability to network for not getting a simple line out of Schultz. His “people” told me he wouldn’t talk to the press (The press? We’re his hometown newspaper!!!). My colleague Linda Steinmuller also tried to contact his “people” when he made headlines a few months ago. Wouldn’t it be awesome to be able to talk to the man who walked the halls of Bayview Houses and Canarsie High School – and our local streets – and then had to contend with closing nearly 1,000 of his high-end coffee shops?

Yeah, that would be nice – but he doesn’t want to talk to us small folk about his success – nor does he want to get his staff to open a coffee shop where he was once…one of us!
Okay – I get it…Who in Canarsie would spend nearly $5 on a cup of coffee? Maybe studies conducted by Starbucks marketing crews found that our middle-class community wouldn’t bring in the chaching needed to keep the coffee chain open? Or maybe – in plain English – Schultz and his lackies saw the crime rate in Brooklyn’s southeast communities and decided it’s too “dangerous” or “risky” to set up a cafe where shootings and robberies occur every week (in some cases every day). That’s one way to filter out where you’re gonna open an expensive eatery!
For those who want to indulge, a new and bigger Starbucks is set to open in the mall within the next year, as their tiny kiosk in Macy’s has probably outgrown its location. Keep in mind that Kings Plaza is undergoing a commercial “overhaul” and more “upscale” shops are also going to open soon – so I guess Schultz has no problem caffeinating people who are in a slightly more “lavish” shopping environment!
Whatever reason Mr. Starbucks has for ignoring the little community in which he grew up, I hope it’s a good one. He’s giving a bad name and reputation to those who have a history here and move on to bigger and better things. Hey Howard, thanks for the “Venti” cup of see-ya!

http://www.canarsiecourier.com/news/2014-07-31/Telling_It_Like_It_Is/Telling_It_Like_It_Is.html