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Brooklyn Uninvites Cracker Barrel To Visit
By
Jen Chung
Published Mar 1, 2005
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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By
Jen Chung
Published Mar 1, 2005
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz has decided to "unvite" Cracker Barrel from visiting Brooklyn. Last week, politicians, community leaders, and even our readers were up in arms about Markowitz having the Cracker Barrel folks up for a courtesy visit, to bring some Southern chain-style cooking to Brooklyn. Markowitz alluded to some of the chain's past problems with gay and black employees when he said:
"I do not believe they are ready for Brooklyn. It is our greatest source of pride that Brooklyn's diversity of races, faiths and ethnicities is unrivaled anywhere in the world, and any company that is interested in doing business in Brooklyn must respect and celebrate that diversity. We have no plans to meet with Cracker Barrel."
You have to give Markowitz credit for at least trying to encourage more business or more Brooklyn pride, but City Councilman Charles Barron wonders if we should be researching who else Markowitz is trying to woo to set up shop here. However he does find himself in the middle of controversy, like the time when Italian-Americans didn't like the Fuhgeddaboutit signs or the Jewish community didn't like the proposed Brooklyn Oy Vey signs.
Learn more about what a borough president does.
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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