Community development turned on its head

A couple of articles that caught my eye, both from the NYT.

Starbucks is closing one of its three locations in Kansas City, Missouri, although the local coffeeshop next door is flourishing. It will be interesting to see what it does in the next several months, as it has not rescinded any of its goals to grow the number of franchises around the world. I'm not opposed to Starbucks, especially when they're able to use their muscle to open a spot in neighborhoods which may be high risk for a mom-and-pop, but no one can like the fact that they have stratically set up shop in places to edge out existing businesses.

In New York City, community groups oppose a big development on public land that seems to be geared for...communities. This is the dispute over Hudson Pier 40 - should it stay as a ball field and risk neglect, since the city has already stated that it does not have the funding to rehabilitate the field? Or should it become a mega-entertainment/recreation complex (complete with ball fields) and serve a greater population? (Methinks that Related could come up with a better compromise to meet the needs of the community, and honestly, parents of the now tony Village, you shouldn't be hoarding ball fields).