Abandoned Store
The Diner which still has a great meatloaf platter.Michael came from Riverhead. Used to be mainly potato fields and cauliflower farms. In the last 15 years since the "Outlets" mall set up shop on the outskirts, the center of the town of Riverhead has been dying by degrees. The mall gives cheap part time jobs with no benefits and no future. The farmers have sold their land to developers who erect Mc Mansions whose denizens ironically complain about the dust from the farm fields. They spray plenty of pesticides on their golf courses though. The main crop now is grapes for wine which has saved the farm land from becoming a memory. Now wine is the king crop. Because the land value and taxes have skyrocketed due to rising population numbers, it became too expensive to operate a farm and very profitable to sell. Another big business in Riverhead is the prison.That is another story. There is talk of building yet another one.
What is left of the old town is really quite lovely, but there little hope of it being allowed to remain so. Big business-in the form of the outlet mall, has taken root and it is not healthy for the town or its residents. My camera batteries gave out before I could get more pictures, before it is too late. It is the story of small town America everywhere.
Another Abandoned Store
3 comments:
too sad! More stores coming all over Long Island. Enough is enough!
It is the story of small town America everywhere.
That and the homogenization of America...You can not escape Wal-Mart, McDonalds, Home Depot, etc.
We even saw Target in Australia - it wasn't the same store, but it was the same idea...
It is so sad when the towns and cities lose their individual identity. I see it happening here in Dutchess County as well. On one hand, I am glad to see the rise of coffee shops and such, but I wish they were indie shops and not mega-corporate stores.
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