A group of demonstrators that briefly occupied a building at 201 N. Greensboro St. Saturday say they'll plant a garden on the property to protest a CVS store planned for the site.
The group called Carrboro Commune includes members of the local anarchist community and Occupy Chapel Hill-Carrboro movements. On Monday, Occupy said it did not endorse the building takeover, which ended when police ordered the demonstrators out or said they would arrest them. (Read that story here.)
On Sunday, demonstrators huddled in the cold outside the building and decided to plant the garden as the next step in their protest against the 24-hour drug store, which would replace the CVS across the street in the Carr Mill Mall shopping center. They plan to announce the "guerilla gardening" project at a meeting with developers at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Town Hall. The developers plan to present the latest version of their plans for the store at the meeting.
“Local residents have repeatedly expressed that the site should serve some kind of community interest rather than corporate profits... [Yet] the channels at Town Hall offer no meaningful way for affected community members to determine what should be here," the Carrboro Commune said in a release this morning. "The Carrboro Commune, an open affiliation of community members concerned about the corporate domination of public space, will collaborate with other local organizations to transform the unused lot at 201 Greensboro Street into a vibrant garden providing edible, medicinal, and beautiful plants for the general public."
The group has invited the public to join it for a garden work day March 17.
Comments
John Deere demonstration
Tue, 02/07/2012 - 17:01 — OustObama12The new CVS site is starting to look more and more like a place for a John Deere demonstration instead of an Occupy Whatever demonstration. I'd love to see those new zero-turn radius mowers take care of that garden!
sigh
Tue, 02/07/2012 - 14:44 — mpheelsAs a very liberal, and somewhat stereotypical Carrboro resident, this is getting silly and sad. Carboro has TONS of public space. In fact, there is a sizable community center across the street from the site of these protests, and a public garden a few blocks away. We also have the town commons and multiple public parks. On top of all that, Carrboro residents have access to Chapel Hill library for free and CH Parks and Rec for the same rate as CH residents.
I have some concerns about the new CVS. Most are things CVS can address by changing the design of the proposed building. The big concern they can't readily address is the future of the current CVS across the street from the new site, that will almost certainly close. Fortunately, that question has already made it onto the town council's agenda, and they have a pretty good track record of taking residents' concerns seriously when considering new development.
May we get your name to publish as a letter to the editor?
Tue, 02/07/2012 - 18:00 — mschultz (author)This would make a good letter if you want to send your name and/or a revised version to editor@nando.com
They'll be planting
Tue, 02/07/2012 - 13:38 — CaryCurmudgeonThey'll be planting Anarchist Arugula, Lazy Lettuce, Deadbeat Dates and Grundgy Garlic. Really, these folks should be sentenced to sitting in a theater and watching 50 consecutive showings of "Failure to Launch."