Boycott K-Mart In Eldersburg

Yes, world, there is still a K-Mart. And what could possibly be the last remaining K-Mart in Maryland, there is now a fight.

As noted in an article in the Gazette, a possible boycott of K-Mart is in the works as mentioned by the Freedom Area Citizen Council (FACC).

Eldersburg, Maryland is home to a K-Mart, which is now owned by Sears when K-Mart bought Sears (huh???), and the Carrolltown Shopping Center. Though often thought to be an abandoned prison or a Baltimore City school based on the vandalism, unkempt property, and trash laying in the parking lot, Carrolltown is actually a semi-legitimate shopping center.

According to Dixon Harvey, owner of Black Oak Associates and owner of Carrolltown Shopping Center, within a 3 mile radius the average household income is over $100,000 (my apologies for bringing down the average). Black Oak is also building the Main Street Eldersburg shopping center off of Route 32.

The problem is that Carrolltown Shopping Center is not serving the residents of Eldersburg. It is serving the residents of Randallstown, which is about 9 miles away.

We thought we were in luck. Dixon Harvey had promised to raise the decrepit eye sore and replace it with a high class open air shopping district that will serve the community, not the thieving miscreants from down the road.

Unfortunately, K-Mart is locked into a lease that will take them beyond any hypothetical prison sentence for Martin O'Malley. And K-Mart has no intention of leaving. And now Black Oak Associates are sitting on their ass. They are sitting on their ass watching the weeds grow. They are sitting on their ass looking at the giant pile of garbage that sits in the parking lot. But don't fear - it is topped with a black tarp with the ominous warning of "Caution" spray-painted on it. This will save us from immenant danger. And the tarp on the pile of unsightly garbage is securely topped with attractive weather-worn pallets.

Black Oak Associates sit on their ass while middle school goth thugs on $400 skate boards, with $100 nose studs, and $250 checkered shoes from Nordstoms (the suburban equivalent of city street gangs) spray paint illegible turf signs on the walls.

Even the Blockbuster is a contributor to the nuisance. It's faded blue canopies are reminiscent of $5 T-shirt stores on the boardwalk in Ocean City.

Let's not forget about Big Lots. In a building that seems to be temporary storage for the store, there are always letters on their sign that are not lit. My favorite nighttime sighting is driving by and seeing it lit up as BIG TS or BIG LO S.

The parking lot is the favorite breeding ground for pigeons and seagulls, fed and watered by the trash and pot holes filled with water in the parking lot. Outside of the beach, you know that any shopping center with seagulls means that it's 2 steps shy of barred doors and metal detectors.

While K-Mart and Black Oak continue to bicker, residents of Eldersburg continue to get frustrated by this open oozing sore in our community. And K-Mart doesn't care either. If they did care, they'd open a cash register now and then. I've been in there and the only place to pay for something is at the customer service desk (and I'm using the term 'customer service' lightly).

So in conclusion, the only way to end this tug of war of egos is to stop shopping at K-Mart. Stop shopping at Carrolltown Shopping Center. In fact, when the Mainstreet Eldersburg Shopping Center opens, don't shop their either. Write to K-Mart and tell them how much they suck. Write to Black Oak and tell them how much they suck. In the words of Dee Snider, "We're not going to take it anymore!"

Sears c/o K-Mart
3333 Beverly Road
Hoffman Estates, IL 60179
1-866-KMART-4U (1-866-562-7848

Black Oak Associates
10055 Red Run Blvd.
Suite 130
Owings Mills, MD 21117
Phone - (410) 356-5820Fax - (410) 356-5822