Walmart is suddenly making sweet music with Brooklyn Beep Marty Markowitz — once a staunch critic of the megastore’s plans to break ground in the borough.
The retail giant — angling to open in a planned East New York development — has now cozied up to Markowitz by becoming a corporate sponsor of his summer Martin Luther King Jr. concert series.
The concerts kick off tonight with a performance by Maze in Brooklyn’s Wingate Field. Queen Latifah and Shaggy are featured acts later this week.
It’ll cost Walmart about $150,000 to be associated with the music festival — and it could be worth every last dollar.
Markowitz, who has a knack for grabbing headlines, has recently softened his once-staunch criticism of the store.
This is the first time Walmart has sponsored one of Markowitz’s summer concerts, company aides confirmed.
“Walmart has been very generous in supporting events and initiatives throughout the city,” Markowitz said.
“I am not philosophically opposed to Walmart but I have been consistent in demanding they show a commitment to Brooklyn by paying a fair wage, offering health benefits [and] using union workers in any construction projects in New York City,” he said.
That’s a dramatic shift from 2009, when a Markowitz aide wrote a scathing critique of Walmart in official documents.
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One Response
Why should people in Brooklyn pay lower prices than people in other boroughs? Walmart offers good merchandise at lower prices, and will put many small merchants out of business (especially those offering shoddy merchandise at high prices).