The Hartford Advocate has a sickeningly sympathetic story today about Seth Boynick, a commercial real estate broker whose application for a pawn shop on Park Road got unanimously rejected by town councilors last month.
Pawn shop has no place in West Hartford
Filed under Hartford Advocate, Park Road, pawn shop, Seth Boynick, West Hartford economy, Zoning
The West Hartford Blog 
“West Hartford Maintains Its Rich-town Reputation”
Like Park Road is a Gold Coast. Give me a break.
great article. you have a very good point here.
great read. thanks.
A pawn shop in West Hartford could be a great place to do some bargain shopping. Think of the top-quality items our more well-off folks might pawn.
There are worse things that could come to town than a pawn shop. I’d happily take a pawn shop over another one of those national chain stores such as Chico taking over a storefront in the center.
It is kind of funny that the council thought a car wash was just fine but a pawn shop is too much. I hate to say it, but the way taxes are rising in this town, a lot of us may need a pawn shop in July.
Haul your ass over to East Hartford if you want a pawn shop. Good ol’ Tom will fix you up right w/ a guitar missing half its strings or a “gold” necklace with some chick’s name spelled out in cursive.
Pawn shop? As if this town doesn’t have enough crap to put up with. This guy Boynick should have his WH ID revoked and be deported to Vernon. That’ll learn him.
Typical antics of the bourgeoisie. I don’t know how you can put up with the WH dominant attitude of snobbery. It’d be enough to drive me out.
We should see if the Town and the Park Road Business Association would like to change the name of Park Road to Park Avenue. With it’s two car washes, second hand clothing stores and tattoo parlor it is up and comming.
Darling I love you but give me a break Park Road
“Typical antics of the bourgeoisie.” Hilarious. You know what? Stretches of Park Road in West Hartford are bordered by neigborhoods whose residents are blue-collar, lower-to-middle class, and working poor. You can try to torture a pawn shop into an “antiques den” all you like, but the fact remains that a pawn shop will be perceived as a fencing operation, and that is the last thing these neighborhoods need. It’s very likely the Park Road Association lobbied the Town Council to reject Mr. Boynick. Good on them and the Council for doing the right thing by West Hartford.
Actually, if anyone is looking for bargain shopping on Park Road (my neighborhood), it’s definitely there . . . two thrift shops and a clothing consignment shop.
I agree about keeping out a pawn shop, not because of “who it will attract” but because it’s just another way of ripping off poor people. But I do have to wonder where the indignation was when they put in not one but two rent-to-own establishments at the corner of Farmington and Prospect. These places are are about as parasitical as they come, “renting” a $500 item at rates that will cost the consumer three times that amount by the time they own it.
“Pawn shop has no place in West Hartford”
If this is true, then there should be no problem with letting the guy open a pawn shop.
After all, if a pawn shop has no place in West Hartford, I fully expect that it would go out of business in less than a year due to lack of interest.
As former Mayor stated “you cannot legislate development, let market forces do what market forces do” or something to that effect…. Good for you mediageek
You all might find this interesting: http://grylliade.org/node/599
(Note to Jennifer: I don’t dislike you. I just find it abhorrent that a flake such as you is one of the few professional reporters assigned to write about my town. I also question how someone who so clearly has her own agenda can pretend to be a professional reporter.)
Oh I see, she’s a “guerilla libertarian”. How chic.
No wonder she neither knows nor cares about why people who actually live near Park Road might not want a pawn shop in the neighborhood.
What’s the deal with the mexican joint on park becoming BK’s. That is the most uninspired, characterless name of an establishment I have ever seen.
ookheeey
(sourced from the Wendy Williams experience)
Check out Jennifer’s blog, too. It’s here:
http://feralgenius.blogspot.com/
I agree with whdad that this woman is a kook and shouldn’t be masquerading as a reporter.
By the way, I actually don’t mind letting someone open a pawn shop in our town. What I didn’t like is the way Ms. Abel’s piece was so one-sided. I don’t have much use for libertarians — and I’ve known quite a few — because I believe we have a government to act in the common good, which means that limiting some freedom to individuals is fine by me as long as it’s reasonable and the cause is justified. My experience with the Reason magazine crowd is that they think government should cave in to every individual’s whims, no matter how ruinous they may be for the community (as long as the whim in question is not actually dangerous for neighbors). My opinion is that we have a democracy so that we can collectively sort out what’s best for our town rather than letting individuals run amok.
OK, so we have officials to sort these issues out. Still, what’s wrong with Ms. Abel writing an article that points out some things favorable to the losing side? There are at least two sides to every question, and there’s nothing wrong with arguing that something was wrongly decided.
Unless you believe that local officials are the Deciders, and once the Deciders Decide then there’s nothing else to be said.
There’s nothing wrong with writing either a news story or an opinion column about it. What bothers me is when an opinion column comes masqueraded as a news story.
If Ms. Abel had forthrightly stated that she’s a libertarian zealot, who presumably has little use for zoning as a concept, then her one-sided tale would be fine (though it would still bother me that one of perhaps four reporters in this world who are covering West Hartford regularly is unable to write a balanced piece of journalism).
It’s the Advocate Gentlemen, not the Wall Street Journal, cut her some slack, the Pawn shop was denied it’s application and she did a nice obituary on the issue. Please pass the Kleenex.
Yeah, it’s the Advocate. Perhaps I’m still mad that a once decent alternative weekly has become a corporate rag.
I feel your pain
Ok – so tell me what is the difference between this pawn shop guy and the illustrious Mr. LaPerla who “sells estates on consignment” and then passes a bad check? Looks like Mr. LaPerla is just a high class version of a “lowlife pawn broker”.
Give it a rest oh “holier than thou” West Hartfordites.
As for Libertarians .. they are the only ones that make any sense these days. At least they believe in personal rights and liberty. Oh – but we couldn’t have any of that here in the People’s Republic of West Hartford.
Yeah those rotten Libertarian “kooks” just wouldn’t stand for street cameras catching you doing something naughty, or allowing state and locals to tax folks out of their homes (better yet.. take it by eminent domain) . Better run them Libertarians out of town quick before people know they actually have some rights left.
Oh please! The notion that you can only oppose a pawn shop in your neighborhood if you’re an elitist snob is about as stupid as contending that it’s the ‘libertarians’ who are fighting to defend civil liberties.
Show me a working class person who WANTS a pawnshop in their neighborhood! “Oh yeah, and after that I’d like them to put in a head shop next to my kid’s elementary school and an adult boutique (!) next to my church.”
As for ‘libertarians,’ sorry, buddy, but the people doing all of the heavy lifting fighting the Patriot Act, domestic surveillance, “no fly” lists, police search and seizure violations, etc. etc. are decidely on the left and NOT free marketeers.
Well ironically Good Ole Tom is now in West Hartford. Oh No! The end is coming! I have some old coins to sell and I for one am happy I don’t have to go far. I love WH but truthfully it has alot of useless shops especially in the center. Overpriced “window” stores. How do they even stay open? If you have the money to shop there you’d be better off getting it through the mail or online anyways. I am biased because I grew up there but Middletown’s main street has alot more going for it than the center.
DOG RUN, DOG RUN , DOG RUN
DOG RUN, DOG RUN , DOG RUN
DOG RUN, DOG RUN , DOG RUN
Hey, those of you who oppose a pawn shop being opened might want to check into the service it actually provides. Do a little research before jumping to conclusions? Doesn’t sound like a bad idea to me. I have a feeling most people think pawn shop and relate it to the Hollywood portrayals of a business that is actually legit and tightly regulated and policed. It’s not like you get a pawn shop and all of the sudden a head shop and porn shop open right across the street. Those are the types of stores that need to have zoning restrictions, not pawn shops.
Hey, those of you who oppose a pawn shop being opened might want to check into the service it actually provides. Do a little research before jumping to conclusions? Doesn’t sound like a bad idea to me. I have a feeling most people think pawn shop and relate it to the Hollywood portrayals of a business that is actually legit and tightly regulated and policed. It’s not like you get a pawn shop and all of the sudden a head shop and porn shop open right across the street. Those are the types of stores that need to have zoning restrictions, not pawn shops.
Hey Joe, I guess West Hartford doesn’t want any of those “old” library books in the town library either, people might get the wrong impression, who knows where those books might come from, or the old magazines for that matter, maybe they come from someone in East Hartford or the north end of Hartford, maybe they were even stolen or taken from the garbage can or better yet maybe they were even bought in a pawn shop….
A pawn shop in West Hartford can change West Hartford’s image. However, store like GoodOleTom’s will add value to the city. GoodOleTom specializes in helping residents of West Hartford in converting unused and broken gold jewelry to Cash, especially in these economic turmoils.
I have a friend that owns a ‘pawn shop’ that is very classy and presentable in an upscale neighborhood. The town council needs to relax.
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