Friday, December 02, 2005

Chess players getting chucked out of mall

New York Newsday

IRONDEQUOIT, N.Y. -- For one old battalion, there's no room at the mall: They take up too many tables. They're too loud. They even bring in their own food.

Chess players who have battled over the boards for years in the food court at the former Irondequoit Mall in suburban Rochester are getting booted out by the mall's new owners, and they're none too happy.

"We're not bothering anyone," David Worl, a retired school psychologist, said in Thursday's Democrat and Chronicle. "I really feel we've gotten jilted," echoed another 70-year-old, retired salesman Ray Licata.

The mall, renamed the Medley Center, is undergoing a rebirth after some hard times. What aggravates Licata and others is that they stuck with the mall through the lean years, when retailers were fleeing and shoppers stayed away in droves, and now they're told they don't fit in.

Mall owner Adam Bersin told the newspaper that food-court seats full of people who aren't eating don't fit with his vision for a thriving, family oriented retail hub.

"It's kind of tough for (vendors) to see 15 guys sitting in the food court eating food they brought in from the outside," Bersin said.

It's equally irritating, he added, "if you're a mother with a 3-year-old in your arms and you can't get a seat in the food court when you're tired or hungry and then there's a bunch of guys standing around being loud. ... It's best we just restore the food court to its initial purpose."

Bersin put up a sign last week announcing a ban on chess or card games beginning Thursday, but he's thinking of giving the players some leeway while they find a new place to play. Besides, they're always welcome to play between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m., when the mall is open to walkers.

"I have no issues with them playing here as long as they wrap it up by 10 a.m.," he said.

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