GANG SHOPPING PLAZA..formerly known as South Shore Plaza (Boston: 2014, crimes)

[wror]

Feb 3, 2017
Police believe the shooting inside the Macy's store at South Shore Plaza is gang-related.

By Fred HansonThe Patriot Ledger
BRAINTREE - Police believe a chance meeting between two members of rival Boston gangs led to a shooting at South Shore Plaza on Friday night.

Cops tie shooting at Braintree mall to gang activity - News - The Enterprise, Brockton, MA - Brockton, MA


South Shore Plaza in its hey day

[GeoffD]

I'm trying to think of the last time I was in a Mall. I think the last time was the summer of 2014. I'm Amazon.com and specialty stores with the occasional Walmart/Target run for bathroom/kitchen/cleaning stuff. I can't be the only one with that kind of retail shopping pattern.

[alidmc]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

I'm trying to think of the last time I was in a Mall. I think the last time was the summer of 2014. I'm Amazon.com and specialty stores with the occasional Walmart/Target run for bathroom/kitchen/cleaning stuff. I can't be the only one with that kind of retail shopping pattern.

You are not. I try to avoid malls. Parking lots are a mess and too difficult to get in and out of. I tend to shop locally and online.

[chicagoliz]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

I'm trying to think of the last time I was in a Mall. I think the last time was the summer of 2014. I'm Amazon.com and specialty stores with the occasional Walmart/Target run for bathroom/kitchen/cleaning stuff. I can't be the only one with that kind of retail shopping pattern.

This is partially tied to department stores -- they used to be the big draws to the mall. When I was a kid, we got almost everything from department stores -- almost all of the clothes for everyone in the family, most housewares, linens, cosmetics, Christmas decorations, often shoes, boots, gloves, swimwear. Sometimes even books and toys and candy. Today, I buy almost none of that from a department store.

We used to go to the mall all the time. And when I was a teen, I worked at the mall, so often I was there literally every day. Today, I still go to the mall occasionally, but it's almost always me running in by myself. My kids are at the mall maybe a couple times a year.

But, the traditional malls have largely been replaced by those outdoor town-center types of shopping centers. And the malls that do remain and those newer shopping centers are always pretty crowded when I've been there.

People will always need some kind of mall/shopping center. They'll always want to gather together and shop/eat, etc. But without as much need for a department store, it may be based more on outdoor types of malls with specialty shops.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by chicagoliz

People will always need some kind of mall/shopping center. They'll always want to gather together and shop/eat, etc. But without as much need for a department store, it may be based more on outdoor types of malls with specialty shops.

Sure. In a lot of towns, that's the revitalized Main Street. In a perfect universe, you live close enough that you can walk to it. They're providing things that you can't get on Amazon, at Walmart/Target, or at the big box grocery store where you don't mind paying a premium.

[wror]

The Braintree South Shore Plaza started fallIing out of grace long before Internet shopping. About 1996?, The Rapper who wrote the rap song " One in the Chamber'[a notorious rap song about killing police officers] was arrested for some crimes at Jordan Marsh at the South Shore Plaza. Incidentally, What community was the Rapper from? O yes. Not Brockton.

[Whatsnext75]

Yeah the south shore plaza suddently saw a steep increase in African Americans shopping there at some point in the early 2000s. I went to high school in braintree in the 90s, went to that mall a lot and at some point in the mid 2000s i was shocked by the change. It seems like making it nicer by adding nicer stores and restaurants attracted an interesting crowd. The natick malls and chesnut hill malls arent like this so i guess it's the close proximity to brockton, randolph or even dorchester and mattapan. They come in droves. I guess winter is worse because people want to be indoors.

There was also a shooting there in april of 2016.

They dont call it a ghetto mall for nothing i guess. Glad no one was hurt.

[wror]

The Rapper that wrote the rap song " One in the Chamber' and arrested at the South Shore Plaza , which town was he from? Anyone?

[CaseyB]

Originally Posted by Whatsnext75

Yeah the south shore plaza suddently saw a steep increase in African Americans shopping there at some point in the early 2000s. I went to high school in braintree in the 90s, went to that mall a lot and at some point in the mid 2000s i was shocked by the change. It seems like making it nicer by adding nicer stores and restaurants attracted an interesting crowd. The natick malls and chesnut hill malls arent like this so i guess it's the close proximity to brockton, randolph or even dorchester and mattapan. They come in droves. I guess winter is worse because people want to be indoors.

There was also a shooting there in april of 2016.

They dont call it a ghetto mall for nothing i guess. Glad no one was hurt.

I always thought it was when they added bus service from Dorchester (maybe Mattapan, too). A few years ago, I saw a guy go after his wife or girlfriend with a knife. Fortunately for the woman, he was on crutches so she could run away.

[Whatsnext75]

Oh yeah i didnt think of the bus service also. Im sure people take the redline to braintree also then take the bus from there.

Im not sure what brings them to braintree over a place like copley mall. I guess there's more space at the braintee mall.