Keepin' Up With The Starbuckseseses
Heres something scary, depending on whether youre a glass half empty or half full kinda reader: [125th St. in Harlem] has been deemed one of Americas great streets for [attracting globalized retailers](http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=1&aid=74144), aka chains like Old Navy and Starbucks, without driving away local business. Quite a feat. From 70 competitors, including symbolic reigning champ Fifth Ave. (this is actually the first edition of the award), the [American Planning Association](http://www.planning.org/) chose the Apollo Theaters home-street to bestow the honor. Clearly, all it takes for the area to get some good publicity are new developments like two [soon-to-be rising luxury hotels](http://www.nypress.com/blogx/display_blog.cfm?bid=97980346), a 30-story office building and the renovation of the waterfront. A rezoning proposal that would strengthen the new shopping district is currently under public review. As if there werent enough identical places to grab a fair isle sweater and a cup of joe in this city.