Wal-Mart in New York City

The beef against Wal-Mart used to be that it preyed on vulnerable small-town businesses. That must have just been a smokescreen by folks who can't stand to see a business become tremendously successful.

"Wal-Mart is eager to make New York City its next frontier," said the company's eastern region spokeswoman, but many New Yorkers seem ready to welcome Wal-Mart as enthusiastically as a frontier town welcomes a desperado.

Small businesses, union leaders, City Council members and even some mayoral candidates are gearing up to prevent Wal-Mart from setting foot in town, now that the world's largest retailer has acknowledged it wants to open its first New York City store, planned for Rego Park, Queens, in 2008.