Private Space of Destiny

“DestiNY USA is a place where…you can have your own voice… you can create your own destiny.” (DestiNY website) The idea of having your own voice inside the private space of DestiNY is more than questionable. Private spaces are those that are owned by a single person or group of investors. The owner has sole control over the establishment, and the government is nonexistent. Malls are one of the most common forms of public space, and are described as the replacement of the town square (Levine, 1). The appeal of a Mall seems to be it’s convenience. What used to be department stores, are now mega malls. The Mall of America is a great example of the all encompassing mall with theme parks, dining, concerts, and tons of shopping. In a world where we are often confined to private spaces, the mall offers a private space for leisure time. We move from the private space of our car, to that of our job. DestiNY USA is boasted as the first “retail city”, and is the ultimate private space. The official DestiNY USA website proudly attributes convenience to the fact that this “retail city” will have a single owner. However, with its unprecedented size, and a dying city still standing next to it, I wonder if Syracuse will be able to compete with DestiNY USA. Further, there will be an enormous amount of people spending time and money in the mega-mall, without their first amendment rights.

In the 1970’s, congress ruled that “privately owned shopping malls could not qualify as a public forums under the First Amendment” (Askin, 1). These spaces void of basic rights allow the malls to control which retailers are exposed to the citizens. Also, in a mega-mall like DestiNY, there will be solely retail chains leaving no storefronts for local business. This stems from the competition involved, and the money hungry owner of the mall. The website says it will offer the “best brands”, but who will choose what the best brands are? Well the answer is Bob Congel. Chain stores have the bankroll to pay top dollar to be featured in the first green city. Local diner “Stella’s” owns their catchphrase “Try it, you’ll like it!”. They mean it too. They offer great food and great prices, but dont have a fighting chance against a Pizzeria Uno inside DestiNY. If local business is not inside Destiny , it will not have the same exposure and will run the risk of shutting down. Further, without a strong presence of local business there will be little reason for entrepreneurs and hopeful local business owners to stay in the city. Adversely, the Syracuse population will be faced with low paying mall jobs, and spend every day in a private space. The amount of jobs within the establishment will mean that a large number of Syracuse citizens working, eating, and relaxing inside the “retail city”.


Shopping malls have the power to prevent people from handing out pamphlets, books, and other media. Also, they often have a standard of rowdiness, dress code, and sometimes age. The Carousel mall instated a curfew in 2003 stating that minors were not allowed in the mall after 4pm on Friday and Saturday nights. The curfew prohibits any person under the age of 18 to go shopping, because there were complaints regarding rowdy teenagers. Carousel Mall’s general manager Rob Shoeneck justifies the curfew by saying that “ The teens would tend to get loud” (Shenk, 1) He then continued to point out their disruptive behavior. Another important issue surrounding the curfew is the rejection of young teens, and the accommodation of adults. Clearly, the adults have more money than sixteen year old with part time jobs, and the mall did not hesitate to appeal to the client with the most money. The curfew has actually improved business because parents are forced to go shopping with their kids, and usually end up buying their stuff (Shenk, 3) The curfew is a great example of the control an owner has, and brings up new issues with DestiNY USA. If Syracuse citizens are filing the mall jobs, and making poor money, and the tourists come with full wallets to shop the night away, will the Syracuse citizens be deemed unimportant. The Carousel Mall’s curfew illustrates the idea that a company will appeal to those with the most money. If tourist have the most money, the motives of the company may not be to better Syracuse, but to better profit. The displaced teens in the curfew issue is most important because it forces teens, and even some SU freshman to do something else with their day.


“Defending the Freedom to Be Heard: Where Alternate Avenues Intersect Empty Public Spaces”
University of Memphis Law Review, The, Winter 2006 by Levine, Jason K

“Free Speech, Private Space and the Constitution”
FRANK ASKIN
Rutgers University School of Law
Rutgers Law Journal, Vol. 19, No. 4, 1999

“Carousel Center policy says Friday and Saturday night shoppers must be 18 plus”
Julia Shenk Issue date: 9/12/03 Section: Feature