Storage facility to replace 70 year-old community Roller Rink in NY

I'm sure there is plenty of news in the world to get rialed up about, but this story on NPR got me really aggravated. The Empire Roller Rink in NY, the birth place of roller-disco, is being closed and paved over to make room for yet another storage facility.

Why is it more important to have a place to put stuff people have too much of than it is to keep a thriving community center? The former is banal, common, even ugly. A sign of excess and affluenza. That much closer to a soul-less Hell on earth. The latter is spiritual, inspiring, and a glimmer of hope that people can still play and have joy together, share techniques of an art form, and use their bodies for something other than hurting one another.

Certainly, gathering places come and go. But this one was still thriving. The community left behind has a gaping hole where once stood a place of unity and fun, a reason not to give in to decay and despair.

Couldn't they have been creative with the land and have BOTH? First floor, roller-skating. Second through fifth floors, rows of air-conditioned closets full of crap?