It’s a tough tablet to swallow.
One more Duane Reade is about to shut on the Higher East Facet subsequent month — a part of a string of closures affecting big-box pharmacies grappling with rampant crime.
The closure of at the very least 5 different big-box pharmacies within the neighborhood over the past 12 months has stoked residents’ fears over organized shoplifting — as additionally they face longer traces and prolonged journey instances to get their prescriptions.
“My native Duane Reade, which is the one surviving close by drug retailer, tells me that they get robbed about as soon as an hour,” Andrew Advantageous, who serves because the co-vice president of the East 86th Avenue Affiliation civic group, mentioned in an X put up in July.
“Within the final 5 years or so, [crime has] positively picked up,” Advantageous informed The Publish in a latest interview. “Clearly it’s a revolving door of justice, no person spends any actual time … and I feel the criminals have figured this out. It’s much more organized.”
An worker on the soon-to-be-shuttered Duane Reade location at 1524 Second Ave., informed East Facet Feed that criminals are “stealing greater than we’re promoting.”
The shop’s anticipated Nov. 12 closure comes months after a serious theft happened proper outdoors of the shop in January, the weblog added.
An enraged shoplifter smashed home windows and a buyer within the hand with a hammer on the 1241 Lexington Ave. CVS location final 12 months after his stealing spree was foiled – and that retailer shuttered inside months.
That CVS together with two others, at 1223 Second Ave. and at 150 East 86th St., in addition to a Ceremony Support on 1849 Second Ave. are a few of the different latest closures.
Advantageous referred to as the string of closures “a giant drawback for neighborhoods throughout Manhattan” — together with the “positively longer traces” noticed at surviving, albeit overburdened, pharmacies.
“And it’s unlucky that while you lose enterprise, it additionally promotes blight, it’s a priority,” Advantageous informed The Publish. “Someone maintaining the sidewalk, you don’t have anyone eradicating graffiti. You lose some high quality of life.”
One other Higher East Sider, who would solely give his first identify, Bobby, steered the choice lock up primary merchandise on the a part of companies making an attempt to keep off shoplifters is at the very least partly what has pushed clients out of brick-and-mortar shops.
“It takes a pair minutes if you wish to get shampoo or no matter,” Bobby mentioned of the standard pharmacy purchasing expertise, “however these are systemic issues and have extra to do with laws and the liberal inhabitants’s tolerance, they usually’re going to decide on inconvenience over punitive measures.”
The mass shutdown comes as CVS introduced it’ll shut 10% of its US places by the tip of 2024. Walgreens, which has owned Duane Reade since 2010, has publicized related plans to shut 1,200 shops, in addition to Ceremony Support – which filed for Chapter 11 chapter in 2023 and is slated to shut 500 places.
The truth is, about 25% of Walgreens shops aren’t at the moment worthwhile, CEO Tim Wentworth mentioned this summer time. “We’re at a degree the place the present pharmacy mannequin will not be sustainable.”
The information additionally comes after each CVS and Walgreens settled a $13.8 billion nationwide opioid settlement in 2023.
“Our retail pharmacy enterprise is central to our go-forward enterprise technique,” a spokesperson for Walgreens informed The Publish. “Nonetheless, elevated regulatory and reimbursement pressures are weighing on our in a position cowl the prices related to hire, staffing, and provide wants.”
Whereas big-box shops like CVS and Duane Reade are lowering their presence within the space, smaller pharmacies informed The Publish they’re seeing an uptick in enterprise on account of transferred prescriptions.
“There are extra prescriptions being transferred,” a pharmacy employee at Very important Well being Apothecary informed The Publish, including that lots of the new scripts are coming from CVS.
An worker at Zitomers on Madison Avenue mentioned they’ve seen an “improve, completely” in new prescriptions.
“My older neighbors have talked about it, there’s just a few locations which have closed,” one Higher East Sider, who declined to offer his identify, informed The Publish Monday. “They’ve their spots that they’ve most well-liked for years, they’re aware of the premises and the employees there they usually’re snug with them.
“I don’t know the way far they’ll need to journey now,” he added.
Pharmacies have been closing “throughout” the neighborhood for some time, famous longtime Higher East Sider Victor Rottner, 86.
“Lots of people have been impacted, however to date we haven’t been,” one other Higher East Sider, who frequents a Walgreens close to St. Catherine’s Park, mentioned.
Bobby, nevertheless, maintains that there’s nonetheless “no dearth of pharmacies within the space,” together with big-box shops.
As of October 2024, there are nonetheless three CVS pharmacy places and about half a dozen Walgreens pharmacies within the neighborhood.
“It’s New York, it’s excessive inhabitants density. If all of them shut, new ones will pop up they usually’ll deal with no matter their price points are,” Bobby mentioned, including that many pharmacies – together with CVS and Walgreens rivals Amazon and Capsule – ship on to residents’ doorways.
“Stop moaning and whining about inaccessibility,” he added, “and pay the additional for the comfort.”
Supply hyperlink
