Paul, who loves to photograph anything rusty, crusty, or delapadated asked me to join him on a jaunt down to the former home of Blooms and the Butcher Block, currently known as cinder-block-monstrosity on Queens Boulevard so that he could photograph the enormous crane that has been brought in for the construction project.
When we arrived we found out that the crane was gone, but a smaller one was lifting giant buckets of concrete skyward to be applied to the upper layers of this bomb shelter in the sky. What had been for months a giant, deep, open pit in the earth that had apparently disrupted the structural integrity of the neighboring buildings was now looking like a remote wing of Riker's Island.
People were standing on all corners looking the concrete going up. The common sentiment was "what the hell is going in there?" And like a sign from the gods, or ummm corporate America, I looked over to see "Coming Soon, CVS."
CVS? CVS? We have Rite Aid, Duane Read, Eckerd, Sunnyside Pharmacy, 99 cent stores, and the infamous South Pole. What kind of city planning gap analysis did the CVS scouters come up with to determine that what would best fill the open wound left in the ashes of Blooms would be another chain drug store! And why the heck do they need such a big building to do it? Have they not seen the enormous T mobile near the other burned on site on Queens Blvd and 46th street? The store is pristine and enormous and completely EMPTY.
So to whomever is constructing that large gray slab of building on the south side of the boulevard, I would've forgiven you for its anti-Sunnyside structure had it been filled with an ethnic or mom and pop shop operation, but for a CVS to be moving in seems like discount shoppers stomping on the grave of Blooms.
14 comments:
I can't believe how much progress they've made. I rarely walk down Queens Boulevard on that side.
How annoying. At least it'll make it ugly and scare off the hipsters.
awww-say it ain't so! Another drugstore? Shit! I live right across the street from this new monstrosity and I fondly remember Bloom's and the other mom and pop stores that used to be there! I also remember the beautiful (and excellent) Korean restaurant Dae Dong that used to be on the corner of 46th St where the T-Mobile bunker is now. We lost a great restaurant during that fire. I've been a Sunnysider for 15 years and I love this blog!
Suburban Sprawl is Winning. Time to break out the torches and dark clothes.
I feel so helpless. Something must be done.
so which is it? Some here claim nothing could be worse than seeing the beloved neighborhood invaded by "hipsters" and manhattan expats, wanting to keep Sunnyside for the "common folk," and then turn around and bemoan the fact that the only amenities sunnyside ever gets is chain drugstores, 99 cent stores and cell phone franchises. Seems like if you really want to keep sunnyside humble, you should welcome the big box chain drugstores and cell phone franchises. maybe get another burger king or mcdonalds or gas station on queens blvd. That'll keep the neighborhood "pure."
Geez louise, "anonymous" - why does everyone want to pick a fight with Lynn? I think what she was saying was, that the last thing Sunnyside needs at the moment is another chain drugstore - there are already plenty! And when another chain moves into a neighborhood - be it a Starbucks, a McD's, a CVS or whatever, the money spent in those stores goes mostly back to Corporate HQ in who-knows-where-Red-State-Land. Yes, a few jobs are generated, but they are minimum wage slave jobs. Having a 'hood dominated by national chain stores takes away from its local character. I'm not saying the local character has to be pretty - I'd actually rather have another $0.99 store or a local cell phone store open up - it would be much more likely to be owned and operated by a Queens local.
So which are you, anonymous - a hipster expat Manhattanite, or a common folk?
I'm not pickin' a fight. I agree completely that the last thing the nabe needs is another chain drugstore. But nor do I think we need another 99 cent store or cell phone store, because you can bet those aren't locally owned either. (another south pole wouldn't be bad, actually.) My point is only that the manhattan expat or brooklyn hipster element (i'm neither, believe me) while maybe deserving of scorn for the accompanying smugness, does help support the kinds of places that make sunnyside a great neighborhood. You'll see a lot more of the kinds of businesses you see popping up on skillman, which are locally owned, and i'd argue that is a good thing all around.
I actually wanted to offer my two cents on the drug store debate...the problem with the Sunnyside drug stores is that they are poorly poorly maintained. The Duane Reade is fine (but overpriced), but the Rite Aid/Eckerd duo on Greenpoint are weak. I welcome the competition that a new CVS can offer. Besides, if you read the business news, Eckerd is about to be bought by Rite Aid, leaving that dingy corner without tenants. Greenpoint Ave around there is in terrible shape, with another pending vacancy. Maybe the CVS will offer better hours anyway. And so technically, this CVS will only be replacing the Eckerd.
One question, has Greenpoint and 46th been bad like that for a long time or recently? And what tenant was located in the space adjacent to the Key Food and how long has it been vacant? It sure seems like there must be some organization that could assist in cleaning up that mess around 46th and Greenpoint.
On Saturday I got a prescription filled at the pharmacy across from New Post. They filled it in 5 minutes and I was half expecting him to tell me that he threw some extras in for me. They took my insurance and the whole experience was perfectly lovely. Why do we need chains when we have local spots?
The Eckerd smells like mothballs.
Mr. McKenna, the is your organization for promoting local businesses. They've been trying to get a good tenant in that space at 46th and Greenpoint for years now. Commerce Bank nibbled, but then backed out. They're also working with the city to set up a for the area, which will hopefully make that corner more attractive.
I encourage all of you to contact them and volunteer to help.
Damn, I didn't do the link right. Let me try again:
Mr. McKenna, the Sunnyside Chamber of Commerce is your organization for promoting local businesses. They've been trying to get a good tenant in that space at 46th and Greenpoint for years now. Commerce Bank nibbled, but then backed out. They're also working with the city to set up a business improvement district for the area, which will hopefully make that corner more attractive.
I encourage all of you to contact them and volunteer to help.
Thanks for the links!
That CVS is 'replacing' the only real deli Sunnyside ever had. 24 hours, fully stocked, lotto, beer, and a homeless guy outside begging for change.
Long live Ararat Pharmacy - right on the blvd. The finest toupeed druggist and sexy foreign women selling scratch-off tickets!
The law states: There must be a drug store around every corner.
I wonder, did the Rite Aide manager on 43rd Ave and 45th lose his job because he was always smoking outside the store? They treat stock like my wife treats laundry-they'll put it away eventually.
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