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Duane Reade Setting Up Shop in the Mynt
By The Changeling | February 19, 2008
The good Mynt giveth.
I am happy to say that northwest Stuy is finally getting a Duane Reade. Sure, we’re going to have to deal with surly employees that will take their 15 minute breaks at inopportune times, but remember, each Duane Reade has a Chase ATM!
(Did I forget anything?)
Thanks to Duane Reade, my old bodega has seen the last of me!
This news was really a surprise to me because only a few weeks ago I had nearly given up on wishing for a Walgreens or Duane Reade. Since I’ve been living here, I’ve been going to the pharmacy after work in another neighborhood. I’d been trying to find place nearby and I finally got around to visiting a small pharmacy called Friendly Neighborhood Pharmacy located on Myrtle between Spencer and Walworth. I would pass it on the way to the train and the supermarket, and it would catch my eye whenever I visited Cafe Naico. I was very reluctant to go inside because even though it was a pharmacy, the storefront wasn’t very inviting. The security gate was often down, even during store hours, and despite its humble look, you had to be buzzed in.
I finally decided to check it out. I approached the door one sunny afternoon and was buzzed in. There were two young Latino guys working at the cash register and two older Hasidic guys working in the back in the pharmacy section. It was a very tiny space but it had a lot of what you’d expect and a little bit of everything: some cosmetics, baby oil, Q-tips, diapers, tootpaste, toothbrushes, floss, analgesics, etc. I spent some time browsing the two aisles, just to see if I could make this my new pharmacy and skip the train or bus ride to Walgreens, when one of the Hasidic guys shouted at me (not in a mean way) “What do you need?” I told him that I was just looking. There was only one other person in the store, a man who had come to pick up a prescription. One of the cash register guys said “If there is anything that you want that we don’t have, we’ll order it for you.” I thanked him and told them that I would be back. “What a nice little place,” I thought. I couldn’t believe that I waited so long before checking it out. The staff were so friendly that I decided that I would shop there whenever I needed pharmacy items.
Then I found out about Duane Reade’s new location, and the New York cynicism began to emerge.
Maybe the Friendly Neighborhood Pharmacy folks were just being nice because they knew that they were getting some competition! Hmpf. Whatever you need, we’ll order it? I’d never had anyone say that to me since I’ve been in Brooklyn!
I pushed these thoughts out of my mind and tried to reassure myself that they were being friendly because they wanted to live up to their name. I’ll probably visit them from time to time, even after the new Duane Reade opens. Be sure to check them out.
Duane Reade (Coming Soon!)
Corner of Myrtle and Nostrand
Friendly Neighborhood Pharmacy
712 Myrtle Avenue (between Spencer and Walworth)
Closed on Saturdays
February 19th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
Walgreens coming soon they have broke ground at Gates and Broadway
February 19th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
That’s good news. That area lacked the services of a decent pharmacy as well. I think Walgreens has decided that it will move south along Broadway opening up stores. They have their store on Broadway and Union, then another one opened up a couple of years ago at Broadway and (I think) Flushing and now Broadway and Gates.
February 19th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
I’ve been to Friendly Neighborhood Pharmacy for a while now, and yes, they’re extremely friendly there. Their big market is the Hasidic community (they do lots of prescription deliveries), but they are clearly interested in serving we non-Hasids, too. The other day, one of the guys called me on my cell phone to remind me that my birth control was going to run out in a few days! It certainly ain’t no Duane Reade, and I plan on continuing to shop there even when it comes to the Mynt.
February 19th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
i have been getting my prescriptions filled at prospect drugs in clinton hill (vanderbilt and greene) for years… i love those folks!! but we certainly need the convenience of a couple of drug store options in bed-stuy. a person shouldn’t have to go on a pilgrimage for q-tips.
February 19th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
The staff of that pharmacy has always been very friendly and charming to me, long before the Duane Reade signage went up. Obviously they must be feeling some pressure at this point, though. I’m a bit conflicted about this development- save for the Associated and White Castle, we really don’t have chain stores in the immediate area. A Duane Reade is certain to take out a few bodegas, though whether we really need one on every corner is up for debate. I would be sad to see an independent pharmacy fold because of a D.R.’s arrival, though.
February 19th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
Insane. This Mynt building is horrific looking. What MORON would pay $500K for a 1br in BED STUY across the street from the projects. I have been living here for 5yrs and I have never seen such a flux in these ultra-modern buildings going up in the middle of vintage brownstone lined blocks and across the street from abandoned burned out buildings. Either its a really DUMB move (I highly doubt the projects are going anywhere anytime soon) or its a really smart move (these “lofts” will be worth millions one day) - I highly doubt the latter. Not to mention. Who the hell would want to live there, the closest DECENT subway is well over 12 blocks away. Stupid hipsters.
February 19th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
These are rentals, so no one is paying $500K.
February 19th, 2008 at 4:03 pm
And as for Friendly Neighborhood Pharmacy, I think that they will survive because they have a connection to the Hasidic community which seems to be building more and more housing in this part of Bed-Stuy.
February 19th, 2008 at 4:03 pm
Im sorry, I had this building confused with the other 200 new buildings that this company (www.thedevelopersgroup.com) threw up in the middle of a low-income hood. Cant wait till the hipsters get jumped for thinking they own the hood! Respect is key.
February 19th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
That was an easy mistake to make, because it’s hard to keep up with the number of new buildings being built around here. Every other block seems to have a new building on it.
February 19th, 2008 at 5:03 pm
I’m very excited that Duane Reade is coming to the neighborhood. I live right around the block from Friendly Neighborhood Pharmacy and they’re always friendly (hence the name!), but their hours sometimes don’t work for me. But speaking of that Duane Reade, the bodega across the street from it is going to get killed.
February 19th, 2008 at 5:04 pm
It is very frustrating having to choose between supporting a local business, and finding a decent selection at a decent price. There is a small pharmacy at the corner or Broadway and (I think) Kossuth Place. We go there for prescriptions, but still walk over to a chain drugstore for other supplies.
February 19th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
DFLOW, Just to clarify, 1 brs are not selling for $500K around there. More like in the $300s, which is cheap considering everywhere west of Bed Stuy it is close to $500K. I just moved into a new condo in Bed Stuy and the folks in my bldg are not hipsters, thankfully, but a really diverse mix of people, many of whom have lived in Bklyn for a really long time. So, let’s not jump to conclusions or stereotype.
February 20th, 2008 at 8:17 am
Thank God.
I finally found a blog where hipsters are the scourge of society and not stroller pushing yuppies.
No longer will we have to eat Utz and other second class chips
Aggh! Dagger to my heart! I love the little bowheaded scamp and her insubstantial crisps of nothingness.
Oh well, De gustibus non est disputandum I guess.
February 21st, 2008 at 4:39 pm
I also love Prospect Pharmacy at Greene and Vanderbilt, even though I moved and no longer live close by.
They and many other independent pharmacies in Brooklyn and Queens are much cheaper for self-pay prescriptions than Duane Reade and other chain stores–like 25 percent cheaper.
I don’t know about the Friendly Neighborhood Pharmacy you wrote about but several other little corner pharmacies I’ve visited in Queens and Brooklyn also have much better prices for over-the-counter stuff like non-prescription pain and cold remedies, hair dye, school supplies, etc. And they will get you what you need if you don’t find it on the shelf. Plus much friendlier folks working there than at Duane Reade or Target or Rite-Aid or Walgreen’s or any chain store.
February 21st, 2008 at 5:29 pm
hahaha. i used to live across the street from prospect pharmacy then i moved to williamsburg but kept going back there for my prescriptions. now i live in bed-stuy and still get all my prescriptions filled there. they’re lovely people. duane reade is a necessary evil… they have the selection but don’t even come close to the personal experience of a small pharmacy.
geesh, if i ever leave NYC i’m screwed.
February 22nd, 2008 at 10:41 am
There is also a good independent pharmacy on DeKalb between Sumner and Throop (across from the bus stop). I was scared to go in there for a while because they have two huge security guards–one outside and one inside–but once I ventured in I discovered that they are very very nice, have practically everything Duane Reade has and the pharmacist is there most of the time (some of these small stores only have p/t pharamcists)
I have a mail-in rx plan but certainly if I have to get something fast or pay out of pocket I’ll go there!
April 16th, 2008 at 8:07 pm
I’m so excited for Duane to move in! All I have to ask is when do they open!!!!
April 17th, 2008 at 6:31 am
I’ve been keeping my eye on it, but I haven’t seen an opening day sign yet.