The parent company of Duane Reade and Walgreens plans to shutter four locations in Brooklyn this week as part of a cost-cutting scheme to close 200 storefronts nationwide, according to a company spokesman.
“We previously announced a plan to close a number of stores across the country and a couple of stores in Brooklyn are a part of that decision,” said Phil Caruso.
The company will transfer prescriptions to nearby stores, and the company will mail patients further details of their new pharmacy locations, according to Caruso.
The four location — three Duane Reades and a Walgreens — are as follows:
- A Duane Reade store at 1417 Ave. U at the intersection of E. 15th Street in Homecrest opened for its last day of business on March 4. Prescriptions will be transferred to a Walgreens location two blocks south at 2590 Coney Island Ave. at the intersection of Avenue W.
- A Duane Reade location at 750 New York Ave — neighboring Kings County Hospital— in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens also had its last day on March 4. Prescriptions will be transferred four blocks away to a Walgreens at 3000 Church Ave. at the intersection of Nostrand Avenue.
- A Walgreens location at 285 Kings Highway — between W. 6th and W. 7th streets — in Gravesend will no longer operate after March 5. Prescriptions will be transferred to the Walgreens at 2532 86th Street between Bay 40th and Bay 41st streets about a mile away — which is about a 20-minute walk or 6-minute drive from the closing store.
- A Duane Reade store at 1401 Kings Highway — between E.14th and E. 15th streets — in Homecrest will have its last day of business on March 10. Prescriptions will be transferred about three blocks away to a Walgreens at 946 Kings Highway between E. 10th Street and Coney Island Avenue.
Walgreens announced in early August 2019 that the company would close 200 locations across the United States in a Security and Exchange Commission filing.
That announcement followed a December 2018 disclosure that the company was also ceasing operations of 200 stores in the United Kingdom.
The closures come as city dwellers are frantically stockpiling antibacterial soap, face masks, and other medical supplies out of fears that the deadly coronavirus could spread to the five boroughs.
