Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Drugstore Proliferation Now Absurd
By
Dave Hogarty
Published Nov 21, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Dave Hogarty
Published Nov 21, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
New Yorkers like to joke about the spread of chain drugstores, bank branches, and Starbucks in the city, but residents of Sunnyside, Queens can claim bragging rights in a shining example of the phenomena. Greenpoint Avenue is home to two adjacent Rite Aid drugstores, which sit literally right next to each other.
According to the Daily News, it initially appears to be one giant store, but, in fact, they are two separately owned and operated drugstores separated by a single wall. At least one neighborhood resident was disoriented after walking out of one store and then almost back into the second: "I said to myself, 'Wait. Didn't I just come out of Rite Aid?"
The newer of the two stores used to be an Eckerd pharmacy before the chain was acquired by Rite Aid. Now the two stores co-exist side by side on Greenpoint Ave. There is a third Rite Aid pharmacy three blocks away on 45th St. and 43rd Ave. If one has further trouble finding a Rite Aid, there's always the chain's store locater.
Company officials said that market research supported the decision to have twin stores on the street, but wouldn't comment to the Daily News on the financial performance of any of the three in the area. The president of the neighborhood's chamber of commerce wishes there were fewer drugstores and more businesses that would make Sunnyside a tourist destination, "like the Gap."
Tagged
daily news
drugstores
greenpoint ave.
greenpoint avenue
locater
new yorkers
news
proliferation
queens
rite aid
riteaid
starbucks
sunnyside
the city
Dave Hogarty
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Man shot by ICE in NYC still has bullet lodged in neck, attorneys say
Oscar Belgal, a 28-year-old immigrant from the Dominican Republic, was in solitary confinement at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Sunset Park on Monday.
By
Liam Quigley
Published Oct 12, 2026 at 11:37 a.m. ET
NY measles spread prompts 'disaster' emergency. It didn't have to be this way, health commissioner says.
The state health commissioner says the disease outbreak is wholly preventable.
By
Elizabeth Shwe
News
NY measles spread prompts 'disaster' emergency. It didn't have to be this way, health commissioner says.
The state health commissioner says the disease outbreak is wholly preventable.
By
Elizabeth Shwe
NYC wants to move deliveries onto the waterways. It's starting with a 55-year-old boat.
By
Liam Quigley
Inside the luxury Greenpoint high-rise powered by a rumbling generator for over a month
By
David Brand
Mayor Mamdani orders review of NYPD use of force policies
By
Michael Sol Warren
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .