Rite Aid In Carroll Gardens Installs Self Check Out Machines: Yay or Nay?

Recently, we were made aware that the Rite Aid at 320 Smith Street in Carroll Gardens installed several self check-out machines at the front counter, leaving only two spots for cashier service.

Lines can be very long at this particular Rite Aid, especially in the evening, but we wonder if the trend towards self service is something we should support. After all, it means fewer jobs.

When we stopped by early last week, we asked one of the cashiers how the new machines were working out. She seemed frustrated and said that they malfunction often, forcing her to leave her register to help customers at the self check out. "I don't get paid to do both jobs at the same time" she told me.

Carroll Gardens' CVS on Court Street installed self check-out machines back in 2010. Back then, many local residents mentioned that they found them annoying.

What do you say? Do you welcome these machines? Is check-out faster at this Rite Aid now? Do you prefer to continue using the cashier? Do you think one should get a discount for using the machines since the store is saving on employees? (We do!)
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CVS Or Rite Aid In Carroll Gardens: Which One Do You Prefer?

Long gone are the days of the small neighborhood pharmacies. Here in Carroll Gardens, they closed one after the other over the past fifteen years. Does anyone remember Renaissance Pharmacy? How about Carroll Court Pharmacy at 390 Court Street? More recently, the neighborhood lost Clinton Apothecary on Clinton Street and the short lived Garden Apothecary at 525 Court Street.

As in most other New York City neighborhoods, locally owned pharmacies have been replaced by big chain stores.  Carroll Gardeners have pretty much been reduced to filling their prescriptions and personal care items at CVS at 395 Court Street and Rite Aid at 320 Smith Street.
Yes, CVS and Rite Aid are convenient, but the shopping experience is rather unpleasant. Personally, we avoid CVS as much as possible, mostly because of the damp carpet smell that hits customers the moment they walk in. The Rite Aid, on the other hand, seems to ignore the trash that accumulates in the plaza area in front of the store and accumulates in the empty tree pits.
The self check-out machines at CVS may be a plus for some, others may prefer a real person behind a register like at Rite Aid.,Both chain stores, however, have impossibly long lines throughout the day.

We would love to hear which of the two you prefer and why? Is it location, prices, pharmacy service?
Since these two seem to be the only game in the neighborhood, what improvements could they make to serve Carroll Gardens better?
From 1 to 10, how would you grade each?

Now that Rite Aid and CVS have pushed out all smaller competitors in the neighborhood, there really are not many alternatives except for filling prescriptions or ordering health products online. Perhaps, our voices and collective buying power could be channeled towards improving the service at both these stores?


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New Trees For Plaza In Front Of Rite Aid On Smith Street

photo above courtesy of Mary P.

The plaza in front of Rite Aid at 320 Smith Street at the corner of President Street has been a real eye sore at times.  The chain store has been more than lax at times when it comes to sweeping the side walk in front of the store and to snow removal in the wintertime.
Most of the trash accumulated in the plaza tree pits, where four cherry trees, planted by the City, tried hard to survive. The four trees died one after another, and were replaced two years ago by new, much
smaller cherry trees. All except for one of these new trees broke almost immediately, their small trunks snapped in half when people tied their dog's leash around them. Besides, they were never watered, so they never really had a chance.

At the end of last week, the City came by once again, enlarged the tree pits and planted four London Plane trees. Plane trees are very sturdy and tall, so these have a much better shot at survival. (Look down President Street along Carroll Park and you will see mature examples.)

Let us hope that Rite Aid will be a better steward to these four new trees.  All they really need to become mature is some water.



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Rite Aid On Smith Street At President Street Gets A Make-Over

You may have noticed that the Rite Aid at the corner of Smith Street and President Street is celebrating a re-opening.  The store actually never closed, but has undergone a major remodel in the past few days.
The major difference is that some of the signage and shelves have been replaced with newer ones and the products have been slightly re-organized.
Most importantly, some of the decals have been removed from the store front's windows so that the outside light shines right into the store.  It looks a whole lot more open now.
One can only hope that the remodel will inspire the manager and his staff to actually keep the plaza in front of the store a bit cleaner.  A whole lot of trash accumulates in those tree pits on a regular basis. And dare we hope that the spindly cherry trees that were vandalized in front of Rite Aid will be replaced by sturdier ones?



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Empty Smith Street Kiosks Continue To Be An Eye Sore In The Neighborhood

For quite a few years now, the three abandoned kiosks at the corner of Smith Street and Union Street have been real eyesores here in Carroll Gardens.
The kiosks and the tattered red and white tent right next to the containers, once housed the Brooklyn Indie Market, where local artisans sold their hand-made wares.  Since the end of 2010, however, the container-like-structures have been unused and unlocked.  Trash not only accumulates in them, they are also used as 'pissoirs' on a regular basis.  A few months ago, a homeless man was taking shelter in one of them.

Who exactly is responsible for the kiosks, the tent and the lot on which they stand is unclear. Some have indicated that the site belongs to the owner of the apartment building at the corner of Smith and President Streets, which houses Rite Aid.

Many in Carroll Gardens have expressed frustration that the dilapidated structures have not been removed in all these years and that trash is allowed to accumulate in and around them.
Most residents would welcome a small market, food stand or coffee concession.
There are indications that the site is eyed for a Citibike station, but that has not been confirmed.

In the last few days, someone named 'Mill' has posted a notice on the kiosks indicating that he is interested in renting the space.

And just two weeks ago, reader Lanie posted this comment on PMFA:
"I just talked to this landlord and he was very friendly and said he was cleaning it up in the next one to two months. Removing everything. Unfortunately, we'll add a billboard space there for revenue, not a nice landscaped area, but at least it will be cleaned up."

A billboard doesn't sound like the best option,  but if it means that the owner is going to take responsibility for his corner, it's better than nothing.

To read more about the history of this particular block and to see old photographs, click here.

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Looking Better Already! Some Housekeeping On Rite Aid Block In Carroll Gardens

Well,well,well!  Earlier this week,  I posted photos of the rather filthy conditions on the block between President and Union Streets on Smith Street.  The block is home to a Rite Aid,  but also has an empty lot that was once used as an indie market.  The market stopped operating in 2010, but the tent and metal booths used by vendors stayed behind.  Around the empty lot, garbage has been accumulating and Rita Aid has been storing empty cans and old shelving in the tent. The trash and the graffiti that has been sprayed on the metal booths have made the block look rather decrepit and ugly.
Many of you concurred that the situation is unacceptable.
After I posted photos and wrote about the history of the block, many of you gathered contact info on the landlord and on Rite Aid management.
Well, dear readers, your calls and/or emails must have helped, because yesterday, a crew emptied the tent and collected all the trash near the booths.   And it looks much better.
Let's hope that they will remove the unsightly tent and booths as well.

What would you like to see on that empty lot?  A nursery? A food vendor?  A place to park bicycles for those who ride to the subway?
Perhaps we can work with the landlord and Rite Aid to come up with something that will work for everyone in the community.




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How One Block On Smith Street In Carroll Gardens Became Such An Eye Sore

Smith Street looking towards President Street

Rite Aid at 320 Smith Street at  President Street

Same block, looking towards Union Street

Just a few days ago, I received the following email from a PMFA reader:
"I want to suggest you do a post on the abandonded lot next to Rite Aid on Smith Street. I am shocked at how much garbage has accumulated there and how nobody seems to be raising a stink about how ugly this whole block looks. Does Rite Aid own this lot? If not who does and could you find out their contact information? They should just tear down that fence or market it to someone who could do something creative with the space (as long as they fix it up)."
Agreed.  The block between President Street and Union Streets on Smith Street is a real disgrace.  I had ment to write something about the situation for a while, but the email finally prompted me to take the photos above and to research the history of that particular block a bit further.

The way this block appeared in 1928

The view from Smith Street from President Street to Union Street in 1928 with the original buildings

The corner of Smith Street and President Street  and the original #320 Smith Street.

Middle of the block 302 to 320 Smith Street, looking towards Union Street in 1928

From the later part of the1800's to the 1930's this stretch of Smith Street between President and Court Street held a few two- and three- brownstones with storefronts on the ground floor, very much like the buildings that still exist across the street.  Behind them, on President Street across Carroll Park was the old St. Marin Church.   All the houses, including the church, were taken down when the subway tunnel was built underneath Smith Street in the '30's.
The resulting empty lot was used by La Scala Motors for decades.  In 1998, the land was sold to a Mr. Robert Ull of  Ulltra Car Park, Inc., who operated a parking lot on that spot for just a bit over a year.
Shortly afterwards, in 1999, the community was informed that Mr. Ull,  together with John Genovese, was planning to build a Genovese drug store on that site.  The architect for the project was Joel Miele.
Excavation work began in May 1999,  before proper permits were in place . Almost immediately, a stop-work order was issued by the Metropolitan Transit Authority to give the MTA time to examine the developer's plans.
From a Community Notice circulated from that time:
"The original proposal was designed to rest over the MTA subway tunnel along Smith Street.  It was to consist of a 10,000 square foot rental store for genovese Drugs and two or three much smaller stores occupying the narrow Union Street end.  One proposal was to include two floors of rental units to be built over the Union Street portion.
The MTA rejected a proposal for cantilevering the structure over the subway tunnel.  The developer Robert Ull, decided that the only cost-effective way of constructing the building was to move the front wall back from the subway easement along Smith Street.  He reconfigured the floor plan to give Genovese the 10,000 square feet.  He could not build the smaller stores on the Union Street end at all, since without the MTA easement he would have only ten feet from the building behind.
Instead, he added a second story to the main building to be used for five rental apartments, accessed from President Street.
Since the single lot at the corner of Union Street and Smith Street will not be built on, Mr.  Ull is planning to find use for it as a garden nursery, or some other such commercial use as would not require the construction of a permanent building."
The Genovese store with 5 apartments was completed in 2001.  Shortly afterwards, Genovese was sold to the Florida-based Eckerd Corporation, which in turn was sold to Rite Aid in 2007.
The narrow strip at Union and Smith Street was left untended.  In the mid-2000, a few metal booths and a tent were placed at that corner.  The Brooklyn Indie Market operated a week-end and holiday market there until 2010.
These days,   Rite Aid seems to be using the ripped tent to store old shelving and empty cans.

The metal booths have slowly rusted away and have been graffitied. Trash has steadily accumulated along the entire strip, including in the tree pits in front of Rite Aid.

It is hard to determine who is to blame, the drug store or the owner(s) of the property.  One thing is for sure: it would not take much to ameliorate the situation.  The community should certainly push for the tent and the booths to be removed if they will no longer be used.
I love the original idea of having a nursery there. What about you?


Below are two proposals for the development from 1999, including the originally planned stores for the strip close to Union Street.

******UPDATE*****:

Please click through to the comment page for contact information provided by readers.  It would help if we all make a few telephone calls. 

And if you receive a response, please forward it to me so that I can let everyone know.

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