City Sues Pharmacy In Forest Hills Over Coronavirus Price Gouging

FOREST HILLS, QUEENS — The city's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection filed a lawsuit accusing a Forest Hills pharmacy of hiking up prices for hand sanitizer and face masks amid the coronavirus pandemic, officials announced Wednesday.

Burns Pharmacy, located at 68-04 Burns St., stands accused of violating consumer protection laws against price gouging items needed to prevent or limit the spread of or treat COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, according to a statement from the mayor's office.

The consumer protection agency is now seeking up to $12,000 in fines for the pharmacy's 24 alleged violations listed in the lawsuit; officials didn't specify how much the pharmacy was charging for the items.

Burns Pharmacy could not be immediately reached for comment.

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"Taking advantage of New Yorkers in a crisis is unacceptable," Mayor Bill de Blasio said. "Don't even think about price gouging in our city. We won't stand for it, and we will hold you fully accountable."

Since March 5, the city's consumer protection agency has received more than 7,200 complaints and issued more than 2,700 violations for price gouging, according to the news release Wednesday.

The agency is issuing violations to businesses found to be overcharging customers by 10 percent or more for items like disinfectants, soap, cleaning products and medicines.

Investigators with New York Attorney General Tish James' office have also been reviewing complaints of price gouging during the pandemic and previously ordered an Astoria supermarket to lower its prices for disinfectant sprays.

But some store owners say that the blame should rest with the wholesalers that are bumping up prices on the supply side, according to reports in THE CITY and QNS.com.

“We are focusing our attention on brick-and-mortar retailers that are price gouging New Yorkers,” Melissa Barosy, a spokesperson for the city's consumer protection agency, told THE CITY. "If those retailers demonstrate that they were only passing along exorbitant price increases from their suppliers, we will consider what our enforcement options may be on a case-by-case basis.”

New Yorkers can file a price gouging complaint by visiting nyc.gov/dcwp, calling the city's 311 hotline and saying "overcharge," or filling out this online form.

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