Locals Petition To Stop A St. Albans Walgreens From Closing

ST. ALBANS, QUEENS — State Sen. Leroy Comrie is spearheading a campaign to stop Walgreens from closing its pharmacy on Farmers Boulevard in St. Albans.

The Walgreens at 112-55 Farmers Blvd. will close on Nov. 6, a company spokesperson confirmed, and prescriptions will automatically be transferred to the pharmacy chain's location at 109-62 Francis Lewis Blvd. in Hollis.

Comrie is circulating a petition in an attempt to halt the closure, which he says would come to the detriment of senior citizens living nearby who don't have access to a car and can't order prescriptions online.

Walgreens' Hollis pharmacy is a 20-minute walk from the St. Albans location, according to Google Maps.

Andrew Taranto, a spokesperson for Comrie, said hundreds of people have signed the petitionsince staffers started collecting signatures last week.

"Many caretakers—children and grandchildren of customers—have written to explain how this will affect their parents and grandparents," Taranto wrote in an email to Patch.

That's not all, he said.

"Many of the customers are deeply appreciative of the folks who work at the location and would miss their friendship and would feel bad to see them out of a job," Taranto added.

Walgreens spokesperson Phil Caruso said the St. Albans location is part of the company's plan announced in August to close 200 stores across the United States.

He declined to comment on the petition.