Wednesday, April 29, 2009

BROADWAY WALGREENS: FINALLY


Brownfields be damned! After six years of waiting, the Walgreens on Broadway is finally poised to break ground.

Today's paper finally made mention of the machines doing some surface work on the site and the Mayor is pleased to see action on the corner. I too am pleased.

For to long, we waited for the clean-up process to occur. Looking at that fenced in gravel lot in the middle of the commercial district gave the impression of neglect in Ward Nine. Very unsettling.

The one factor in the re-use of the property was the loss of the trolley barn. That is probably the saddest part of the brownfield clean-up. I actually carry that loss with me as a reminder of what can be lost as a result of irresponsible handling of toxic chemicals. We've learned much since those early days...Maybe.

Walgreens , the second in Kingston, will be paying taxes; thats a good thing. They will be offering jobs too. Not the highest paying jobs, but with Burgerking on the same corner, it fits well with the Broadway payscale. I'm expecting the proximity of the pharmacy and grocery to help locals with limited mobility.

As I did with some other construction sites in the city, I'll post pictures of the progress here to show those of you who don't get around Kingston much.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Trolley Barn is a loss, but the chemicals under that building were the worst of the three business' that were on that corner.
Walgreens will be a good fit for that section of Broadway. It might even alter the 24 hour activity at CITGO.

Anonymous said...

That corner is the sore spot of this portion of midtown. The fact that it took this long to get things moving is ridiculous. These big corporations invest in demographic studies that show either a prime consumer base or not, depending on the median wage and expected prescription needs of a neighborhood. What was the delay? They are immune to the temporary economy fluctuations that tend to affect traditional businesses. Should we be excited that they are moving on this project or concerned that they might not have wanted to?

Anonymous said...

Gee - what a historical design - is this a joke to match the blue texture 1-11 on the Burger King.

Anonymous said...

Mike: it seems like yesterday that we watched and listened to the Mayor extol the virtues of this new business in town. Hard to believe that 6 years have passed. Can you imagine NYC waiting for six long, long years to go through the process of a single store. Can you imagine if the Noah was going to return from the ashes of yesteryear. Hey point in discussion,
WHO IS PAYING FOR THE NATIONAL RENTAL FENCE BILL?
just my three cents worth
take care
Shelly Z
please confirm the nominee for the KAPA- quickly

Anonymous said...

Brad Jordan now owns both ends of Kingston.