Another Walgreens Gone, How Many To Go?

Looks like our prediction about Walgreens and Duane Reade closings around Southern Brooklyn is coming true even faster than we thought it would. A Kings Highway Duane Reade store closed just two weeks ago, and a reader then told us that the Duane Reade location on Avenue J and East 16th Street also closed.

Now word is coming in from tipster extraordinaire BrooklynQ that the Walgreens at 1721 Avenue U (between East 17th Street and East 18th Street) is closed for business.

The closing shows that the chain is not at all timid in shuttering newly-constructed facilities. This particular location was previously the last bastion of our beloved local chain Morris Discount, which Walgreens purchased in June 2008. Since it took up the property, it seems work on it has been never-ending, with a storefront expansion a year ago, and finally a reconstructed facade just finished within the last few months.

And now… it’s closed. For good. A whole lot of work for nothing, and a storefront not so easily adjusted for non-Walgreens uses. What will happen to the newly-completed Bragg Street Walgreens, which sits in spitting distance from the high-traffic Duane Reade Nostrand Avenue location? We don’t know, but if they shut it down it means an entire new construction goes to waste…

But back to 1721 Avenue U – be advised that pharmacy records have been transferred to the Duane Reade at 1417 Avenue U.