Mayor Evans expresses outrage, demands Walgreens halt planned closure of West Main Street store
Mayor Malik D. Evans today demanded that the parent company of the Walgreens drug store chain immediately halt plans to close the storefront at 792 W. Main St. in the Bulls Head area.
“Walgreens’ intention to continue this history of disinvestment in yet another of Rochester’s densely populated, majority-minority neighborhoods is deeply disturbing and patently outrageous, as it comes less than two years after the closure of the Walgreens store at 670 Thurston Road, an area with similar demographic and historic characteristics,” Mayor Evans wrote in an open letter to Tim Wentworth, CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance. “With these closures, Walgreens will render Rochester’s entire southwest quadrant a medical desert, with residents denied full and convenient access to the lifesaving, health-preserving medications and medical supplies found in a traditional drug store,” the Mayor continued. “I will remind you that minority populations like those in these neighborhoods disproportionately struggle with a myriad of healthcare challenges compounded by limited access to transportation.
“To ignore these well documented challenges and deny such a large segment of Rochester’s minority population the same access to pharmacy services that Walgreens provides its customers in more affluent, majority-white areas of the Greater Rochester Region stands in stark contrast to the ideals expressed under the Walgreens Boots Alliance core pillar of ‘Healthy Communities: Improving Health Equity and Societal Wellbeing.’”
A Walgreens representative informed the City Thursday that the company intends to close the West Main Street store as part of a nationwide closure of 2,500 stores. The company plans to redirect customers to the Walgreens at 457 Lyell Ave. The closure brings Walgreens presence in Rochester to three stores and severely limits pharmacy services in southwest Rochester.
Mayor Evans also called Walgreens’ attention to the $500 million in ongoing investments from the Bulls Head Revitalization Project and the expansion of the St. Mary’s Medical Campus. Over the next three to five years, these investments will include the construction of 800 new housing units, a new bank branch, a corporate headquarters and training center and many other commercial uses. The City also anticipates that the Bulls Head Neighborhood is destined to experience substantial organic investment due to its proximity to Downtown Rochester, the fastest-growing district in the nine-county Rochester Combined Statistical Area, with ongoing investments totaling more than $1 billion.
“As a mayor who spent more than 20 years as an officer in the banking industry, I must also note that this decision is as financially shortsighted as it is socially irresponsible,” the Mayor wrote. “I am confident that Walgreens’ failure to recognize the potential of the Bulls Head Revitalization Project amid Rochester’s well documented growth and renewed prosperity could cause WBA’s investors to question the strategic judgment and long-term vision of the corporate administration.”
Mayor Evans offered to personally meet with members of the Walgreens team to help them learn more about the Bulls Head project and other positive developments in Rochester.
“For these reasons and more, I believe Walgreens’ decision to compound the harm it has already inflicted on the people of Rochester with the closure of another store in a majority-minority neighborhood is as bad for Walgreens as it is for my community. As such, I urge you to honor Walgreens’ stated but unrealized commitment to the equitable delivery of healthcare and adopt a strategic vision to ensure the long-term success and profitability of Walgreens. Immediately cease any all plans to close the Walgreens store and pharmacy at 792 W. Main St.”