Community upset over loss of Eckerd

According to Little Neck resident Vicki Cosgrove, the Grinch is about to steal Christmas from employees and customers at the Little Neck Eckerd Pharmacy.
The plans to close the Eckerd on December 30, according to Cosgrove, and convert it into a Staples, an office supply store, will leave many, especially the elderly who no longer drive, without a neighborhood pharmacy, and more importantly, without a sense of community.
According to Cosgrove, the Eckerd store lost its lease after the property owner increased the rent so high they could not or would not pay. &#8220Everyone is upset,” she said. &#8220There used to be three or four drugstores around but this one and the CVS at Douglaston Parkway are all that's left. The Rite Aid was closed, and then the Halloween store that replaced it has gone now too,” she said. Our community is losing its sense of stability as its stores keep changing hands, Cosgrove lamented.
Cosgrove and her sister Diane are veteran community activists and having been instrumental in getting a Stop & Shop to open up across the street following the closure of the Grand Union. Diane has already contacted Staples in Boston to question the viability of the proposed store. &#8220I had two years to fight to get the Stop & Shop. Property owners have the right to do things like this but this is so fast and they just haven't taken any account of the community. It's not so much what they're doing, it how they are doing it.”
Outside the drugstore, some customers had heard the news, but others were taken by surprise by the closure. Many had heard rumors of rent increases.
A sprightly 92-year-old resident who refused to give his name described the closing as a shame. He wondered how Staples would survive when there are large Staples stores in Bayside and Great Neck.
Ann Nunziata described the replacement of Eckerd with a Staples as silly. &#8220How many Staples do we need? This is a very nice store. It's crazy to close it. How many books and pencils can we buy?” Then after considering for a moment she added that things are worse in Great Neck because in that neighborhood even more stores close.
Andrew Litwinczuk put it this way, &#8220Yeah we need a Staples. Yeah,” then he laughed as if the idea was preposterous. Residents need their meds, their other products. We need a drug store - I don't care what brand, Eckerd, CVS, Rite Aid, it doesn't matter.”
&#8220We're losing our sense of community. So many stores close and so many are left empty. I lived in Elmhurst for 30 years and always had the same stores. Here some don't last six months. &#8220It's all about money and greed. People just don't matter anymore.” Diane Cosgrove said.