Friday, January 28, 2011

Actually, Rite Aid's sidewalks are still really treacherous

Last evening, we noted that Rite Aid on First Avenue and Fifth Street had finally started shoveling their thundersnow-filled sidewalks...

However, a reader noted early this morning that they "have not touched the 5th St side of the building! And two stacks of crates have fallen or been knocked into the path, so it's even worse."

Thanks to @jorgeortiz85 for these shots a little earlier today ... the crates have been removed, but there are still big chunks of ice and snow — and no clear path.


Meanwhile, on the First Avenue side... Per reader MagicD:

"A bad job of shoveling — right now (11am) the front of the store has a slushy slippery little path, and the side of the store isn't shoveled at all — the snow is just packed down. some poor guys are trying to roll boxes along it and having a terrible time."


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12 comments:

  1. esquared™January 28, 2011 at 12:39 PM

    rite-aid maybe deliberately not shoveling that sidewalk so that the person who falls down and break something will purchase that pain med or first-aid from them

    ReplyDelete
  2. EV GrieveJanuary 28, 2011 at 12:45 PM

    @Esquared

    Ha! Classic...

    ReplyDelete
  3. JoeJanuary 28, 2011 at 12:51 PM

    Thanks for the updates on RiteAid. Embarrassing and irresponsible. I hope Management there read this and take note that, in protest, the $20-30 I planned on spending there today are now going to Walgreens in Astor Place.

    Longer walk, but at least EVERY store / building owner from my door to theirs has shoveled.

    ReplyDelete
  4. NixtaJanuary 28, 2011 at 1:19 PM

    If it bothers your civic pride enough to take photos and tweet about it, why would you not take the extra time to 311 it (not aimed at you, @evgrieve!)? You know Anderson Cooper would!

    Rules on cleanup are here:
    http://www.nyc.gov/apps/311/allServices.htm?requestType=topService&serviceName=Snow+or+Ice+on+Sidewalks+Report

    Annoyingly, you cannot report sidewalk snow in front of a commercial property online or using the iPhone app - you have to call. What's the number for 311?

    ReplyDelete
  5. cvinzantJanuary 28, 2011 at 1:34 PM

    thanks for posting. it would be great to shame the local slumlords into maintaining their sidewalks here.
    the rite aid was even worse earlier this morning, storing and shuffling all their plastic totes, completely blocking the sidewalk. i also found it hard to believe it had ever been shoveled
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/animaltourism/5395532789/
    i've always been amazed this one-story building wasn't razed.

    ReplyDelete
  6. UnknownJanuary 28, 2011 at 1:46 PM

    Interesting! No joke, I was in there last Saturday afternoon, when an irate guy comes in from outside and demands to speak to the manager. Told him that he fell on his ass outside, and if they didn't shovel the sidewalk, they'll wish they had. Can't say they weren't warned.

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousJanuary 28, 2011 at 3:57 PM

    Parkside Lounge on Attorney and Houston is also lame when it comes to shoveling. I nearly wiped out on the Attorney Street side of the bar where someone did a half-ass job of shoveling. Good thing I hadn't stopped in there for a drink first. I would have never made it down their messy sidewalk. :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousJanuary 28, 2011 at 4:10 PM

    I did report it to 311 - however, 311 takes 3 to 7 days to send an inspector. A lot of good that does!

    ReplyDelete
  9. AnonymousJanuary 28, 2011 at 6:17 PM

    The Rite Aid on 14th St does a very minimal job of shoveling. It's a very wide sidewalk, so by shoveling just 20% of it there's still plenty of room to walk, but it's a much lazier job than the whole rest of the block. Plus, their MO this winter is to leave a huge pile of snow right in the middle of the sidewalk, with two shoveled trails on either side. Annoying.

    ReplyDelete
  10. NixtaJanuary 28, 2011 at 7:03 PM

    @Anonymous II: Good stuff. But it really takes 3-7 days? Like you say, that's worthless. That said, it might still be soon enough to catch RightAid in the act :)

    Might be time to badger @NYCMayorsOffice (who, incidentally, claim that 311 handled 276,827 calls yesterday - wow - over 11,000 an hour?! I don't believe that, unless perhaps they include online submissions).

    ReplyDelete
  11. Scuba DivaJanuary 28, 2011 at 7:14 PM

    Last night the sidewalk in front of St. Stanislaus on 7th was a sheet of ice; I fell right on my ass and broke my wrist. I don't know if I would have had better luck if I'd been a parishioner there, but I doubt it.

    ReplyDelete
  12. AnonymousJanuary 31, 2011 at 11:40 PM

    It should be pointed out that your photo also catches their delivery vehicle parked in the bike lane, instead of around the corner in the zone designated specifically for their loading.

    This seems to be another standard operating procedure for Rite Aid, I know the one on 9th and 23rd does the same thing, blocking the bike lane for HOURS at a time... and there it's even a formally separated bike lane.

    There are so many reasons to dislike this drug store.

    ReplyDelete

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