Walgreens opens at Uniondale site once an eyesore

A new Walgreens drugstore has recently opened in Uniondale, kick-starting a community-driven revitalization plan for the future of the hamlet’s business corridors.

The first stand-alone chain drugstore within Uniondale opened its doors earlier this month. The 13,000-square-foot store with a drive-through window — Walgreens’ new prototype — was constructed on a 1.3-acre site at the corner of Uniondale and Jerusalem avenues that had become an eyesore, developers and town officials said.

“This is a nice improvement to this corner,” Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray said in a statement, noting that she drives by the store daily on her way to Town Hall.

The site includes five parcels that once housed a shuttered gas station, an auto repair business and a foreclosed house occupied by squatters, said site developer Steven Kaufman of Woodmere-based Basser-Kaufman.

“We took down buildings that were eyesores and put up a fairly attractive building that serves the community,” Kaufman said in a statement. “Hopefully, it will encourage others to invest in their own properties.”

Hempstead Town Councilwoman Dorothy Goosby, who represents Uniondale, said the store is part of a visioning process that she had overseen for the hamlet.

The vision plan was released last August after input from residents, community leaders, professional planners, Hempstead Town and Nassau County officials.

The community’s priorities include beautification, improving traffic and transportation, economic development and sustainability of residential neighborhoods.

“We want to be good neighbors,” Walgreens district manager Rodd Andrews said.