Gloria Murray, 70, a resident at the Serviam Gardens senior home in Bedford Park, will no longer be able to pick up her prescriptions at her local Rite Aid.

The sign taped to the pharmacy’s front door at 239 E. 198th St., just two blocks from the affordable housing complex, said it all: “Hello Rite Aid Customers. We are closing at 7 p.m. today. Thanks for choosing us as your favorite store. Sorry for the inconvenience.” The sign was posted Feb. 5, the date the store permanently closed.

The closure adds a greater layer of inconvenience for residents at Serviam Gardens and its recently opened sister senior housing complex, Serviam Heights, totaling 439 units and home to hundreds of seniors on fixed incomes.

“Rite Aid is usually where I get my medication. I shop there because it is close to us here,” said Murray.

It was at Serviam Gardens where many residents also relied on the pharmacy giant’s free flu shot, with a nurse often stopping by to administer the shots in September over the last few years, essentially bringing the service to residents. Administrators at Serviam Gardens are now hoping another provider steps in to offer the vaccine.

Beside medications, Murray will also miss the store’s rain checks, a type of coupon that allows customers to buy an out-of-stock sales item once it’s in stock again for the same sales price. For Murray, being denied a rain check signaled the end. “I went in there to ask for a rain check and the manager said, ‘We have stopped giving out rain checks because in a month we are going to close,” Murray said. She was in disbelief. Apparently no one mentioned that the store’s rain check could be used at any Rite Aid location.

Murray asked the pharmacist what is going to happen to her medication. They told her to call on Feb. 5 so that they could update her. Murray said they transferred all of her information to Duane Reade at 1 E. Kingsbridge Rd.

The news of where to go was confirmed by Chris Savarese, Rite-Aid’s Director of Public Relations. “The Rite Aid store closed Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. All patient files have been transferred to Duane Reade located at 1 E. Kingsbridge Rd,” he said.

It’s unclear why that particular Rite Aid closed. Rite Aid had recently merged with another pharmacy giant, Walgreens, last summer.

Silvano Rodriguez, a local resident, said the Rite Aid manager told him the closure was due to the rent increase. “I heard that Rite Aid lost their lease because the landlord raised the rent. The manager was talking about that like 2-3 weeks ago when I was there. The community is now going to have to walk to Fordham if they want to go to Rite Aid,” said Rodriguez. But that location at 49 W. Fordham Rd. would be quite a healthy walk from the closed location at 198th  Street near Valentine Avenue.

Meantime, Murray called the Kingsbridge Duane Reade, with an employee telling her that they will make it easier for senior citizens to get their medication hassle-free. “You can call in for your medication on Monday or Tuesday, and Wednesday they will deliver for you for free of cost,” said Murray.

But Murray preferred being able to pick up her prescription at her local pharmacy because it allowed her to look around for other vitamins she needed while offering the chance to interact with other people. She is not looking forward to the new change. Getting to Duane Read from Serviam Gardens usually takes 10 minutes. For Murray, who gets around using a cane, the walk, she said, will take 20 minutes.

There are some customers who are actually happy to see the chain store go. Tony Carter, a U.S military veteran, and another resident at Serviam Gardens, said he was glad to find out about Rite Aid’s closure because of his awful experience with them. “I’ve been living here for about nine years and I had a bad experience with them when I first came. I changed to CVS and I have been satisfied with them ever since. I also use Leroy Pharmacy, which is a block away from the Rite Aid,” said Carter. Carter said whenever an emergency occurs they send Leroy Pharmacy his prescriptions and they accommodate him very well.

Murray conceded customer service was problematic there. “The workers never showed any care or empathy for seniors, but I stood with them because it was close to me. A few times I would try to get my medication at Leroy because Rite Aid wouldn’t really treat me nice,” Murray said, adding that while Leroy is more reasonable, “seniors tend to stick to something whenever it is convenient for them.”

As Rite Aid employees were busy packing up the rest of the items on its last day on Feb. 5, Jose Ventura, a local resident, stood watching the closure in process.

“Rite Aid is going to be missed in this neighborhood. There is another pharmacy nearby (referring to Leroy Pharmacy), but we would come to this Rite Aid because we had a variety to choose from. We were accustomed to coming here. It has been here for about 20 years,” Ventura said. Customers can also try Grace Pharmacy, a block up from Leroy Pharmacy.

William Lopez also stood outside the Rite Aid as its sign came down. “Why are they closing it? The thing is, a lot of people use this Rite Aid, a lot of people in the area. I mean there are other pharmacies but not like this. Leroy is good but they don’t have half the stuff like Rite Aid,” he said.

Meantime, as the line started to build up at Leroy Pharmacy, employee Feroze Khan said, “We always had a line of customers when Rite Aid was open, but now we have a little bit more. This pharmacy has been here for about 16 years.”

Murray hopes that another pharmacy will take over Rite Aid’s former location. “You get to go with a shopping cart and walk around. That is good for us. When you go to the store you get to walk around and see things,” said Murray.

Additional reporting by Martika Ornella and David Cruz.