Nature’s Emporium, otherwise known as Nature’s Apothecary, is moving to a new, larger location at 1612 East 16th Street, around the corner from their 1601 Kings Highway home. They will continue to carry vitamins, natural products, and will now add fresh juice and a deli counter to their inventory.
Photo by nolastname.
Two new stores have opened on Avenue X, between Coyle Street and Bragg Street – Ave X Drugs Pharmacy at 3050 Avenue X and 99¢ Plus Discount Variety at 3054 Avenue X.
Welcome to the neighborhood.
Prestige Care Pharmacy has opened at 1190 Gravesend Neck Road, between East 13th Street and Sheepshead Bay Road. Hooray.
A totally unrelated photo
Is this really news anymore?
Bensonhurst Bean reports:
A federal Medicare fraud task force has charged five individuals with conspiring to launder profits from defrauding Medicare at three local medical clinics.
According to an FBI press release, Larisa Shelabadova, 34, Alexander Zaretser, 31, Anatoly Kraiter, 33, Vladimir Kornev, 52, and Yelena Galper, 38 were charged by the Brooklyn Medicare Fraud Strike Force for their participation in the money laundering scheme. The release also states that five other individuals were charged from a previous indictment dating back to October 2010.
I think Sheepshead Bay, Brighton Beach and Bensonhurst ought to kick off a competition to see which neighborhood gets hit with the most fraud busts. Which do you think wins out? (Not taxpayers, that’s for damn sure.)
Attorney General Eric Holder announces the law enforcement crackdown, resulting in the arrests of 91 people. Source: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
Without citing cases of specific crackdowns in Brooklyn, United States Attorney General Eric Holder, together with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and FBI Executive Assistant Director Shawn Henry, announced that charges have been brought up against defendants across the country for the “serious crime of defrauding the Medicare program.”
Ninety-one people — including 11 doctors, three nurses and 10 medical professionals — have been busted for their alleged participation in the nationwide Medicare fraud scheme, which spanned across eight major US cities, including Brooklyn, Baton Rouge, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles and Miami, and totaled a staggering $295 million in fraudulent billing practice, exceeding the previous largest sweep of arrests this past February, which involved upward of 40 unrelated schemes that cost taxpayers more than $240 million.
A little more than a month ago, our area saw two local apothecaries — Monica’s Pharmacy at 1324 Sheepshead Bay Road and L&A Pharmacy at 394 Avenue X — raided by federal agents, resulting in the arrests of Luba Balyasny, 46, and Alla Shrayber, 40. The two licensed pharmacists were charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
Congratulations Boris Royzen, our relentless reader who campaigned to win the chance to throw the first pitch at MCU Park (Cyclones Stadium) during tomorrow’s Sheepshead Bites Night!
Royzen garnered more than 50 percent of the vote (351 votes) – besting two other candidates for the opportunity of a lifetime. And he did it all by promising to make an ass out of himself.
It was a competition to end all competitions; one that tells us much about the human condition. Readers were presented with three options: a bonafide hero, a loser begging for redemption, or Royzen, a guy who was just willing to embarrass himself the most. And, with the votes tallied, Royzen’s victory shows what our readers care about most: humiliation.
We wouldn’t have it any other way, and neither would Royzen. The former high school swimming star is pulling out his old purple Leon M. Goldstein H.S. speedos and slapping on a Sheepshead Bites sticker, then taking to the mound to throw the first pitch. And he’s got a conscience, too. Moved by the story of fellow contestant Joseph Brodoff, a local hero who, after his wife’s death, created several facilities and programs that assist cancer patients at two city hospitals, Royzen said he’ll be making a contribution to the foundation’s cause.
But, for now, it’s the game he’s looking forward to. Sort of.
“I’m nervous and excited,” said the 27-year-old owner of Gravesend-based B&T Marlboro Pharmacy (2845 86th Street). “I really hope it doesn’t rain.”
Well, we really hope only one ball makes an appearance on the mound…
Sheepshead Bites Night at MCU Park (Cyclones Stadium) is tomorrow, August 19, at 6:30 p.m. Discounted tickets for Sheepshead Bites readers can be bought here with the promo code “BITES.” There will be a pre-game presentation in which Sheepshead Bites promotes the neighborhood with videos on the jumbotron, a performance by students from the Covenant Ballet Theater of Brooklyn’s Dance Academy, a ceremony honoring St. Mark Catholic Church for it’s 150th year honoring the community, and free t-shirts launched into the crowd (shirts will also be for sale on the mezzanine).
Source: GerritsenBeach.net
The property at 3070 Avenue U, at the corner of Bragg Street, has been sold to a real estate investment trust for $11 million – but, local druggies, don’t fret; it’s likely to remain a Walgreens.
According to PropertyShark, the sale went through on June 30 for $11,015,385 to American Realty Capital, previously owned by “W 8 BROOKLYN AVENUE U, LLC” – a company believed to be owned by John Genovese (primarily since his name is on a few of the building permits). Genovese is the developer behind several of the area’s Walgreens, including the one on Coney Island Avenue and Avenue W.
And, boy, is business good for a Walgreens developer. Genovese bought the property in 2007 for a paltry $2.8 million, meaning this flip had quite a nice return.
Thanks to localbroker for the tip.
Two audacious apothecaries bilked the Medicare system out of more than $3 million, filing claims for a whopping 869,698 units of prescription medications that were never doled out.
Sheepshead Bites first reported on the bust this morning, when federal agents raided two pharmacies - Monica’s Pharmacy (1324 Sheepshead Bay Road) and L&A Pharmacy (394 Avenue X) – and arrested the alleged fraudsters.
Authorities charged Luba Balyasny, 46, and Alla Shrayber, 40, with conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Balyasny and Shrayber are licensed both pharmacists in New York State who co-owned and operated Monica’s Pharmacy and L & A Pharmacy.
Here are the details from the Department of Justice press release:
According to court documents, from January 2007 through December 2009, Balyasny and Shrayber allegedly defrauded the Medicare Part D program by systematically submitting false claims through their pharmacies for certain prescription medications that were not purchased by their businesses and were never dispensed to Medicare beneficiaries. The complaint alleges that the inventory at both pharmacies for certain prescription medications did not match the pharmacies’ Part D reimbursement claims. According to court documents, the pharmacies submitted prescription drug claims totaling approximately 869,698 units of prescription medications without any supporting drug purchase invoices. The shortfall allegedly resulted in approximately $3 million in false and fraudulent claims paid by Medicare Part D, Part D Plans and beneficiaries for prescription drugs that were never purchased or dispensed.
If convicted, Balyasny and Shrayber face a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison. A complaint merely contains allegations and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at trial.
A federal agent guards the door at Monica's Pharmacy.
Federal agents raided two Sheepshead Bay-area pharmacies early this morning and arrested their former owners as part of a multi-million dollar Medicare bust.
Oh, Kings Plaza Diner, we hardly knew ye.
Wait, that’s nonsense. We knew ye quite well, actually. All those late night burgers with high school pals. The Sunday brunches to cure the ol’ hangover. The business meetings and old-friend reunions. The eavesdropping – and relentless mocking – of our fellow patrons… gosh, I’ll miss you.
Kings Plaza Diner, the last of the quality greasy spoons in Southern Brooklyn. And now, you’ve abandoned us. Shuttered in October, you’ve left us with just an empty husk at 4124 Avenue U, a hallow building serving as a reminder of Brooklyn’s past of formidable diner culture. I emphasize: Brooklyn’s past.
And now we don’t even have that husk. In just one day, Thursday, the entire structure was demolished, making way for a CVS. Reader Janelle F. shared this photo with us on Facebook, taken by her “shy friend” who captured the tail-end of the elimination of an icon of the local streetscape.
Let us commiserate. Let us reminisce. What will you miss most about Kings Plaza Diner?
