Health, wellness and beauty collide at a
boutique pharmacy in Long Island City
BY JENNA BAGCAL
Long Island City residents
looking for a health, wellness,
and beauty hub should look no
further than City Chemist.
Since November 2018, the
company has been a “onestop
shop” for the western
Queens neighborhood. According
to general store manager
David Rodrigues, pharmacist
Peter LaFranca, and
buyer Maica De La Torres,
the community’s response to
the store has been the same:
“thank God you’re here.”
At the store’s location on
25-29 44th Drive, patrons can
fill prescriptions, wax their
eyebrows, and get a flu shot,
which aligns with the company’s
message of marrying
beauty and wellness all
while catering to customer
service and deviating from
the typical chain store mentality.
“When a customer comes
in looking for a product, instead
LIC resident teaches kids all about performing arts
BY JENNA BAGCAL
Long Island City resident
Maria Sciorillo has loved
to sing, dance and act since
childhood.
The Pennsylvania native
and former Miss Philadelphia
trained in the performing arts
and recalls developing an early
passion for it. But she noticed
her current Queens neighborhood
lacked a space where children
could develop that same
love for performing and decided
to open Forever Young School
for The Performing Arts, a new
boutique studio where kids
could learn the craft in a “loving
environment.”
According to Sciorillo, the
name Forever Young references
the “special and happiest”
times when she remembers
falling in love with performing
arts. The studio at 10-63
Jackson Ave. trains children
ages 3 to 10 in ballet, jazz tap,
musical theater and singing,
all of which Sciorillo herself
of telling them which
aisle it’s in, we walk them to
the aisle and show them where
it is,” De La Torres said.
The group said that not
only do they try to remember
every customer who comes
through their doors, but also
their significant life events
— and even their pets. The
“individualized and personalized”
attention to detail is
what sets them apart from
pharmacy chains.
“We always say that we see
them customers more often
than we see our own families,
so it’s a different atmosphere,”
said LaFranca.
Rockrose Development
Corp. approached City Chemist
about the opportunity to
open the independent pharmacy,
citing the residents’
need for services all under
one roof. According to Rodrigues,
City Chemist pharmacies
support “underserved
communities” that typically
have to travel outside their
professionally trained in.
As a former preschool
teacher, Sciorillo utilizes
positive reinforcement and
encouragement to teach her
students the proper technique.
She teaches “semi-private”
Courtesy of City Chemist
neighborhoods for necessities.
“Now, people don’t have
to go into the city to get what
they need,” said Rodrigues.
The company also has
outposts in Brooklyn and on
Long Island.
De La Torres said that City
Chemist’s slogan is “your
destination for beauty and
Courtesy of Maria Sciorillo
classes of six to eight children,
which allows her to give them
individualized attention.
Forever Young offers 45-
minute, single Saturday classes
for students ages 2 1/2 to 3
years old or one-hour combo
wellness.” The founders of
the company had long-established
careers in the pharmacy
industry and decided to
expand into the beauty world
due to industry demand.
Customers can purchase
name brand and generic drug
prescriptions at City Chemist
or get items over $25 delivered
to their homes for free. Patrons
classes twice a week for students
3 and up.
“Going two times a week
builds muscle memory and
builds a strong foundation,”
said Sciorillo.
Classes are broken up into a
fall semester (Sept. 10 through
Feb. 1) and spring semester
(Feb. 4 through June 27). Saturday
single classes begin on
Oct. 5 and end on Jan. 25. At
the end of the year, students
will get the opportunity to perform
at the end of the year recital
during the last weekend
in June.
When she first started Forever
Young, her goal was to
make the children “super happy”
while they learned. She
showed her younger students
songs from Frozen and shared
numbers from 42nd Street
with her tap class to give them
a taste of real Broadway performances.
“It made my day to see the
kids belting songs from 42nd
Street; it made it all worth
can also find the latest
in high-end beauty like Tata
Harper, Dennis Gross, Laura
Mercier and Bobby Brown.
The store recently hosted
Laura Mercier and Bobby
Brown events that were “very
successful with the ladies in
the neighborhood.”
If a customer requests products
that are not available at
the Long Island City store, the
staff can request for a product
to be transferred from one of
their other locations.
“‘We try to accommodate
as much as we can, ” LaFranca
said. “Clients say, ‘I’ve never
seen a pharmacy like this
before.'”
City Chemist is open Monday
to Friday from 9 a.m. to
8 p.m. and weekends from 10
a.m. to 6 p.m. Visit their website
to learn more.
Reach reporter Jenna Bagcal
by e-mail at jbagcal@qns.
com or by phone at (718) 260-
2583.
it,” Sciorillo said. “I saw little
girls fall in love with it like I
fell in love with it.”
Sciorillo screens performances
like Tony Award showcases
on a professional projector
to give students a chance
to “see the magic of it” rather
than just hear the music.
“The kids just light up and
get to understand what it the
performing arts is,” she said.
In addition to dance and
vocal lessons, Forever Young
also offers birthday parties
for students. The celebrant
and their guests can engage in
30 minutes of a dance style of
their choice followed by a party
complete with pizza, cake
and birthday presents.
For more information on
Forever Young, visit foreveryounglic.
com or search @foreveryounglic
on Facebook.
Reach reporter Jenna Bagcal
by e-mail at jbagcal@qns.
com or by phone at (718) 260-
2583.
TIMESLEDGER is published weekly by Queens CNG LLC, 38-15 Bell Boulevard, Bayside, NY.11361, (718) 229-0300. The entire contents of this publication are copyright 2019. All rights reserved. The newspaper will not be
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CNG LLC. 38-15 Bell Boulevard, Bayside, N.Y. 11361.
2 TIMESLEDGER, OCT. 18-24, 2019 QNS.COM
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