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The pharmacy at 513 Henry Street from the outside. It is not yet clear whether the pharmacy will reopen as the Farmacy. “Patrick (Kiley) opened the door and helped get this going," said Jake Cirell. "The Greenhorns party will hopefully lead to other things.” (Photo: Tejal Rao)
Vermont Market and Pharmacy, the shuttered storefront on the corner of Sackett and Henry Streets in Carroll Gardens, has long been the source of intense neighborhood curiosity. The space, packed with old newspapers, jars, rusty maple syrup tins, and a coin operated horoscope-and-weight scale, has also inspired plenty of rumors. Neighborhood residents consider Mark Stein, the building’s owner, “a recluse who wears suspenders and prefers walking in the street,” according to a Times article about the mysterious pharmacy, and “a genius with a deep knowledge of homeopathic remedies.”
Stein, who is in fact a homeopath and a licensed pharmacist, was at his store yesterday. For the record, he seemed more interested in the upcoming goat roast than being labeled a reclusive roaming genius.
On June 20 from 2-9 p.m., a group of ambitious young farmers called The Greenhorns will host an event called the Goat Spit Summer Throwdown at the old pharmacy. A lot is planned for the day: a rough cut of Severine von Tscharner Fleming’s Greenhorns documentary will be projected on a wall. The operators of a 6,000-square-foot rooftop garden in Greenpoint will lead a workshop, as will Sam Comfort, whom Greenhorns coordinator Patrick Kiley describes as “the most radical beekeeper in the Hudson Valley, possibly the world.” Mayoral candidate Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping will make a musical appearance. Both the custom sound system and the goat roasting spit will be powered by bicycle, and Captain Lawrence beer will be served. Bitter green salad, light snacks, and espresso, too. Admission is $5 and includes a free beer.
There is more planned for the space. Two of the building’s current tenants have built a thriving rooftop garden, are angling to re-open the pharmacy as a kind of “seltzer apothecary” that will serve egg creams and sodas sweetened with beet sugar and the building's own produce. The tenants, Petey Freeman and Jake Cirell, eventually want to start sell local farm vegetables. And bacon. “I want this to be the number one bacon purveyor in the city,” said Cirell. “The idea we have in mind is like a CSA on demand,” he said, proposing the name Farmacy. “We want to strengthen the connections between farmers and consumers.” Freeman added, "you won't see any ten dollar chocolate bars here, the idea would be to make local food super accessible and cheap."
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If someone has "a deep knowledge of homeopathic remedies" does that mean they understand that homeopathic remedies are pseudoscientific garbage but don't tell their customers?
Yep. Anyone who believes in/sells homeopathic stuff should lose their pharmacist's license.
I was raised with homeopathic remedies only, and I was a lot less sick than the other kids. When I had my son at age 41, they asked my medical history. Aside from the pre-natal check-ups, and birth control, hadn't seen a doctor for sixteen years.
Now I have been treated and cured of some minor problems [ carpal tunnel, hairline fracture in foot ] by a top Tibetan doctor, but he is too old to come from India anymore. If needed, I would try to find a good practitioner of Chinese Traditional Medicine. An excellent book that integrates Western and Eastern medicine is Paul Pitchford's "Healing with Whole Foods".
Not just about food, explains many aspects of health.
This looks awesome. I may have to ride down there and check it out. Roasting goat... bicycle powered rotisserie... mmmm.
It's better done in a pit.
Mark Stein is a "genius?" And the best he could do with his powers is THIS?
"you won't see any ten dollar chocolate bars here"
In that case, hope these three guys are able to pull off the seltzer apothecary thing. Nice idea.
yes to urban farming, no to pseudoscience and asshat reverend billies.
how many people will 6,000 square feet feed? a dozen?
Looking forward to this.
Can't wait. We need more Farmacy and less Pharmacy. Also, less Dr Zippy and Barryap. You can keep your prescription pills. Drug companies are the biggest bunch of lying, thieves out there, why do you think we have the health care problems we do right now.
Sounds great, except for the goat roasting. We had a few goats- Nubians - and raised the runt of triplets in the house with a bottle, with a permit to keep them from the city of NY. They're intelligent, and it seems like roasting and eating Rover or Rex. Having meat as a centerpiece will keep a lot of vegetable-oriented people away.
I just spent last weekend hanging out with goats and pigs, kids and piglets. They are so smart, affectionate, and have a strong will to live. Knowing that they want to be the #1 purveyors of bacon is enough to make me not want to support them - even if they grow herbs and offer supposed "homeopathic" remedies (to cure the conditions caused by eating too much bacon? hah.)
Anyway, raising animals for food is still the #1 cause of global warming, no matter how greenwashed it is.
I used to know Mark Stein. In fact, we were apartment mates for several years back in the '80s. He was eccentric, but very kind and very knowledgeable about both conventional pharmaceuticals and homeopathic medicines. In fact, he had worked in pharmaceutical research prior to owning his pharmacy. My mother and some of my friends considered him an invaluable resource because his homeopathic treatment suggestions were incredibly benefical--sometimes when conventional treatments had failed. One thing surprises me, however. Mark was a staunch vegetarian--for health and ethical reasons. I hadn't been eating meat for several years before I met him, but he made me feel guilty for eating fish--so I stopped. I'm very, very surprised that he would allow a goat roast to take place on his property.