I'm sorry about that. I had some technical difficulties because I put it into my car.
But all I wanted to do is just back up what Mr. Frankil said. I actually got pictures of the encampment outside of the Sunray. It's literally about a block and a half from my house, two blocks. It's just crazy what they have to deal with. And I know the guys -- well, I know the family that owns that one, and they actually reached out to me for help with trying to get them out because every day they have to go and try to negotiate with them to move from out in front of their store so that they can actually open. And as was testified, all these Rite Aids are closing down. Our Walgreens closed down at K&A. They're one of the only pharmacies left for my seniors, so I just wanted to make that known. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you for letting us know. And, Councilman, why don't we connect, me and you and Councilwoman Lozada and also the Health Commissioner and the Police Captain. Maybe we can all put our heads together to be able to help out in that particular regard because we need our pharmacies open. We can't have this. We just can't have it at all. So would that be amenable to you, Councilman?
Yes. Absolutely, absolutely. So I'm going to ask the Clerk if she'll work to put us all in the room together to discuss that further. Chair recognizes Mr. Frankil.
Yep. Thank you. I am ready and willing to participate in any of these meetings to represent our membership and independent pharmacies across Philadelphia. Please include me if that's appropriate.
Absolutely. Yes, we will certainly reach out to you and include you when appropriate. I think that this might be a meeting that you can be helpful in. And so, we certainly will reach out. Thank you. Thank you for your willingness to help.
Appreciate it. A lot of times people raise the problem but want to leave it with us, not necessarily helping the solution. So we appreciate you being willing to roll up your sleeves and get the situation addressed. Thank you. All right. And if we can have the next panelists, Madam Clerk.
Great. Please state your name for the record and proceed with your testimony.
Hi. My name is Brad Tabaac. And I'm from Friendly Pharmacy, which is part of Neff Pharmacy Management. We are a Philadelphia-based independent chain of pharmacies here in the City.
And our biggest challenge right now is with all of the vandalisms that have occurred. There have been three waves of vandalism. Several of our stores have been totally gutted. Other stores have just had break-ins where things were broken, stolen. It runs the gamut. And what we're faced with now is our insurance carriers don't want to give us insurance because of where our stores are located and the frequency of these break-ins and vandalisms that we have absolutely no 24 control over. We have alarm systems. We have grates in front of our windows and doors. We've done everything we can possibly do to protect ourselves, but unfortunately when these outbreaks of vandalism occur, we're left vulnerable. And now, we're at the point where together with the closure of the Rite Aid stores, the closure of other chain stores because of vandalism and theft where a lot of stores are closing and these are inner city stores serving the residents of those neighborhoods. And now, we're at risk of having to close some of our stores or all of our stores because we have a lot of exposure financially. We have a lot of exposure professionally and we must have insurance. And that's a problem today.
Indeed. Indeed it's a significant problem. You know, we thank you for being steadfast on the issue and for advocating on behalf of the pharmacy network here in the City of Philadelphia. As you may have -- I'm not sure if you heard, that we are going to have additional conversations with Dr. Cheryl Bettigole, the Health Commissioner, and with other members of Council and with yourself, you would be welcome to be included and Mr. Frankil as well, to have these conversations directly with the police department in your neck of the woods and police commissioner -- the police captain in your neck of the woods and other relevant folks. So the conversation is to be continued. This is not a one-and-done.
Okay. Absolutely. Thank you. Thank you. Madam Clerk, is there anyone else left to testify?
Okay. Are there any other additional comments from members of Council? (No response.)
Okay. If there's no other witnesses and no 9 other testimony from members of Philadelphia City Council, we will now conclude our hearing. This concludes this hearing on Resolution 230753 and we are adjourned to the call of the Chair. Thank you. Thanks everyone. Thank you for attending today. (Hearing concluded at 11:44 a.m.) C E R T I F I C A T I O N I, hereby certify that the proceedings and evidence noted are contained fully and accurately in the stenographic notes taken by me in the foregoing matter, and that this is a correct transcript of the same. __________________________________ TANEHA CARROLL