Ever wonder what’s behind the trash enclosure on D Street behind CVS at 7th and Pennsylvania, SE?
The view behind the open gate. Click to enlarge.
Looks like rat bait.
More rat bait?
To the right of CVS’ back door.
CVS’s back door. Note lower left corner.
Here’s a close up. And predictably…..sure enough.
CAPITOL HILL CORNER 
Besides the obvious grossness of the rat, what is it lying in? It looks like vomit and someone’s pants.
Dead rats in DC! Oh no way. That never happens.
So is CVS supposed to be responsible for all the drunks that hang out in the back and toss their empty bottles and trash over the fence?
I can’t stand that this CVS is usually out of most things I come in to purchase but this “photo essay” is lacking real depth to the story of what actually goes on behind CVS. Bring subjects into it, the drunks hanging out daily, the homeless throwing their trash on the sidewalks.
The inside of this store consistently features aisles full of half empty boxes and crates that are left there for hours, as sales associates just occasionally decide to empty them to stock shelves and the store is constantly a mess…..so I would not go so far as to blame the store’s enclosed outdoor trash area being filthy on the local drunks/vagrants…just this one time I’m giving those dudes a pass. This is one of the worst operated/run CVS stores in the city.
Exactly, given the crappy state of the store inside I’m not surprised by this mess outside. This is by far the worst CVS in town, if not the country.
Agreed. I’ve never been in such a poorly-run store, whether a CVS or something else. Would really like to see them clean up their act or clear out to make way for a business that takes more pride in what they do.
CVS is responsible for cleaning up their area, just as I am responsible for cleaning up my yard when pedestrians or the wind put trash in it. Just something that should be on their regular maintenance schedule.
The rats serve the useful function of eating dog poop dog owners don’t clean up.
How can these photos get to CVS corporate headquarters, Or to city officials, where they may have some impact
Sounds like an excellent idea!! Why not send an email (with a link to this page of photos) to city officials AS WELL AS our Ward 6 council member with cc to the the CVS corporate headquarters or (if they have ) regional headquarters.
I wonder if CVS even owns that piece of land and pays tax on it? I thought sidewalks were city property.
Sooo many thoughts as someone who has talked many times to the management and folks in the City about this store.
1) They refuse to clean up the waste and said the best they can do is their monthly landscaping contract. Even in instances of human feces and vomit (yes, that is what is in the picture with the dead rate), they will not take responsibility for what is on their property or the public space they control.
2) Community Connections also needs to step up to the extent that it is their clients who are engaged in using the CVS like this. They are Community Connections clients. I have talked to some of the folks who hang out there and they have confirmed it. They are not getting the treatment they need at Community Connections if they leave treatment to walk across the street and live like this.
3) CVS at this location is a bad actor on many fronts. They abuse the loading space they have blocking a fire hydrant and cross walk several times a week while they unload a truck they admit is too big for the space provided. and the DDOT public space committee are absolutely of no help here. Tear down plants and treehouses in public allies but enforce against a big player like CVS: Forget about it.
4) Charles Allen and his office have been very helpful but the scale of change in culture of MO at this store and with their corporate leadership is enormous. Even the leadership of that store complain that when they ask for more lights or cameras or help dealing with some of the issues, they get no help from corporate. I don’t trust or believe everything the local store management says but I have experienced this lack of responsiveness from corporate directly. Its pretty clear they run on low margins, scale and not having to be a good neighbor.
Thanks for posting these Larry. It may be just a photo essay as one commenter stated, but sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words and not doubt these pictures will spark many more.
I live near this CVS, shop there regularly, and have never had any kind of problem inside the store. The pharmacy staff is nice, they always have what I want, and they rarely run out of the WSJ. I really don’t know what people are complaining about.
Yes, the homeless people (including the guys begging by selling Street Sense) are irritating but that’s just life in an urban environment. I don’t know that there is really a solution.
But, I am going to stick up for that CVS and their staff and say that I really like that store and have had really nothing but positive experiences.
My complaint is not with the inside of the store, and particularly agree that the pharmacy staff are incredibly good and helpful. To that end, the management there is quick to point out that the lack of lights, the lack of camera’s, the lack of cleaning, the problems with the CC clients, are all a big problem for the employees there.
If there is a central theme here it is that the leadership of CVS and the leadership at CC seem to wash their hands of what happens beyond their doors. This is particularly true with CVS and is not how any of us live in the world as neighbors or the laws that we live with and abide by.
This is public space. If you or I were to let the public space in an alley, our front yard or the tree box exist like this we would be ticketed and shamed. CVS get zero enforcement from the city and apparently has no shame in their corporate office.