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 The Bigelow Apothecary has survived two world wars, the Sept 11
attacks, and the Great Recession of 2007-2009, but the economic hit
from the COVID-19 pandemic has been its hardest challenge yet, said
owner Ian Ginsberg.
"Mike Tyson says everybody has a plan until they get punched in the
face. And I think this is a big punch in the face," Ginsberg said.
"It's going to be a little rough, but we'll get through it, and
everybody will pitch in."
The pharmacy - or apothecary - was founded in 1838, according to a
sign above the storefront. Its customers have included Eleanor
Roosevelt, Mark Twain and Elvis Costello, according to a 2019 New
York Times feature, which said Bigelow was considered by some to be
the oldest pharmacy in the United States.
Workers on Monday wrapped Christmas gifts in paper and ribbon that
bore the store's logo in a 19th century font, as a resident cat
looked on.
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 A rolling ladder affords access
to higher shelves, where dusty bottles with cork
stoppers bear labels like 'Chloroform' and
'Strontium Bromide,' a sense of the products it
once offered.
More than 2,800 small businesses have closed in
New York City since the pandemic's outbreak. The
Bigelow family business survives by keeping a
lid on costs, Ginsberg said.
"We just all roll up our sleeves and we just get
busy," Ginsberg said. "This (pandemic) is
probably the mother of all issues we faced."
Greenwich Village resident Elizabeth Mazza said
she has been coming to Bigelow Apothecary since
the disco era.
"They take care of you forever," she said.
(Reporting by Aleksandra Michalska, Writing by
Nick Zieminski, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
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