Gov. Cathy Hochul’s administration is overpopulating Harlem with drug treatment facilities, and that must stop, said fed-up Rep. Adriano Espaira (D-13th).
“It’s too much for the community. It’s completely out of control,” Espaillat told the Post.
There are currently 13 such clinics, many along or near the 125th Street spine, but 75% to 80% of patients come from outside Harlem, lawmakers said. .
Espaillat argued that the high concentration of treatment clinics serving addicts also draws more drug dealers to the neighborhood.
He blames the confusion on the state Department of Addiction Services and Supports, which licenses and approves drug treatment programs. Mr. Hochul will oversee the agency.
“Bad planning,” Espaillat said. “OASAS was terrible.”
He said he had privately discussed the issue with the governor, but the status quo is unsustainable.
Espaillat said commercial groups like the 125th Business Improvement District are furious, saying having so many drug treatment clinics in a single hallway is a form of “redlining.” Feeling under siege, merchants also opposed opening a legal marijuana store across the street from the Apollo Theater.
According to a list provided by the congressman’s office, just a few locations for addiction centers are:
- 119 W. 124th Street
- 103 East 125 Street
- 132 W. 125th Street
- 2406 Amsterdam Avenue
- 2191 Third Avenue
- 2367-69 Second Avenue
“I have expressed concerns for many years and am deeply troubled by the number and placement of OASAS clinics in my district,” Espaillat said. “Communities in my district have a disproportionate number of methadone treatment clinics compared to the number of residents who need methadone treatment.
“This disparity has led to a nearly 80 percent increase in treatment seekers from outside the community traveling to Harlem and East Harlem to receive these services, a pattern that has subsequently led to an increase in drug dealers in surrounding areas and “Drug use and overdoses are on the rise in our communities,” he continued.
He asked OASAS to help distribute some of the drug treatment clinics more equitably throughout the city, “as opposed to the current oversaturation in predominantly African-American and Latino neighborhoods.” The government has requested that some drug treatment clinics be relocated.
Espaillat pointed out that Upper Manhattan has more than just a role to play in helping addicts get their lives back on track.
His district is home to two controversial “safe” drug injection facilities. Here, addicts can bring in their own drugs and are provided with clean needles to inject under the supervision of a medical professional. The Post’s report revealed that drug dealers were selling drugs to patients at injection sites.
The congressman said the fentanyl crisis will only make the situation worse.
“I’ve seen people shooting drugs between cars,” he says.
The newspaper previously reported that hordes of drug-addicted zombies roam East Harlem, turning parts of the neighborhood into lawless open-air shooting ranges.
The congressman knows the damage that open drug use causes to the community, having fought the crack epidemic in Washington Heights in the 1980s and early 1990s.
OASAS and Hochul’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
