New York City residents are calling on Mayor Eric Adams to address what they call an “open-air drug market” that has taken over the streets of the Bronx.
Part of Melrose Avenue near the 149th Street subway station has become a hotspot for people to use drugs and make money in broad daylight.
FOX 5 New York, which investigated the scene, also captured video of a man vomiting and then passing out in the street.
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“It's like hell on earth,” one local resident told FOX 5 New York.
Neighbors accuse city officials of ignoring blatant criminal activity and continuing to tolerate drug use.
A business owner named Hassan, who has run a clothing store on Melrose Avenue for 20 years, told FOX 5 New York that he now hires someone to clean up urine and feces in front of his store every day.
One business owner said many of the suspected users wander around the area, scattering urine and feces in front of businesses in the area. (WNYW)
The situation on Melrose Avenue has gotten so bad that Hassan says he's lost a lot of customers: “People don't want to go through here.” [feces] “They prefer to go to other stores,” Hassan told FOX 5 New York.
Assemblyman Ritchie Torres, who represents the Bronx, wrote a letter to Mayor Eric Adams urging him to act quickly. In the letter, Torres called on Mayor Adams to break up the open-air drug market on Melrose Avenue.
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“The City Government is focused on keeping New Yorkers safe by balancing livability, safety and connection to services. These goals are achieved through both proactive policies that ensure everyone has access to quality support, treatment and recovery services, as well as reactive policies, such as increasing police patrols in our neighborhoods,” a City Hall spokesperson said in an email to Fox News Digital.
“We recognize the concerns raised in Councilman Torres' letter and look forward to working with him to create a safer, more livable city for all New Yorkers,” the statement concluded.
Residents say a gruesome scene on Melrose Avenue in the Bronx shows drugs being used and money being exchanged in broad daylight. (WNYW)
Congressman Torres told FOX 5 he appreciates the stance City Hall is taking on the issue, but the responsibility for keeping the streets safe falls on Mayor Eric Adams.
“At the end of the day, the mayor runs the city, right? The mayor controls the police, he controls the health department, and the mayor should mobilize both his police officers and his health officials to take down the open-air drug markets,” Torres told FOX 5 New York.
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The NYPD did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
