125th Street Cleanup Shows Progress In East Harlem

EAST HARLEM, NY — Weeks after Mayor Bill de Blasio visited a section of East Harlem that has been troubled by drug use and dirty streets, neighborhood leaders say the city has made progress on efforts to clean up those blocks — but much work remains to be done.

The mayor came to the neighborhood on Nov. 8, walking between East 120th and 125th streets along Lexington Avenue — an area where residents have complained about increasingly visible drug use, street homelessness, garbage and human waste strewn across sidewalks.

Since that visit, neighbors have won several commitments from city agencies, according to Councilmember Diana Ayala, who represents East Harlem. The first was a promise by the Sanitation Department to regularly power-wash East 125th Street to clear garbage and other waste, which began last month but was paused due to cold winter weather.

Second, Ayala said the NYPD's Health Engagement Assessment (HEAT) teams are being assigned to the neighborhood more regularly to respond to mental health crises. The teams are composed of one clinician and one peer — a person who has experienced mental health challenges themselves.

Third, the developers of the full-block construction site between Third and Lexington formerly occupied by Pathmark supermarket have agreed to install lights on their sidewalk shed, allowing the block to be more brightly lit at night, Ayala said.

"In contrast to what was happening in May to the way that it is today, there is significant improvement," Ayala said. "However, if I was new to that community, if I was walking by, I might still feel a little bit uneasy and unsafe because there are still conditions that are remaining."

Ayala added that a neighborhood working group first convened years ago by then-Councilmember Melissa Mark-Viverito during East Harlem's synthetic marijuana crisis has been revitalized and has held regular meetings since May, helping coordinate inter-agency work.

Structural barriers remain

Carey King, director of the nonprofit Uptown Grand Central, which aims to transform the 125th Street corridor, said the recent improvements have been welcome.

She singled out Sanitation for praise, noting that East Harlem is one of the few neighborhoods where service has been increased, rather than reduced, since the city's pandemic-addled budget passed over the summer.

But she stressed that the neighborhood's problems are longstanding, and unlikely to be resolved in a matter of months. Many of the people struggling with addiction or homelessness on 125th have been known to caseworkers for years, she noted, but the care they've received has not been enough to get them off the streets.

Some attempts at reform have been stymied by a complex web of city and state agencies. Randall's Island, for example, hosts a number of shelters that may feed East Harlem's drug market, but they sit on state land leased to the city, making it difficult to get at the root causes.

"It’s like untangling a jewelry box where all the necklaces are intertwined," King said.

In the meantime, the neighborhood is celebrating small victories, like the Dr. Ronald E. McNair Playground on Lexington Avenue, which closed down last month at Ayala's request after consistent drug use in the park left it virtually off-limits to parents and children.

The playground has since reopened, and Ayala said her office is planning to host family-friendly activities there, including movie nights, once the weather gets warmer.

Ayala, too, said East Harlem's troubles will take time to resolve, and said the neighborhood should take a humane approach toward those on the streets.

"These are people who need help," she said. "And if we don’t help them, we’re just pushing the issue to another community."

Related:

• Mayor Visits East Harlem Blocks Troubled By Drug Use
  
• Harlem Group Asks For Action On Drug Use, Homelessness