Mayor Visits East Harlem Blocks Troubled By Drug Use

HARLEM, NY — Mayor Bill de Blasio paid a visit to East Harlem this weekend, taking a tour of several blocks that residents and elected officials say have become unsafe due to rising drug use in recent months.

Joining in Sunday's visit were the city's Health, Sanitation, Homeless Services and Parks department commissioners, who had been invited by City Councilmember Diana Ayala to tour the neighborhood, starting at Harlem Art Park on East 120th Street and continuing up Lexington Avenue to East 125th Street.

Problems first arose near 125th and Lexington around 2015, when the drug K2, or synthetic marijuana, took hold in the neighborhood. The city got a handle on the crisis following police crackdowns and efforts to house the area's homeless population, Ayala said.

Since the pandemic, though, homelessness and drug use in the area have risen, possibly a result of people being forced out of the subways during overnight closures.

"When I came out of quarantine I was shocked at how bad the conditions were," Ayala told Patch. "A lot of individuals that would normally be sleeping in the train stations at night were forced above ground."

Neighbors have complained of open heroin use, garbage strewn across East 125th Street, and human waste littering the sidewalks. This week, the city closed the Dr. Ronald E. McNair Playground on Lexington between East 122nd and 123rd streets at Ayala's request after consistent drug use in the park left it virtually off-limits to parents and children.

"We needed a reboot. It was better to shut it down temporarily," she said.

Sunday's visit has already produced a commitment from the Sanitation Department to power-wash East 125th Street once a week to remove garbage and other waste, Ayala said.

Other Harlem residents have complained in recent weeks about quality-of-life problems since the pandemic began. Last month, a group of residents and businesses asked the city to step up police patrols, improve sanitation and reduce the number of methadone clinics in Harlem, citing the city's willingness to move a temporary shelter on the Upper West Side following an uproar by neighbors.

Ayala said she hoped the mayor's visit would spur more commitments by city agencies to address residents' concerns, and pledged that the neighborhood would take a compassionate approach toward those living on the streets.

"You can’t force them into treatment, you can’t force them into shelters," she said. "You have to find different ways of addressing their needs in a way that is both humane and effective."