Midtown Faces Public Health Crisis From Drug Use, Leaders Say

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — Drug use and street filth have reached untenable levels in Midtown, according to a coalition of neighborhood leaders, who are asking city authorities to take action against what they called a crisis of public health and public safety.

Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer made her pleas in a Sunday news conference on Broadway, steps from Times Square, saying the government must do more to ensure the well-being of Midtown's "businesses, commuters, residents, workers, and visitors."

"We are defined by the way we treat people on the margins," Brewer said. "They deserve to live, they deserve to get treatment, and our well-being is linked to their well-being."

Citing crime, drug use, "public urination, and public defecation," Brewer's main demand was for the city to channel some of the money from Attorney General Letitia James's recent multimillion-dollar settlement with opioid manufacturers toward public health programs in Midtown: an area she defined as bounded by 23rd and 42nd streets to the north and south; and Ninth and Third avenues to the west and east.

Concerns about open drug use and crime have flared in Midtown during the past year, punctuated in high-profile incidents like the May shooting in Times Square and this month's attempted robbery that killed 58-year-old Maria Ambrocio. Crime has risen this year in the Midtown North and South precincts, which cover the heart of Manhattan, though it has dropped modestly further east and west, according to NYPD statistics.

Brewer said the city agencies handling homelessness and health must do a better job communicating with one another, and should update local community boards and business groups about their street-level findings. Social service providers like the Midtown Community Court could receive some of the state's opioid settlement money, she said.

Third, the city's recent pilot program removing police officers from mental health calls should be expanded from Harlem to Midtown, the borough president said.

Brewer was joined Sunday by the leaders of Midtown's Business Improvement Districts, several of whom penned an op-ed in the Daily News last week with more stringent demands, like changing state parole guidelines to prevent the release of some offenders.

"People are shooting up and shooting each other," Tom Harris, president of the Times Square Alliance, said Sunday.

A spokesperson for Brewer said that the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene reached out to schedule a meeting after receiving her letter last week. City Hall, the NYPD and the Human Resources Administration, which handles homeless services, have not responded, Brewer's office said.

Brewer in the past has been skeptical of some city initiatives to combat crime in the heart of Manhattan. In June, for example, she urged caution when Mayor Bill de Blasio announced plans to "flood" Times Square with police officers following another shooting — a plan that came at Harris's urging, Patch reported.

Have a news tip? Email reporter Nick Garber at nick.garber@patch.com.

Previous coverage:

• Plan To 'Flood' Times Square With Cops Scrutinized After Shooting
• Before Sending Cops To Midtown, Talk To Neighbors, BP Tells NYPD
• Times Square Shooting Suspect Arrested In Florida After Manhunt
  
• All-Day Times Square Crack Cocaine Market Busted, Feds Say
  
• City Begins Booting Residents From Hell's Kitchen Hotel Shelters