After Tragic Loss, Narcan Rescue Station Program Expands On North Fork

SOUTHOLD, NY — After the devastating loss of six people who overdosed on the North Fork from fentanyl-laced opioids in 2021, members of the community have been rallying for change.

In March, the community came together to begin installing Narcan rescue stations at various locations in Greenport and across Southold Town.

Now, organizers of the initiative announced, Narcan rescue stations have now been installed in nearly 20 locations throughout Southold Town, continuing the work of Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital, Rich Vandenburgh, owner of Greenport Harbor Brewing Co. and former president of the Greenport Village Business Improvement District, and Tina Wolf, executive director of Community Action for Social Justice.

The initiative, in partnership with the Town of Southold, began in 2021 due to the tragic deaths of the six who overdosed from to fentanyl-laced opioids, casting a somber cloud of grief across the community.

“Unfortunately, it took the tragedy of losing six members of our community to recognize that Southold is not immune to the dangers of fentanyl and of drug and opioid use. We are pleased to host these Narcan rescue stations throughout our town buildings so we can do our part to make sure such a tragedy never happens again,” said Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell.

Narcan, also known as naloxone, is a medication designed to reverse opioid overdose delivered by a nasal spray, organizers said.

The Narcan Rescue Station project is the first-of-its-kind on Long Island. All Narcan Rescue Stations are supplied free of charge to local businesses in the Town of Southold. Free training is supplied by CASJ. Narcan Rescue Stations are provided by Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital.

A Narcan Rescue Station can be found in Town Hall adjacent to the AED, just steps from the town clerk’s office. Each Narcan Rescue Station contains two doses of Narcan as well as instructions. The stations are also stocked with fentanyl test strips. These stations are monitored and resupplied by participating establishments.

"After the tragic episode in Greenport," Vandenburgh said he teamed up with Tina Wolf of CASJ, Janet Jackowski, SBELIH VP of behavioral health and social services, Linda Sweeney, SBELIH VP of the Foundation and external affairs.

"We realized that we needed to do something more long-lasting that would help," he said.

Vandenburgh said he suggested the idea of creating emergency Narcan rescue stations similar to AED stations.

"We worked to get them into as many restaurants and other locations as possible because you want to have immediate access when it's needed. While initially, there was hesitancy from local businesses, we've had success in getting broader acceptance," Vandenburgh said. "I applaud Southold Town for getting behind this project. This is not an endorsement of a lifestyle. Narcan is something you never want to use — but when you are faced with that moment of having to act, it’s a tool that can be available to help save a life."

"This collaboration is groundbreaking," Wolf added. "We’re a small community-based organization, so working collaboratively with partners like SBELIH, Rich Vandenburgh of Greenport Harbor Brewing Co., and the Town of Southold is essential to spread the message about Narcan. The drug supply has changed over the last few years. Narcan is needed throughout the population because even recreational users are at risk of overdose from fentanyl that has been cut into other drugs like cocaine and pills. Making Narcan more widely accessible is essential to saving lives.”

Jackowski also reflected: "This initiative saves lives while honoring the people who overdosed in 2021."

Narcan rescue stations can be found in the Mattituck, Southold, and Greenport school districts as well as Claudio’s, Claudio’s, Ellen's on Front, Front Street Station, Greenport Harbor Brewery Co., Greenport American Legion, East End Seaport Museum, Macari Vineyard, Noah's, Nofo Wellness Center, Raphael Vineyard, Little Fish, ELI Kampground, and Southold Physical Therapy. Pending installations include the Mattituck Park District, Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Peconic Bay Yacht Club, and Silver Sands Motel.

Confidential in-home training is now available by calling 866-599-7260 or info@nysocialjustice.org.

In an unrelated effort, Kait's Angels, a not-for-profit organized to keep the memory of Kaitlyn Doorhy, a former Strawberry Queen who died in 2014, has also worked to install Narcan rescue stations in North Fork schools.

The summer overdoses of the six who died in 2021 rocked the tightly-knit North Fork community.

Candles flickering in the fading light, a silent crowd gathered in 2021 for a vigil at Greenport's Mitchell Park to mourn the lost and comfort one another in the wake of a deadly batch of fentanyl-laced cocaine that led to a rash of eight overdoses and six deaths on the North Fork and Shelter Island over eight days.

Arms wrapped around one another for support, faces marked by pain, members of the Greenport business community and residents stood for six minutes of silence to remember the six lives cut short by the scourge on sleepy village streets.

The vigil was organized by Reese Dunne who said it was important to come together at a time when so many are hurting. "Just like our candles their souls will continue to burn on," she said.

She added: "We are human and it's important to take time to grieve, not just move on to the next thing. Greenport has lost a lot of amazing people this week."

Joan Olszewski, who lost her grandson Seth Tramontana, stood at the vigil with his brokenhearted brother, whose face was streaked with tears as friends came to wrap their arms around him.

Her grandson Seth, Olszewski said, lived with her; he was just 27 years old. He, along with others who died, was a member of the Greenport's hospitality community canvas, working at Fortino's Tavern and at Green Hill Kitchen in past years.

Everyone loved him, she said. "He was like the mayor of Greenport," she said softly. "He was the life of the party. He didn't have a bad bone in his body. He had a beautiful spirit."

Seth, she said, marched to his own beat, but cared about others with an open heart. "He'd give you the shirt off his back," she said.

Reflecting on his short life, Olszewski said her grandson gave her 27 years of beautiful memories, of joy. "He's going to live on," she said. "His spirit is already living on, in all of these people."

According to Southold Town Police Chief Martin Flatley, during that deadly 2021 incident, there were seven overdoses and five deaths on the North Fork and one overdose and death on Shelter Island. The majority have been attributed to cocaine laced with fentanyl, he said.

In 2021, Supervisor Russell reacted to the news: "The struggle of opioid addiction is a national crisis. It's a much bigger issue than that of any one town and certainly not unique to Southold. We offer regular Narcan training for the public but, that's not addressing the larger issue. The sad fact is that tragic deaths from opioid addiction will not stop until we are serious about focusing on the causes of addiction and putting the resources in place to treat it. Drug addiction isn't a crime, it's a disease, and we need to start treating it that way with adequately funded programs and honest public dialogue."

Jeffrey Reynolds, president and chief executive officer of the Family and Children's Association in Mineola, said fentanyl has long been a deadly threat.

"We've been sounding the alarm for the last two years that fentanyl is being put into virtually every street drug that exists," he said. "The headlines about 'bad' batches of cocaine leave me wondering what a 'good batch of cocaine is, when the reality is the cocaine claims lives even without fentanyl contamination."

The pandemic also left many struggling with addiction, experts said.

According to local business owner Ian Wile, who posted about the string of deaths on social media, the hospitality industry in Greenport was left reeling from the unthinkable loss.

"A pall of sadness washed over this village last night, and I fear we are not done," he said.