͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ 
Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.
Greater Harlem Coalition Logo

July 19, 2023

STRIVING FOR A HARLEM WHERE ALL PEOPLE CAN THRIVE

A NEW INJECTION SITE IN THE BRONX?

Location Uncertain

WNYC and Gothamist reported (at the end of June) on plans for a third New York supervised injection site to be located in anther community of color, the South Bronx.



As Greater Harlem Coalition has pointed out for years, the South Bronx leads New York City in drug overdose deaths and desperately needs support for a community contending with rampant open air drug dealing and using.



The mayor's office and the city's Dept. of Health have identified the area as a priority location for a new supervised injection sites that will undoubtedly attract more drug activity to the surrounding neighborhood that hosts it.



Council Member Rafael Salamanca, who represents the South Bronx is worried that adding a supervised injection site would attract more drug activity:



I do support the safe injection sites,” said Salamanca. “My only concern is the locations where you put them.”



Image description

St. Ann's (the agency working to setup a Bronx injection site) and OnPoint in Harlem have not been able to offer concrete solutions to injection site participants using drugs at nearby subway stations and adjacent to injection site facilities - even during open hours.

OnPoint recently responded by extending its hours in Washington Heights and plans to do the same in Harlem, with the goal of eventually operating both locations 24/7, according to Reggie Johnson, an OnPoint spokesperson.


The Greater Harlem Coalition has petitioned state lawmakers to add “guardrails” to injection site locations. These include requiring the centers to be located a certain distance from schools, putting more resources toward policing the areas outside the facilities, and requiring the programs to offer more data on their outcomes – including efforts to connect participants to treatment.

CHAOS AND DISORDER

Mayor Adams Acknowledges that Lex/125 is Unacceptable

Mayor Adams was asked about safety at Lex/125, and he noted oversaturation, people coming from outside the area, and the deplorable filth at that junction.

gif-c1-elynw6-39you-lead-to-dis-2023-06-30-183501

SEE THE DATA

Overdose Rates Across NY State

Image description

LEGACY OF REDLINING PERSISTS

More Data Shows Inequity in Health Outcomes

Image description

While redlining was officially discontinued in the 1940s, its legacy continues to harm Black communities, according to a new study published in JAMA Network Open.



Cardiovascular disease outcomes in formerly redlined neighborhoods (rated “D”) had a 13% higher risk of dying from any cause and a 14% higher risk of experiencing a major adverse cardiovascular event compared to those who lived in historically white, wealthy areas.  Yet every day New York City sends the majority of its most vulnerable, unhoused neighbors into formerly redlined communities.  By repeating the pattern of historical structural racism, the Department of Social Services in NYC structurally embeds health failure in vulnerable New Yorkers. 



“Redlining happened … almost a century ago, and we’re showing that it still has implications, and it should give us pause,”



If you want to unsubscribe, click here.