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Discarded needles are discarded on NYC subway station sidewalk just steps away from one of Big Apple's two new LEGAL INJECTION sites designed to 'keep streets clean'

  Discarded needles were seen strewn across the sidewalk outside of a subway station in   New York City 's Washington Heights, just step...

 Discarded needles were seen strewn across the sidewalk outside of a subway station in New York City's Washington Heights, just steps away from one of the Big Apple's two new legal supervised injection sites that it is hoped will clean up the local area's drug problem. 

The two sites, known as The Corner Project in Washington Heights and New York Harm Reduction in East Harlem, opened Tuesday and provide clean needles to drug users and naloxone to reverse overdoses.  

The goal is to stem the staggering spike in overdose deaths since the pandemic. Mayor Bill de Blasio applauded the move to authorize safe havens for people to use heroin and other narcotics, saying he hopes the sites will help curb overdoses.

But it appears they're already being shunned by local abusers, who instead prefer to shoot up outdoors and leave their syringes strewn outdoors afterwards.  

Trained staff at the sites, which already operated as needle exchange centers, monitor users and help connect them to treatment counselors, care coordinators and refer them to other medical services, city officials said.  

Discarded needles were seen strewn across the sidewalk near one of NYC's two new legal injection sites

Discarded needles were seen strewn across the sidewalk near one of NYC's two new legal injection sites

The used drug paraphernalia was seen outside the Washington Heights site that opened Tuesday

The used drug paraphernalia was seen outside the Washington Heights site that opened Tuesday

Trained staff at The Corner Project in Washington Heights monitor users and provide clean needles and naloxone

Trained staff at The Corner Project in Washington Heights monitor users and provide clean needles and naloxone

Supporters of the sites argue that providing supervision and access to naloxone and treatment services will prevent more people from dying as drug use grows even more rampant since the pandemic.

Those against the centers argue that they encourage drug use and attract illegal activity to areas already known to be rife with crime. 

The 'overdose prevention centers' - commonly known as supervised injection sites - have been discussed for years in New York and some other US cities such as San Francisco, Boston and Seattle and already exist in Canada, Australia and Europe.

A few unofficial facilities have operated in the city for some time, allowing drug users a monitored place.  

There were 600 reported overdose deaths just between January and March of this year and the city is expected to exceed the more than 2,000 overdose deaths in 2020 - the deadliest year since fatalities began to be recorded in 2000. 

The Centers for Disease Control projects that across the United States, more than 90,000 individuals died of a drug overdose during 2020, the worst year on record.

According to a Health Department Study, the centers could save 130 lives a year. 

Workers were at New York Harm Reduction after it was announced that the needle exchange center would become an overdose prevention center

Workers were at New York Harm Reduction after it was announced that the needle exchange center would become an overdose prevention center 

The two sites, the first of the sort in the country, will also make available treatment counselors, care coordinators and referral to other medical services, city officials said

The two sites, the first of the sort in the country, will also make available treatment counselors, care coordinators and referral to other medical services, city officials said

Trained staff at New York Harm Reduction in East Harlem and The Corner Project in Washington Heights will monitor users and provide clean needles and naloxone to reverse overdoses

Trained staff at New York Harm Reduction in East Harlem and The Corner Project in Washington Heights will monitor users and provide clean needles and naloxone to reverse overdoses

The New York Harm Reduction, one of the centers, tweeted on Monday: 'For more than 29 years, we have dedicated our lives to ending #overdose deaths & the criminalization & stigma associated with substance use. Being the 1st OPC site in the US is an honor & incredible step forward in ending the #overdosecrisis #wearethemedicine #THISSITESAVESLIVES.'  

Proponents say the facilities save lives by recognizing the reality of drug use and providing a place where users are watched for signs of overdoses.

'New York City has led the nation's battle against COVID-19, and the fight to keep our community safe doesn't stop there. After exhaustive study, we know the right path forward to protect the most vulnerable people in our city. And we will not hesitate to take it,' de Blasio said.

'Overdose Prevention Centers are a safe and effective way to address the opioid crisis. I'm proud to show cities in this country that after decades of failure, a smarter approach is possible.'

'The national overdose epidemic is a five-alarm fire in public health, and we have to tackle this crisis concurrently with our #COVID19 fight. Giving people a safe, supportive space will save lives. Overdose prevention centers are a key part of broader harm reduction,' Chokshi tweeted after the announcement

'The national overdose epidemic is a five-alarm fire in public health, and we have to tackle this crisis concurrently with our #COVID19 fight. Giving people a safe, supportive space will save lives. Overdose prevention centers are a key part of broader harm reduction,' Chokshi tweeted after the announcement

View of the injection room at Insite North America's first legal supervised injection site, operated by Vancouver Coastal Health in Canada. The 'overdose prevention centers' - commonly known as supervised injection sites - have been discussed for years in New York and some other US cities such as San Francisco, Boston and Seattle and already exist in Canada, Australia and Europe

View of the injection room at Insite North America's first legal supervised injection site, operated by Vancouver Coastal Health in Canada. The 'overdose prevention centers' - commonly known as supervised injection sites - have been discussed for years in New York and some other US cities such as San Francisco, Boston and Seattle and already exist in Canada, Australia and Europe

Opponents, however, see the sites as a moral failure that essentially sanctions people harming themselves, and federal law bans operating a place for narcotics use. 

Eva Chan, a member of Community Board 11, told The New York Times she worried the placement of one of the sites in East Harlem would affect the way the neighborhood is seen as a place that condones drug use.  

'If every district in New York City has one site and it's not right next to my home, I'm not against it,' she said. 'But the root cause of why people are shooting up here is that they've been using East Harlem as a dumping ground for a long time. So they don't address the root cause.' 

Sam Rivera, director of OnPoint NYC, operator of The Corner Project and Harm Reduction, also told the Times he was confident the sites were the right step towards preventing overdoses in the city. 

'I know deep in my soul that we are doing the right thing,' Rivera told the outlet. 'The data doesn't lie.'

Mayor-elect Eric Adams said in March during a forum before he won the election that he supported overdose prevention centers and that he would like to go 'one step further' by also implementing other services such as supportive housing. 

The US Supreme Court declined last month to take up a Philadelphia group's fight to open a safe injection site, which a divided federal appeals court had rejected.


The announcement on Tuesday by Mayor de Blasio made New York City the first city in the country to officially authorize safe havens for people to use heroin and other narcotics

The announcement on Tuesday by Mayor de Blasio made New York City the first city in the country to officially authorize safe havens for people to use heroin and other narcotics

The New York sites were opening Tuesday at existing needle exchange programs, 'The national overdose epidemic is a five-alarm fire in public health, and we have to tackle this crisis concurrently with our #COVID19 fight. Giving people a safe, supportive space will save lives. Overdose prevention centers are a key part of broader harm reduction,' city Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi tweeted after the announcement. 

Such sites generally have monitors who watch for signs of overdose and can administer an antidote if needed. 

Chokshi suggested the facilities also would offer people referrals to drug treatment and other services and 'bring people in from the streets, improving life for everyone involved.'

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