Harlem Residents Organize Against New Health Clinic, Report Says

HARLEM, NY — A group of Harlem residents is fighting a hospital's plan to open a new clinic, saying that the neighborhood is inundated with similar services that bring drug users to area blocks, according to reports.

Concerned residents under the banner of the Greater Harlem Coalition say that they have empathy for people who rely on services offered at places such as mental health clinics and rehabs, but that Harlem is forced to bear a disproportionate number of these facilities compared to other city neighborhoods, THE CITY first reported. The group held a rally last week outside a meeting between Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and officials from Mount Sinai, which plans to open an outpatient clinic on West 124th Street in 2021.

The planned clinic's block is already home to methadone clinics, health centers and homeless shelters, THE CITY reported. In response to the activists, Mount Sinai announced they would cut plans to offer rehab and detox services at the clinic, but the promise hasn't swayed opponents, according to the report.

A study conducted by the Greater Harlem Coalition showed that Harlem contains 5% of New York City's total population but is home to 15% of the city's mental health facilities. The neighborhood is also overburdened with opioid addiction programs, THE CITY reported.

Residents were able to get city and state officials to deny a license for a methadone clinic in a $4 million St. Nicholas Avenue brownstone in 2018 using a similar argument.

Read the full THE CITY report here.