Supervised Injection Site Opens In Harlem In Historic Move

EAST HARLEM, NY — The city has opened a supervised injection site for drug users in East Harlem, officials announced Tuesday, saying the first-of-its-kind facility would save lives amid a devastating spike in opioid-related deaths.

The East Harlem site, run by New York Harm Reduction Educators, is operating out of the nonprofit's headquarters on East 126th Street near Park Avenue. A second site in Washington Heights was also authorized to open up this week.

Both locations will give out clean needles, administer naloxone to prevent overdoses, and allow people to inject themselves with drugs in a safe environment, according to the New York Times.

Dozens of injection sites have been operating in other countries for years, and some research suggests they have succeeded in reducing overdoses. Until now, the U.S. has not opened any such sites, though other cities have shown interest in them.

Coming years after they were first proposed, the New York sites are opening during an alarming increase in overdose fatalities. More than 2,000 people died from overdoses in the city last year — the highest number since recording began in 2000 — and nearly 600 people died during the first quarter of 2021.

East Harlem has been among the city's hardest-hit neighborhoods by drug use, suffering one of the highest overdose rates of any area between 2019 and 2020, according to data presented to Community Board 11 last month. As of 2018, it had the highest overdose death rate in the city, falling to fifth place in 2019.

Both sites will officially start operating Tuesday, the Times reported.

"Think about what message this sends"

Rather than welcoming the new facility, however, some residents have begun mobilizing against it, arguing that it will attract drug users who otherwise do not live in the neighborhood. Opponents include the Greater Harlem Coalition, a group that has pushed the city to reduce what it calls an "over-saturation" of drug treatment clinics in the neighborhood.

Shawn Hill, one of the group's co-founders, railed against the injection site in an email to members earlier this month, calling it "illegal" and noting that it sits across the street from a Head Start school.

"Think about what message this sends to the children who pass the dealers and the users who will congregate here," Hill wrote.

Hill told Patch that his group acknowledges the value of injection sites in general, but opposes their being placed in "a vulnerable community that is currently and historically has been struggling with systemic racism."

"Rather, it should be placed in the communities where these opioid users come from, as well as communities that have the social capital to absorb and accommodate an opioid injection site," he said.

Still, the city contends that the East Harlem site will help address mounting complaints about open drug use and discarded needles littering neighborhood sidewalks.

"The national overdose epidemic is a five-alarm fire in public health, and we have to tackle this crisis concurrently with our COVID fight," Health Commissioner Dr. Dave A. Chokshi said in a statement. "Giving people a safe, supportive space will save lives and bring people in from the streets, improving life for everyone involved."

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 pic.twitter.com/3NuuDCSh9C
— NYHRE (@NYHarmReduction) November 30, 2021

Related coverage:

• Harlem Facing 'Public Health Crisis' From Drug Use, BP Says
• Harlem Group Asks For Action On Drug Use, Homelessness
• Drug Clinics Face Scrutiny In Harlem As Residents Push Back