13 Arrested Protesting Cuomo's 'Inaction' On Overdose Crisis

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — Thirteen people protesting in support of overdose prevention centers were arrested Wednesday at Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Midtown Manhattan office building, an NYPD spokeswoman confirmed.

The arrests were made around 12:15 p.m. after protesters blocked entrances to the 6333 Third Avenue office tower, an NYPD spokeswoman said. Eighth of the people arrested are women and five are men, according to the spokeswoman. The people arrested face disorderly conduct charges, police said.

Wednesday's protest was planned by Housing Works and advocacy groups such as VOCAL-NY and the Harm Reduction Coalition were involved. The protest is part of an advocacy campaign organized across the state of New York to call out Cuomo for his "inaction" on the state's overdose crisis, Jasmine Budnella, the Drug Policy Coordinator for VOCAL-NY, told Patch.

"This governor says that he's the left, he says that he's progressive, but really his policies and funding for the overdose crisis is regressive," Budnella said. "The nation realizes that we're in the midst of an overdose crisis, we're losing thousands of people a year — year after year the governor continues to under-fund this crisis and continues to block lifesaving interventions like overdose prevention centers."

Rates of opioid-related overdose deaths have risen dramatically in New York State since 2010, according to a 2018 state Department of Health annual opioid report. In 2010 there were 5.4 opioid-related overdose deaths per 100,000 people and in 2016 that number shot up to 15.1. There were 1,074 total opioid-related overdose deaths in 2010 compared to 3,009 in 2016, according to the report.

Last year, Mayor Bill de Blasio proposed opening four "overdose prevention centers" as part of a one-year pilot program, but the plan never received needed approvals from the state Health Department.

Mayor's support of the pilot program was the result of an aggressive advocacy campaign, Budnella said.