NYPD Shuts Down Bustling South Bronx Plaza

By Marina Samuel, The City

July 15, 2025, 12:56 p.m.

On a sweltering afternoon, dozens of people waiting for the Bx41 bus leaned against metal barricades, wiping sweat from their foreheads as they stood feet away from the shaded benches now closed off to the public.

Roberto Clemente Plaza — a busy public square at the heart of The Bronx’s busiest commercial district — usually sees over 75,000 people pass through daily. But last Friday, the NYPD set up barricades along the 17,750 square foot plaza, closing the space down to the commuters and shoppers who rely on it.

The plaza sits in the center of The Hub — the intersection of 149th Street, Willis Ave, Third Avenue and Melrose Avenue — a dense commercial strip lined with small businesses and street vendors. In recent years, The Hub has become the most visible site of The Bronx’s opioid epidemic, with people often using or seeking drugs while receiving treatment or services nearby.

The barricades were erected following a press conference last Thursday with Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Kaz Daughtry, Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson and Deputy Mayor Camille Joseph Varlak, who announced the NYPD’s intention to barricade the plaza indefinitely and increase the police presence there in response to persistent quality-of-life complaints. Officers now stand inside the plaza, patrolling the area from behind the barricades.

The closure comes months after The Hub was named as one of the sites of Mayor Eric Adams’ Community Link initiative, a city-wide, multi-agency operation to crack down on complaints related to substance abuse, mental health, homelessness, sanitation and other quality-of-life issues in certain hotspots throughout the city.

Pedro Suarez, executive director of the Third Avenue Business Improvement District, said that the shutdown is intended to give the city a chance to pool its resources and address the quality of life issues and then reopen it to the public again with some slight changes by the end of the month,”

The BID, he said, is meeting with various city agencies, the community board and other local stakeholders this week to discuss plans for the plaza going forward, including nonprofit groups holding events there, and that it would reopen “once everyone is on the same page about that. Then it’s really just informing NYPD that we’re ready to reopen.”

Residents and small business owners who have complained for years about the issues plaguing The Hub said the plaza’s closure was the most aggressive response to date, for better and worse.

“It’s a temporary solution for a long-term problem,” said Roland Marrero, 40, who works in The Hub and who lived for a time inside Roberto Clemente Plaza after his release from prison.

Marrero now volunteers in the syringe pickup program with OnPoint NYC and Boom!Health, two harm reduction organizations that conduct outreach in the South Bronx. Marrero also relies on their services himself.

“People need shelter, they need social services. But you can’t force people to do what they don’t want to do,” he said.

While residents welcomed the city’s renewed focus on The Hub, many remain skeptical about the long-term plan. Manny Vargas, 34, a cook at Flavor Taste Deli across the plaza, said that the increased police presence was long overdue but is concerned whether it will address the root of the issue or just push it elsewhere.

“You’re just pushing people to the outskirts, not solving the problem,” he said.

“It’s not fair for the community. You’re taking away what people need. It’s hot. People need to sit down,” said Vargas.

The city’s action followed multiple reports from Torres, who first published a letter last September calling for a coordinated and sustained response to the public health crisis in the neighborhood.

The enforcement push comes as New York City reports its lowest opioid mortality rate since the start of the pandemic. But in Mott Haven, which includes The Hub, overdose deaths remain the highest in the city.

“What is needed is not a short-term reaction but a long-term, multi-agency commitment to ending the open-air drug market in The Hub,” said Torres in a statement to THE CITY.

“If there are individuals struggling with serious mental illness and addiction, the City of New York must connect them to the care that they need.”

This press release was produced by The City. The views expressed here are the author’s own.