City Increases Syringe Cleanup Efforts In Upper Manhattan

UPPER MANHATTAN, NY — The city Department of Sanitation will allocate extra resources to clean up used syringes in Upper Manhattan, city officials announced this week.

Six new officers from the department's Environmental Police Unit — a special unit trained to safely pick up and dispose of syringes from streets, parks and other public areas — have been assigned to the Bronx and Upper Manhattan, DSNY Commissioner Kathryn Garcia said Tuesday. The action will double the size of the Environmental Police Unit, Garcia said.

"Our Environmental Police Unit works tirelessly in possibly risky situations to help keep their fellow Sanitation Workers, as well as City residents and visitors, safe," Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia said in a statement. "These new Officers will allow the Department to conduct proactive patrols in South Bronx and Upper Manhattan, as well as respond to 311 complaints and other requests for syringe litter collection."

Requests for syringe disposal have increased 300 percent across New York City since 2014, city officials said. The department's Environmental Police Unit has conducted 200 cleanups since July 1 year, disposing of about 8,800 syringes. In areas of the city hit hard by the opioid epidemic, there is a greater need for syringe disposal.

The six new Environmental Police Unit officers are currently being hired and trained, city officials said. The officers should be on-boarded and ready to work by December. Members of the public who find a syringe in a public space should call 311 to request a cleanup, city officials said.

"Problematic drug use is a multifaceted issue that requires responses from many angles," Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot said in a statement. "As we work to connect people with services and care, we must also address community concerns such as syringe litter. The Department of Sanitation’s efforts will make a big difference in the community."

Washington Heights was one of the neighborhoods selected for a supervised injection site by the city in 2018 as the city explores ways to cut down on overdose deaths. The exact location of the Washington Heights injection site was not revealed, but city officials did say the sites will be opened near facilities with existing "needle exchange" programs. Nonprofit groups, not the city, would reportedly operate and fund them.