Harlem Residents Protest Placement Of Supervised Injection Site
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Hundreds of people protested the placement of a new supervised injection site in Harlem on Saturday.
An overdose prevention center opened there in November near 126th Street and Park Avenue. A second center opened on West 180th Street in Washington Heights.
Users are allowed to use whatever drug they bring with them inside the site. Trained staff provide clean needles, administer Naloxone if needed and provide options for addiction treatment.
The goal of the centers is to save lives, but residents have concerns.
"We have too many here. They need to be spread throughout New York City and not all dumped into Harlem," Harlem resident Syderia Asberry-Chresfield said.
"When I walk out of my apartment building in the morning, I see needles all over the street. My son shouldn't have that," Harlem resident Julia Fishman said.
Protesters believe the majority of people using the program come from other parts of the city and want the centers to be more spread out throughout the city.