USA Scenes from “Night of the Living Dead”: Locals Decry Chaos Around NYC Opioid Clinic in NoHo

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Locals Decry Chaos Around NYC Opioid Clinic in NoHo

 

In the upscale neighborhood of NoHo, just steps from the Angelika Film Center and multi-million-dollar lofts, residents are witnessing daily scenes they liken to a horror film. Addicts slumped on sidewalks, screaming in parks, and overdosing near playgrounds have become routine, and locals are pointing the finger at a nonprofit opioid treatment clinic they say has invited chaos into their streets.

 

 

At the center of the storm is Greenwich House, a taxpayer-subsidized nonprofit with a $30 million annual budget and a controversial “harm reduction” philosophy. Critics argue this model — which includes distributing methadone, fentanyl test strips, and overdose-reversing naloxone kits — has turned Mercer Street into an open-air drug den. “Walking on Houston between Mercer and Crosby is an absolute disaster,” said Linda Sondik, a long-time resident. “I have seen people being taken away in ambulances who clearly overdosed, and on the streets people are openly shooting up. It’s tragic and scary.”

 

 

Each morning by 6 a.m., a line forms outside the clinic — not for a new iPhone, but for doses of methadone. During two visits last week, reporters observed addicts injecting themselves in broad daylight, some in the neck, arms, or legs. They lay curled on sidewalks or collapsed on benches near children’s playgrounds. One young man wandered into traffic on West Houston before medics arrived to treat him, as passersby looked on in shock.

 

 

The clinic serves around 1,300 individuals and receives approximately $8 million a year in government support. Residents argue it has become a magnet for drug dealers. “Every day, there are at least two or three overdoses, just around this corner,” said Hassane Elbaz, who’s operated a coffee cart nearby for 25 years. “Paramedics save a lot of them. But about every two months, one of them dies.” He pointed out a man in black with a fanny pack. “See this guy – he has a fanny pack full of drugs. He’s the one who sells fentanyl. He killed four people in three days,” Elbaz claimed.

 

 

 

Parents like Lilly Migs are alarmed. “The kids will be playing in the playground and there’ll be people screaming and wailing on the other side,” she said. “Parents have called 911 and sometimes paramedics never show up.” She added, “I know the clinic is supposed to be helping people, but I don’t think they’re getting the help they need there. I think it’s unfortunately started to attract a different type of crowd — people that maybe do not want the help that they have to offer.”

 

 

 

Greenwich House’s growth has been staggering. From a $15 million budget before the pandemic, it has nearly doubled since 2021, backed by progressive leaders including Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, and State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal. Financial records show large donations from the family of Democratic megadonor George Soros — with his son Jonathan and wife Jennifer giving $50,000 last year.

 

 

 

The clinic maintains that its role is misunderstood. “It is a common and unfortunate misconception that the presence of a treatment center causes public disorder. We are not the source; we are part of the response apparatus,” said a spokeswoman. Executive Director Darren Bloch, a former advisor to Mayor Bill de Blasio, joined the organization in 2020 and earned $230,000 in 2022, according to tax filings.

 

 

The debate over how to address New York’s addiction crisis remains fierce. Advocates for harm reduction argue it keeps people alive until they are ready to seek treatment, while critics say it enables dependency without accountability. “The idea is that people should only seek treatment when they’re ready,” said Charles Fane Lehmann of the Manhattan Institute. “But most people addicted to drugs are addicted for their whole lives. They often regard efforts to get people into treatment… as actively hostile to the interests of people who use drugs.”

 

 

Despite efforts to curb overdoses, the numbers continue to climb. In 2023, about 2,300 New Yorkers died from drug overdoses — nearly triple the toll from a decade ago. Fentanyl and synthetic opioids were responsible for the majority, accounting for around 1,650 of those deaths.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from NYP  2025-07-01

 

 

[Purdey]

I don't doubt addiction is bad for people (and society) but perhaps finding out why people choose to become addicted is worth understanding and then solving that problem, whether providing jobs or meaning to life, is worth examining.

[thesetat]

methadone clinics have been in use for decades. always with the thought that you get them high and addicted to another drug that they will not want something else. What better place to find and deal strong drugs then outside the place. Catch them before going in. No matter what, these types of clinics have always been an eyesore to the community and have always drawn the lowest of low people to the area. 

[thesetat]

33 minutes ago, Purdey said:

I don't doubt addiction is bad for people (and society) but perhaps finding out why people choose to become addicted is worth understanding and then solving that problem, whether providing jobs or meaning to life, is worth examining.

People do not choose addiction or to become addicted. They are usually peer pressured into trying something and the drug takes control of them. There is no rational to this because even if the person does not want to take the drug more, the drug whispers in your head constantly to get more. It is something you need to experience to really understand. More so, it is very difficult to stop once started. That is why they call it addiction.  There is both a physical need as well as a psychological need for the drug 

[Watawattana]

People who need help should get it.  Seems like this place isn't providing that.

[Iron Tongue]

The junkies in those photos are outright spritely compared to the new generation of fentanyl addicts.  When the fentanyl "kicks in", they just fold over but remain on their feet.

Coming to a street near you.

[Bday Prang]

        The clinics may well be part of the "response apparatus"  as opposed to part of the source but it is in the wrong place, It should be located out of town on some disused industrial estate.   Whilst it may provide a source of help for those who need it and genuinely want to quit their addiction it will also , as has been seen attract those who have no intention of quitting and just want access to cheap or even free drugs.

       Also  having so many addicts congregate in one place  acts like a magnet for drug dealers and the gangs they work for

         This issue is like a disease and many of those affected will never recover some don't even want to, there is nothing to be gained by having a place like this in an upmarket area, its not like the addicts appreciate the finer points of the neighbourhood ( which will eventually be  destroyed)

          Its further evidence that the current response to addiction and drug use in general needs a complete rethink

[Bday Prang]

Presumably this is a democrat run area where the police have been either "defunded" or told  to turn a blind eye,    Making America "great" again , as usual 

[ThreeCardMonte]

All due to leftists policies.  
 

Same in LA, SF, Portland, Seattle and Philadelphia just to name a few.

[UKJASE]

mostly due to US doctors prescribing oxycontin in huge numbers after being told that oxy was non addictive and paid to prescribe it

[Thingamabob]

These scenes are typical of those that can now be observed in areas of many major cities in America and,  increasingly, in western Europe. The so-called war on drugs has been a hugely expensive failure in terms of lives and money. Whether narcotics or opioids, way better to legalise, licence, regulate, control and tax.

[Anthony mellows]

If America is such a great country to live in, why are so many people there feel the need to escape through drugs?