ALBANY, NY – As 2022 comes close to the end, the state of New York continues to see crime rates increase as bail reform laws and substance use policies led by Governor Kathy Hochul push the state to be unsafe to those who live there and to those who visit.
Check out: ‘Shocking:’ Drug Overdose Deaths Surge In New York State, Hudson Valley https://t.co/KUDbSNFXx7
— Jen Robertson (@jenrobertson2o2) November 7, 2022
Towards the end of October, the governor outright dismissed the fears of New Yorkers, claiming that the few “high profile” crimes are what have “created a sense of fear in people’s minds.”
Countless media platforms are reporting daily, sometimes multiple times a day, on the brazen violence people are committing in New York City. Repeat offenders are being released back to the streets instead of being detained while they await a court date.
On Saturday, October 22nd, Governor Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced their “Cops, Cameras, Care” initiative, which includes the state-run MTA Police Department and the New York Police Department (NYPD) joining forces to add 1,200 extra daily overtime shifts to watch over the crime-ridden subway system.
That would essentially translate into about 10,000 extra hours of officers patrolling subways and there will be extended hours daily in at least 300 stations during peak hours. At the time, Hochul said in a statement:
“I will continue to use the resources of the state of New York to bring this violence to an end.”
New York City has become an open air drug den…. https://t.co/B5rR1dTPw6 https://t.co/kVtyeVctSq
— callfirst (@callfirst) November 7, 2022
However, it remains to be seen if these additional officers patrolling will make a true difference in the violence the Big Apple continues to see.
In addition to the rise of violent crimes across the state, substance use or drug related policies that have been put into place and supported by Hochul, have devastated several neighborhoods.
In 2021, Hochul signed several items into law as part of a “harm reduction” package, alleging that the policies were aimed at combating the opioid crisis and related deaths across the state. Below are those policies:
S.911/A.2354 – Relates to the possession of opioid antagonists;
S.1795/A.533 – Relates to the establishment of a program for the use of medication assisted treatment for incarcerated individuals;
S.2523/A.868 – Decriminalizes the possession and sale of hypodermic needles and syringes;
S.6044/A.128 – Establishes an online directory for distributers of opioid antagonists; and
S.7228/A.5511 – Relates to a judicial diversion program for certain felony offenders.
According to The New York Post, the new laws now include:
Decriminalized public possession and sale of hypodermic needles, and also lifting the cap on how many needles a pharmacy could sell;
Expanded the roster of crimes that drug addicts could commit to entering treatment programs and gave judges the option of mandating treatment in lieu of jail time;
Decriminalized “opioid antagonists” like Narcan that reverse opioid overdoses;
Created an online directory of opioid antagonist distributors; and
Established substance abuse recovery programs for inmates in state and correctional facilities.
A directive, citing the new law decriminalizing possession of needles, also ordered police to not arrest substance use abusers shooting up in public. Councilman Robert Holden, a moderate Queens Democrat, said:
“Gov. Hochul opened up the floodgates to the ruination of the state when she signed laws allowing for open-drug use on our streets and subways.”
He added:
“Instead of focusing on drug addicts getting the help they desperately need, she allowed them to feed their addictions while destroying the quality of life for New Yorkers. Whether it’s this, cashless bail, Raise the Age [juvenile justice law], the [Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement] Act, congestion pricing, and others, Kathy Hochul must be held accountable for the 14 months of destruction she caused New York.”
New York's Drug Problem Is Turning It Into the Third World https://t.co/R1ibmJiBqx
— Paul Brian (@paulrbrian) November 6, 2022
Communities in New York are now paying the price, as The New York Post reported that these daily real-life horrors play out in the neighborhoods streets. Dozens of individuals have been seen commandeering East 126th Street, which now is the home of a controversial drug-injection site.
Others have reportedly been seen along Park Avenue down to East 114th Street nodding out, splayed on the sidewalk, and injecting themselves in the neck or through jeans in broad daylight.
The Sanitation Department said it has collected at least 5,660 needles in the neighborhood since the East Harlem injection center opened on November 29, 2021. Local artist Jenny Scobel, 67, who has recorded several videos along Park Avenue near 116th Street of men passed out while others inject themselves in broad daylight. Scobel said:
“I’m a lefty liberal from way back when … and I’m so fed up. I don’t hate Hochul, but I think she’s made some big mistakes. She’s gotta wake up.”
Hazel Crampton-Hays, a Hochul spokeswoman, defended the governor’s record, saying that the East Harlem site “is not a state-regulated facility and we continue to work closely with the city, law enforcement, and public health officials to combat the opioid crisis that has killed thousands of our fellow New Yorkers.” She added:
“While the state has decriminalized the possession of needles and syringes and the possession of opioid antagonists to save lives, heroin remains illegal, and nothing in the law prevents police officers from enforcing other criminal conduct and violations of the law that may take place, and we continue to work with prosecutors to enforce the law and crack down on traffickers and those who peddle deadly illegal substances.”
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