Bronx Congressman Demands Action to Dismantle Open-Air Drug Market in the Hub
Urgent Call to Action
For months, Bronx Congressman Ritchie Torres has been urging both Mayor Eric Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul to turn their attention to the Melrose Avenue section of the Hub, where a drug hotspot has emerged between East 149th Street and East 150th Street.
A Growing Crisis
The borough faces the highest rate of overdose deaths in New York City, with 78 fatalities per 100,000 residents in 2023, more than twice that of Staten Island, which ranks in second place. Those in the South Bronx made up a disproportionate share of overdose deaths.
A Call to Action
Torres, joined by community leaders, intensified his calls for a drug market shutdown during a press conference at the Third Avenue Business Improvement District (BID) office. “The Mayor would never tolerate an open-air drug market outside Gracie Mansion,” Torres said. “The people of the Bronx are entitled to the same standard of public safety and quality of life as everyone else is.”
Community Leaders Unite
Joining Torres were Pedro Suarez, executive director of the Third Avenue BID, and Javier Medina, executive director of the Southern Boulevard BID. Medina previously served as the director of ground operations at the Third Avenue BID. “In the seven years that I’ve been here, the team has reversed upwards of 220 overdoses,” Medina said. “Seventy-six of those I did myself.”
A Permanent Solution
Torres has proposed a crackdown on repeat drug dealers, whom he accused of fueling markets like the one in the Hub. He also urged the State to amend bail and discovery laws to ensure habitual offenders remain behind bars. “What we deserve and demand is not a temporary relocation of the drug users and dealers, but a permanent removal of the open-air drug market itself,” Torres said in his letter. “[It] has become a deepening rot at the commercial core of the South Bronx.”
Conclusion
Torres’ call to action is a pressing one, and it remains to be seen whether his efforts will lead to meaningful change in the Hub. One thing is clear, however: the people of the Bronx deserve better than to live with the scourge of open-air drug markets.
FAQs
* What is the current situation in the Hub?
The Hub has an open-air drug market, with discarded syringes and needles littering the ground.
* What is Congressman Ritchie Torres’ proposal?
Torres is calling for a crackdown on repeat drug dealers, amending bail and discovery laws, and granting the Mayor expanded authority to place those with severe mental illness and drug addiction into involuntary care.
* What is the current state of overdose deaths in the Bronx?
The Bronx has the highest rate of overdose deaths in New York City, with 78 fatalities per 100,000 residents in 2023, more than twice that of Staten Island, which ranks in second place.
