Assuming that the clinic doesn't improve, there's three options:

a.) Move the clinic to another, ungentrified neighborhood.

b.) Move the clinic to a "nice" neighborhood like Park Slope.

c.) Close the clinic, and instead be overrun by heroin addicts, who aren't accountable to anyone, much less government agencies.

Option A is simply moving the problem elsewhere. This is what caused urban decay in the first place. Moving the problem "somewhere else". Option B is never going to happen. And option C is worse than what we have at the moment.

It's interesting that neither councilman talked of improving treatment, so that the patients won't have to be on drugs forever. That might decrease the problem, no? Or maybe these patients are the constituents they don't care about.

Also: What exactly is wrong with the business on that section of Fulton? The amount of business there is similar to many swaths of Park Slope.

Posted by: BedStuyDoOrDie at January 2, 2008 9:52 AM in response to Pols to Meth Clinic: Shape Up or Ship Out

At 10:00 AM: Great post. Can't believe I forgot to mention decriminalization. Of course, I doubt any politician in New York would touch that with a ten foot pole.

Posted by: BedStuyDoOrDie at January 2, 2008 10:07 AM in response to Pols to Meth Clinic: Shape Up or Ship Out

@ Lothar of the Clinton Hill People: The streetlights are not a business problem. That's a government problem. Isn't it Ms. James' duty to fix that?

Also: So in other words, no addict can EVER become free of their dependence? I find that hard to believe. Drug problems are treatable. Meth clinics just happen to be (probably) the cheapest form of treatment. Maybe we can supplement that with actual solutions?

And the talks of "revitalizing" this area isn't just about boarded up stores. It's about taking the existing stores, the stores that are doing good business already, and trying to change them. Why else would residents resist these changes? Do you think them that nihilistic?

Posted by: BedStuyDoOrDie at January 2, 2008 10:31 AM in response to Pols to Meth Clinic: Shape Up or Ship Out

10:18- Alcohol and tobacco cause far more damage to society than every illicit drug combined, including marijuana.

Posted by: BedStuyDoOrDie at January 2, 2008 10:34 AM in response to Pols to Meth Clinic: Shape Up or Ship Out

10:37 AM- I've lived on Madison between Franklin and Classon my entire life. I'd like to think that thankfully, growing up middle class in a poverty ridden area has made me more sympathetic to the worst off among us. So yes, a debate is needed.

Posted by: BedStuyDoOrDie at January 2, 2008 10:42 AM in response to Pols to Meth Clinic: Shape Up or Ship Out

@ Lothar of the Clinton Hill People: Meth clinics exist because it's cheaper to satiate people's addiction rather than actually try and fix their problem. Do you think rich heroin addicts get treated at meth clinics? Of course not. So, it's a question of priorities. What's more important, money, or these addicts? For decades it was money, but now, the two have finally become the same issue.

Maybe James should advocate for BETTER treatment facilities, rather than downsizing or removing the only ones we have. But that'd take integrity.

And I've lived here 20 years. From what I can see, poverty and the illegal status of drugs (the only factor pols have complete control over) are the biggest reasons for the drug problem.

Posted by: BedStuyDoOrDie at January 2, 2008 11:36 AM in response to Pols to Meth Clinic: Shape Up or Ship Out

"You're making my argument for me. Legal drugs cause more damage because they're more widely used. You think this has nothing at all to do with the fact that they're legal?"

Tobacco is the most widely used drug because it's the most addictive drug. More so even than heroin.

And tobacco and cigarettes are more widely used because of the same exact sentiment which has allowed them to be legal while most drugs aren't- they are seen as "better" drugs, ones that don't end up ruining your life when taken in moderation. In a way, this may be true.

As is stands, tobacco alone causes several hundred thousand deaths a year.Alcohol, tens of thousands. And countless billions in health care dollars. Legalized crack or heroin would never cause that type of damage, unless legalization somehow caused usage- frequent usage, like the type we see with cigarettes and alcohol- to increase tenfold.

Posted by: BedStuyDoOrDie at January 2, 2008 11:54 AM in response to Pols to Meth Clinic: Shape Up or Ship Out

@ 12:12 PM: "mixed income housing AND OFFICE SPACE is a net positive to anyone accept a moronic Luddite"

The word's "except", pal.

Posted by: BedStuyDoOrDie at January 2, 2008 12:28 PM in response to Development Watch: RIP, Albee Square Mall (Garage)

12:26 PM: Calling a popular mall popular is indicative of an agenda now?

Posted by: BedStuyDoOrDie at January 2, 2008 12:29 PM in response to Development Watch: RIP, Albee Square Mall (Garage)

12:03 PM: Bed Stuy is one of the most crack infested areas in the city. If you TRULY wanted crack, and lived anywhere in the area, you could simply ask around until you found someone willing to sell it to you.

Posted by: BedStuyDoOrDie at January 2, 2008 12:31 PM in response to Pols to Meth Clinic: Shape Up or Ship Out