Pols to Meth Clinic: Shape Up or Ship Out
Faced with a growing frustration among Clinton Hill residents over a host of quality of life issues associated with the methadone clinic at Waverly and Fulton, Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries and Councilmember Letitia James held a sit-down recently with several officials from the state agency that oversees such operations and established a task force to try…
Faced with a growing frustration among Clinton Hill residents over a host of quality of life issues associated with the methadone clinic at Waverly and Fulton, Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries and Councilmember Letitia James held a sit-down recently with several officials from the state agency that oversees such operations and established a task force to try to remedy the problems. Of particular concern was the combination of loitering, peripheral drug trade and aggressive behavior of clinic visitors and their hangers-on. The high concentration of such clinics in the immediate vicinity was also discussed. (The three clinics above service roughly 1/3 of methadone patients in Brooklyn.) According to Councilmember James, the people running the Fulton clinic have been extremely unresponsive to her overtures about addressing the problems, which are impacting not only the residential character of the neighborhood but the ability to revitalize an entire stretch of retail along Fulton Street. “Assembly Member Jeffries and I are hopeful this taskforce will serve as the proper vehicle to address issues that could threaten the commercial viability and success of Fulton Street,” Councilmember James said. “If matters persist, then I will renew my call for consolidation, downsizing and/or closure.” A community-wide meeting is being planned for late January. More details to come.
To BedStuyDoDieGuy:
Yes, addicts can become free of their dependence, but that is not what methadone clinics are designed to do. They’re designed to keep people dependent. Methadone is a long-acting, more benign opiate with less of a high and substitutes a controlled dependence for what could be a deadly heroin addiction.
I agree with you that the street lights are a government problem, but it’s an example of why that stretch of Fulton is a difficult sell, in conjunction with the loitering that goes on around the clinic.
And to phony baloney guy, being complacent does not make you a liberal. Some people are too quick to assume everyone just wants to rid a neighborhood of it’s ugly components so as to raise property values. I find it way more progressive to be active in your community and to address drug problems rather than accepting something just because it existed before you got there.
All of my neighbors who’ve been here for 10+ years seem to agree that the clinic is one of the roots of the drug problem in our neighborhood.
Please be honest – every study and experience – including our national 13yrs of prohibition demonstrate that decriminalizing drugs makes their use more common. Now that doesnt necessarily mean that decriminalization is wrong – just that you have to expect increased use with a non-criminal supply of such substances. To deny this is to engage in exactly the type of propaganda that the Govt engages in when trying to legitimize its ‘war on drugs’
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.
Meth Clinics are typically part of court mandated treatment programs when addicts get caught up in the system.
Several of the filfthy bodegas are complicit in the illegal drug trade. They have no interest in making that stretch of Fulton a nice shopping strip again. It will happen though. Oldtimers who live here, and the huge influx of newcomers have been working together to make their voices heard. You don’t have this sort of debate at community and block association meetings from either newcomers or from people who’ve lived here their entire lives. Everyone is in agreement that it is a problem that needs to be addressed.
10:18- Alcohol and tobacco cause far more damage to society than every illicit drug combined, including marijuana.
@ 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?
10:18 – Typical buck-passing, nonsense reaction…
What makes you think they will use more drugs? Do you really beleive that drugs being illegal makes people less likely to use them? Of course not, it just makes them more expensive.
I am not saying open heroin bars, what I am saying is decriminalization.
Double parking is illegal, so is making U-turns on most blocks – does it mean you dont double park ever? No, it means it is more expensive when you do so, right?
Making it a crime for me to put a substance in my body is ridiculous, the government should not be in the business of playing mommy and daddy for me. Frightened parents and politicians are always more than willing to throw insane cash at the problem that has not stopped 1 single person from doing drugs ever. Its becuase they beelive it will somehow keep their kids off of drugs. It does nothing but make crime and violence rise and overcrowds the prison system.
I heard that aspirin causes liver damage – screw your headache, that should be illegal too. And come to think of it, fat people shouldnt drink milkshakes, kids shouldnt play video games, and vitamins turn your piss neon colors – Maybe we should think about that too?
People will use drugs whether illegal or not.
People will also use way more of the legal drugs than the illegal ones.
Do you really want your local watering hole dispensing coke and crystal meth alongside the Maker’s Mark?