Congressman Ritchie Torres Calls on City and State to Permanently Dismantle the Open-Air Drug Market in the Hub of the South Bronx

On Saturday, Congressman Ritchie Torres (NY-15) wrote to New York Governor Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams regarding the continued open air drug market in the Hub of the South Bronx, calling for its permanent dismantling. Today, Rep. Torres held a press conference at the office of the Third Avenue Business Improvement District to continue sounding the alarm. Photos from today can be found here.

Rep. Torres has been publicly asking for action on this issue for several months:

• https://ritchietorres.house.gov/posts/rep-ritchie-torres-sounds-alarm-to-mayor-eric-adams-on-open-air-drug-market-on-melrose-avenue
• https://bronx.news12.com/open-air-drug-market-in-south-bronx-catches-attention-of-rep-ritchie-torres
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpGgGpAXcMI&ab_channel=Rep.RitchieTorres
• https://nypost.com/2024/12/24/opinion/new-york-must-dismantle-every-open-air-drug-market-plaguing-nyc/

The letter from Saturday to Gov. Hochul and Mayor Adams reads as follows (full PDF here):

“I am writing to call upon the State and the City to permanently dismantle the open-air drug market that has seen a resurgence in the Hub of the South Bronx.

“When it comes to the proliferation of open-air drug markets in New York, the State under Governor Hochul has stood by passively and done nothing. The City, to its credit, has been willing to take action against these drug markets but only temporarily. Were it not for the public shaming and scrutiny that has been brought to bear by the media, the open-air drug market would have been allowed to fester indefinitely.

“The Governor would never tolerate an open-air drug market outside of the governor’s mansion. The Mayor would never tolerate an open-air drug market outside of Gracie Mansion. Why should the people of the South Bronx be forced to see drug addicts injecting themselves with fentanyl in the presence of their children—all in broad daylight? The People of the Bronx are entitled to the same standard of public safety and quality of life as everyone else.

“The State’s do-nothing approach and the City’s ad-hoc approach has led to a game of whack-a-mole in which the NYPD temporarily removes the open-air drug market, only to see it re-emerge almost overnight.

“What the Bronx needs is not a short-term band-aid but a long-term solution to the crisis in the Hub. 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, which has become a deepening rot at the commercial core of the South Bronx.

“A systemic solution requires not only enforcing the law but also amending it to the extent that the law itself is failing the People of New York. Toward that end, I join the City in calling upon the State to amend any and all laws—including bail and discovery—that have led to the release of repeat offenders, including repeat drug dealers who keep fueling the open-air drug markets in places like the South Bronx. According to the NYPD, recidivism in New York is surging to an extent not seen before in recent memory. Criminals feel more emboldened than ever before to use and sell drugs out in the open, confident that the criminal justice system will never hold them accountable and keep releasing them back onto the streets. The recidivists know the rules of the game and know how to game the broken system to break the rules.

“In addition to amending bail and discovery, the State must grant the Mayor greater authority to place individuals with severe mental illness and chemical addiction into involuntary care—whether it takes the form of inpatient commitment or Outpatient Assisted Treatment (OAT). Both Kendra’s Law, the legal framework for OAT, and inpatient commitment must be expanded to meet the ever-expanding challenge of severe mental illness.

“There is nothing compassionate or progressive about allowing those with severe mental illness and chemical addiction to languish on the streets of New York, posing a threat not only to themselves but also to those around them. Tolerance for open-air drug markets is cruelty cloaked as compassion.

“Breaking the cycle of open-air drug markets would send a powerful message that New York is a state and city of law and order rather than lawlessness and disorder.”