US Rep. Ritchie Torres calls on Mayor Adams to shut down ‘open-air drug market’ in South Bronx

NYC needs to shut down an “open-air drug market” in the South Bronx, U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres said in a letter to Mayor Eric Adams asking for the mayor, the NYPD and Department of Health to take action.

“The tacit acceptance of unfettered drug use on Melrose Avenue, as though it were an inevitable fact of life, sends a dangerous message: that the public safety and public health of the Bronx is not a priority but an afterthought,” the Bronx Democrat wrote in the letter, sent Friday.

The problem area, Torres wrote, is on Melrose Ave. between E. 149th and E. 150th Sts., in the Hub, a commercial center for the Bronx. The area is a known hotspot for drug users and frequently targeted by outreach workers. Needles litter the area, and drug users camp out in public spaces.

The congressman called the market — and the lack of coordinated city response to it — a “scene of lawlessness and disorder.”

“When I went to see the drug hotspot for myself, I found myself in a state of shock not only at the severity of the situation but also at the lack of an anything resembling a robust police presence,” Torres wrote.

Adams spokeswoman Amaris Cockfield said the administration is aware of Torres’ concerns and is looking forwarding to “partnering with him to ensure a safe and livable city.”

“Our administration has been squarely focused on keeping New Yorkers safe, and we can balance livability with safety and connection to services,” Cockfield said in a statement. “These goals are achieved by both proactive policies to ensure that everyone has access to high-quality support, treatment, and recovery services and reactive policies like increased police patrols in the community.”

Torres also noted the widespread use of fentanyl, a highly potent drug that has fueled a deadly overdose crisis that has surged in recent years, hitting the Bronx especially hard.

There were 3,026 overdose deaths in the five boroughs in 2022, up by 12% since the previous year, according to the most recent city data.

“My constituents and I refuse to be doomed to a diminished quality of life by stale stereotypes about the Bronx,” Torres wrote. “Bluntly put, the wealthiest communities in NYC would never be expected to live under these visible conditions of social decay. Why must we?”

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