The Harlem Neighborhood Block Association

Neighbors united to improve the quality of life in northeast Harlem

Tag: Opioid Treatment Programs

The Commute

Posted on by Harlem Shill

Opioid Treatment Commuters – travel patterns and patient numbers (commuting into East Harlem) from all 5 boroughs are illustrated on this map.

Hover over a zip code on the map below to learn how many travel (often daily) to East Harlem for their treatment.

Extreme Heat Is Coming

(okay, this weekend isn’t super hot, but you know, the heat is coming…)

Extreme heat is one of the most significant hazards facing New York City, and New Yorkers are especially vulnerable to extreme heat-related hazards during the summer months.

NYC Emergency Management is hosting a Ready Up Webinar and invites all New Yorkers to learn about how be prepared for the dangers of an extreme heat event. This webinar will provide tips and guidance on what to do before and during an extreme heat event and how to remain connected to resources and information.

Register on Eventbrite

Community Districts

Posted on by Harlem Shill

East Harlem has many commonalities with the South Bronx in terms of population, history, infrastructure, and governmental relations.

A map of the density of opioid treatment programs (as licensed by OASAS) shows the clear linkage.

Note how CB11 (East Harlem) has the largest opioid capacity in New York City. OASAS has packed programs in East Harlem repeatedly and forced East Harlem to serve addicted New Yorkers who reside in the gray areas on the map.

To view an interactive version of the map (hover over a community district to learn the opioid capacity and district number), see below:

The Commute

Posted on by Harlem Shill

Recently I wanted to map out where people lived who commuted into East Harlem for opioid treatment (mostly methdone).

The resulting map, below, shows that pretty much all of New York City hops on the subway, takes busses or cabs, or even rides ferries, to get to our 2 zip codes (10035 and 10029) in order to get (daily, typically) their methadone treatment.

Note that the Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse (OASAS) does not release exact addresses of the men and women in treatment, but simply says that 12 people (for example) from zip code XXXXX were admitted to a given program.

Latest (Pre-COVID) Data II

Posted on by Harlem Shill

As mentioned yesterday, one of the depressing things about looking at the data from the New York State Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) is that it repeatedly tells the same story – for decades, OASAS has packed substance abuse programs into Harlem and East Harlem; programs that wealthier and often whiter communities have successfully rebuffed.

One question often asked is who is behind the large opioid treatment programs (methadone) in East Harlem. The graph below shows that 3 of New York City’s largest methadone providers (in red) are located here, in our community:

As mentioned yesterday, OASAS has exploited the weak political resistance in Harlem and successfully lied to the community by repeatedly stating that programs in Harlem were for our neighbors, our family members, or our colleagues. The chart below shows where men and women being treated in East Harlem come/commute from to get treatment here:

Note that the largest number of non-East Harlem residents who come here for substance abuse treatment travel from Westchester and Long Island.