https://fb.watch/bu98DNspEf/

A History of Methadone and Harlem

Across New York City, a certain kind of medicine is administered not in a regular pharmacy or a doctor’s office, but in its own kind of space altogether. Most often, these are brick-and-mortar locations, clustered in lower-income communities of color; increasingly, such treatment sites are mobile and distributed. In either case, one specific type of person seeking medical care is being segregated from nearly all others. Opioid addiction may have received more attention in recent years, but the geographic footprint and spatial practices of methadone maintenance treatment remain hyper-concentrated and sequestered. Communities such as Harlem are overburdened with facilities providing care for a large proportion of the city’s estimated 28,500 people in recovery; yet there are very few methadone clinics to be found in wealthier, whiter neighborhoods such as the Upper East Side. Meanwhile, patients themselves have long borne the brunt of controversy and conflict with neighbors and the state alike, compounded by familiar vectors of discrimination and policies that conflate disease with crime, and treatment with punishment. As the City opens the country’s first officially-sanctioned supervised injection sites, charting a new direction in harm reduction, Zoe Adams explores the fraught history of New York’s methadone clinics, and questions whether one particular form of healing needs its own separate space in the first place.

To read more of Zoe Adams’ article, see the link below:

Randall’s Island Wins Grant to Improve the Shoreline

The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation and RIPA (Randall’s Island Park Alliance) has recently announced $4.3 million in funding toward a multi-use pathway repair and living shoreline restoration project. This vital funding will help the Randall’s Island Park Alliance address erosion, stabilize the shoreline, and improve coastal resiliency along the Water’s Edge Pathway. 

Half-mile stretch of Randall’s Island pathway and shoreline to be reconstructed

NYC Parks Acting Commissioner Liam Kavanagh and Randall’s Island Park Alliance (RIPA) President Deborah Maher today announced funding for multi-use pathway repairs and living shoreline restoration at Randall’s Island Park. The $4.3 million project, funded by a $3.72 million grant from NYS Department of State and $660,000 from RIPA, will address erosion, stabilize the shoreline, and improve the park’s coastal resiliency along a half-mile stretch of the park’s Water’s Edge Pathway.

“Randall’s Island Park stands out as both a waterfront resource and a recreational hub for surrounding communities, and thanks to this $4.3 million project the park is on track to become more resilient while offering new programming opportunities for all New Yorkers,” said NYC Parks Acting Commissioner Liam Kavanagh. “We thank the Department of State and Randall’s Island Park Alliance for their support, and we are proud to partner with RIPA to significantly improve the park’s shoreline and multi-use pathway.”

“During the height of the pandemic, we saw greater visitation from our surrounding communities, an increase of nearly 60% coming from East Harlem alone. The popular pathway, comprising paved bike routes and pedestrian paths, has been catalytic in the Park’s transformation, and serves both commuters and recreational visitors. We are excited to receive the grant and we look forward to working with NYC Parks to restore and enhance the shoreline,” said Deborah Maher, President of the Randall’s Island Park Alliance.

The project will significantly improve the shoreline along the Water’s Edge Pathway, which runs between the 103rd Street Footbridge and the Little Hell Gate Inlet. Eroded pathway sections will be repaired and expanded to create new areas for shoreline activities including fishing, picnicking, and seining. The project will also perform seawall repairs and add nature-based features and native plantings, improving wildlife habitat and providing opportunities for educational field trips and community science projects in the area.