Bronx residents have long sounded the alarm about open-air drug markets in the central South Bronx, only to see our concerns largely fall on deaf ears.
If elected Governor of New York, on Day One, I will direct the State Police to partner with the NYPD to dismantle every open-air drug market in the city.
This would send a message that New York can no longer accept the unacceptable.
The open-air drug market is more than just a broken window.
It's a window into a broken system that fundamentally fails New Yorkers where it matters most: in essential government functions related to public safety and public health.
There is nothing compassionate or progressive about allowing those with severe mental illness and chemical addiction to suffer on the streets of New York, posing a threat not only to themselves but also to those around them.
Tolerating open-air drug markets is cruelty cloaked in compassion.
Governor Hochul will never tolerate an open-air drug market outside the Governor's Mansion.
Mayor Adams will never tolerate an open-air drug market outside Gracie Mansion.
Why should South Bronx residents be forced to watch drug addicts inject themselves with fentanyl in the presence of their children?
Although we in the Bronx cannot write maximum political contributions and cannot deploy an army of lawyers and lobbyists to do our bidding at City Hall and in Albany, the people of the Bronx are entitled to the same level of public safety and quality of life as they are. everyone.
The political establishment should no longer expect us to simply shut up and accept open-air drug dealing as the new normal.
A tone-deaf government
It is no secret that we are governed by political insiders who are quick to congratulate themselves but slow to acknowledge failure and learn from it.
The first clue is Governor Hochul, who went on a victory tour — boasting that “crime is down” and that “the subways are safe” — on the same day a woman was burned alive in Brooklyn and two men were stabbed in Queens.
The deafness of Governor Hochul, who rules like a deer in the headlights, is as startling as the broken system she inherited, but has neither the money nor the will to fix.
The governor does not lead New York. She simply manages her retreat and calls it a success.
The governor's self-serving mission accomplished declarations fool no one as the reality of rising costs and declining quality of life and public safety stares us all in the face.
New Yorkers deserve better than what a broken system can offer.
We need to get back to the basics of affordability, public safety, and quality of life, which starts with putting an end to open-air drug markets in America's largest city.
Ritchie Torres is the Democratic United States Representative for New York's 15th Congressional District.
