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New York Post
29-06-2025
- New York Post
NOHO hellscape: Opioid clinic welcomes junkies jabbing their necks and OD'ing in playgrounds to posh nabe
Scenes from 'Night of the Living Dead' are playing out a stone's throw from the famed Angelika Film Center and A-lister apartments in NoHo, where zombified junkies and drug dealers have overtaken entire blocks. At the heart of the problem is a $30 million taxpayer-funded nonprofit called Greenwich House, neighbors said, which employs a so-called 'harm reduction' philosophy. Critics counter that it enables addicts rather than getting them to quit. 14 This scene unfolded on West Houston and Crosby Streets Thursday during the morning rush hour. J.C. Rice Advertisement At its opioid clinic on Mercer Street, some 1,300 addicts are handed drugs like methadone – a narcotic given to help with withdrawal symptoms from stronger opioids like heroin — along with fentanyl test strips, which can detect the deadly chemical in drug supplies, and naloxone kits, which can reverse overdoses. Each morning, addicts line up at 6 am as if queueing up for the latest iPhone drop. 14 The lineup every weekday morning on Mercer Street waiting for the methadone clinic to open its doors at 6:30. Leonardo Munoz Advertisement The Post witnessed the depravity two days this week, with addicts contorted and splayed out on sidewalks and stoops, while others jabbed needles in their necks, arms and legs in broad daylight — as commuters and schoolkids warily walked by. Other junkies collapsed on park benches, feet away from frolicking children, losing their shoes as they stumbled over. Another young man shuffled into moving traffic on West Houston, and was later seen kneeling on the pavement as medics tried to treat him. 14 Addicts were openly shooting up on the block during the morning commute. J.C. Rice Residents are fed up that their posh neighborhood – where a one-bedroom apartment recently sold for $2.2 million and celebs like Gigi Hadid live – has spiraled into a hellscape. Advertisement 'Walking on Houston between Mercer and Crosby is an absolute disaster,' decried resident Linda Sondik. 'I have seen people being taken away in ambulances who clearly overdosed, and on the streets people are openly shooting up. It's tragic and scary.' 14 Many were seen passed out on sidewalks and stoops along West Houston. J.C. Rice Neighbor Lilly Migs said, 'The kids will be playing in the playground and there'll be people screaming and wailing on the other side.' Advertisement 'Parents have called 911 and sometimes paramedics never show up.' 'I know the clinic is supposed to be helping people, but I don't think they're getting the help they need there,' she added. 14 Neighbors say people overdose on the streets every single day. Leonardo Munoz 'I think it's unfortunately started to attract a different type of crowd. People that maybe do not want the help that they have to offer.' The Post witnessed scores of dealers roaming the block, looking to take advantage of a vulnerable population. 'Every day, there are at least two or three overdoses, just around this corner,' said Hassane Elbaz, who's run a coffee cart at the corner of Broadway and Houston for 25 years. 14 Elbaz has been at the corner of West Houston Street and Broadway for 25 years. J.C. Rice 'Paramedics save a lot of them. But about every two months, one of them dies.' Advertisement Elbaz said there are seven or eight dealers just around his corner. 'See this guy – he has a fanny pack full of drugs,' he said pointing to a short older man dressed in black. 'He's the one who sells fentanyl. He killed four people in three days,' he claimed. 14 Many passed out on park benches on Mercer Street, up the street from the clinic. J.C. Rice Part of the police's inability to intervene stems from Albany's move to decriminalize the possession and sale of needles in 2021. After that, junkies essentially had the green light to shoot up in public. Advertisement The taxpayer-subsidized clinic has been growing exponentially since the pandemic, and in the last six months, locals say things have gotten out of hand. 14 These kinds of scenes unfold every morning on the block. J.C. Rice Greenwich House has been around since the 1970s – it was one of the city's first methadone clinics. It pulls in close to $8 million a year in government funds – about a third of its budget – from both the city and state. Another large chunk comes from healthcare billing and Medicaid. The nonprofit was running on a $15 million budget until around 2021 — when lefty politicians like Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine and State Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal started backing it, appearing in glossy photo spreads in its annual reports. Advertisement 14 People were seen jabbing their necks, arms and legs. J.C. Rice From that time, the budget rose each year, financial statements show, doubling to almost $30 million by 2024. Greenwich House also gets money from the family of far-left billionaire Democratic donor George Soros, with son Jonathan Soros and wife Jennifer are listed among the top donors in the organization's latest annual report, giving $50,000 last year. The clinic claims it offers care 'through a harm-reduction framework, which means meeting people where they are on their journey to recover' – meaning not forcing them to quit until they decide they're ready. Advertisement 14 The clinic said it's not the problem. J.C. Rice 14 A man was hit by oncoming traffic on West Houston. J.C. Rice But the problem, critics say, is that's not how addiction works. 'The idea is that people should only seek treatment when they're ready. But most people addicted to drugs are addicted for their whole lives,' said Charles Fane Lehmann, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute. 'They often regard efforts to get people into treatment . . . as actively hostile to the interests of people who use drugs.' 14 Neighbors say things got worse in the last six months. J.C. Rice 14 Many head to the park on Mercer Street after the clinic. J.C. Rice A clinic spokeswoman contended 'it is a common and unfortunate misconception that the presence of a treatment center causes public disorder. We are not the source; we are part of the response apparatus.' Greenwich House's executive director, Darren Bloch, was senior advisor to former Mayor Bill de Blasio and director of the mayor's office of strategic partnership, before joining the organization in 2020. He made $230,000 in 2022, the last year for which Greenwich House made tax filings public. It was under de Blasio that the Big Apple heralded the opening of the nation's first two supervised injection sites in 2021, which progressive politicians promised would help address the surge in fatal overdoses across the city. 14 Children play in the same park on Mercer where much of this happens. Leonardo Munoz They have only continued to rise since. About 2,300 New Yorkers died of drug overdoses last year – almost three times more than a decade ago, according to data from the state's Health Department. Most – about 1,650 people – died from fentanyl or other synthetic opioids. In comparison, 372 died of heroin and 188 died of pills like oxycodone.
New York Post
24-06-2025
- New York Post
NYPD crackdown on seedy migrant ‘Market of Sweethearts' gets results — but sex workers still have tricks up sleeve
Cops have put a major dent in Queens' sleazy 'Market of Sweethearts' migrant sex-peddling strip, but officials admit there's more work to be done — given some illicit hookups are simply moving to nearby cars. Police said Tuesday that crime is down 28% so far this year along Roosevelt Avenue — where an open-air sex market has become the symbol of migrant crime in the Big Apple — thanks to stepped-up efforts from the NYPD to crack down on the seedy strip. Mayor Eric Adams said the enforcement effort — dubbed Operation Restore Roosevelt — along with the recent bust of members of the local 18th Street Gang that has a hand in the seedy operations has sent a message. Advertisement 5 City officials said stepped-up NYPD efforts have led to a 28% drop in crime along Queens' 'Market of Sweethearts.' J.C. Rice 'At the heart of it, what we talked about over and over again, [was] the participation of violent illegal migrants in our city, and one of them was the 18th Street gang,' the mayor said. 'We zeroed in on them, and we were successful in taking them down with our federal partners. 'We are going to collaborate with our federal partners when it deals with criminal encounters,' Adams said. 'And we're using every tool possible, and the numbers speak for themselves. We have a 28% drop in crime along Roosevelt Avenue year-to-date.' Advertisement But officials also acknowledged that some of the migrant sex trade has moved around the block, where women are now turning tricks inside parked cars to dodge New York's Finest. 'We didn't notice any activity until we got to around 90th street,' Deputy Mayor Kaz Daughtry said. 'But we have anticipated this. 5 How The Post told the story. 5 City officials acknowledge that a police crackdown on the migrant sex trade forced some of the seedy activity to simply relocate nearby. NY Post Advertisement 'We had tips coming in, and the tips were, when you guys are focusing on Roosevelt avenue, they are just going to go on the side blocks where the activity is just going to get pushed to the side blocks,' Daughtry said. 'The team was right on top of it. We anticipated that, and I just wanted to acknowledge what the commissioner was saying before and thank you to the commissioner for keeping her foot on the gas when it comes to Roosevelt Avenue.' The bustling Queens strip had been turned into a virtual red-light district, with sex workers walking the avenue in broad daylight, while drugs and stolen goods were also peddled out in the open. Since the start of the year, police reported 2,500 arrests, including nearly 400 tied to the sex trade, issued nearly 28,000 citations and confiscated 877 illegal scooters and mopeds on Roosevelt Avenue. Advertisement Cops have also inspected more than 900 vendors and confiscated 94 dangerous propane tanks. 5 The NYPD said its crackdown on the seedy strip is working. For the New York Post 5 The Roosevelt Avenue hot spot is plagued with issues. For the New York Post 'For too long, Roosevelt Avenue was overwhelmed by illegal activity — from prostitution to unlicensed vendors to violent gangs operating in plain sight,' NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in a statement. 'This isn't about quick fixes,' Tisch said. 'It's about long-term commitment, and the results speak for themselves.' In the latest blow to the migrant thugs, federal prosecutors last week unsealed an indictment against eight members of the 18th Street Gang, an offshoot of the notorious '54 Tiny Locos' that was heavily involved in drug, gun and prostitution activity along Roosevelt Avenue.
New York Post
07-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
These Broadway portraits were stolen from Sardi's restaurant
It's not easy being green. Of the nearly 1,000 celebrity caricatures on the walls of iconic theater-district institution Sardi's, the one pilfered the most, oddly, is Kermit the Frog. 'Kermit was stolen three times. And then we screwed him up to the wall,' Johnny Felidi, longtime maître d' at the 100-year-old eatery, told The Post ahead of Sunday's Tony Awards. Advertisement Another celebrity who had to be screwed at the beloved West 44th Street eatery: Barbra Streisand. After her original 1963 portrait was purloined, it took the 'Funny Girl' 55 years to agree to another caricature. 8 Kermit the Frog, who filmed a scene at Sardi's for 'The Muppets Take Manhattan,' had his caricature stolen three times. J.C. Rice Advertisement 'And you're gonna love what she wrote on it — 'Don't steal this one,'' said Felidi, who has worked at Sardi's for 26 years. 'Julie Andrews was another one that went missing for a long time and then it was allegedly found at an auction,' added receptionist Lydia DeLuca, who spent last summer updating the binder that lists every celeb's name and their location on three floors of the four-story restaurant. 8 Barbra Streisand also had her caricature taken off the wall, so she wrote 'Don't steal this one!' on her second portrait. Jeremy Wagner Bob Hope's was looted as well — and his thief, who was drinking at the bar, was captured on their security cameras. Advertisement 'So we got their credit card information, called them up . . . and of course they get belligerent. And we said, 'We don't want to have law enforcement involved, so just return the caricature.' And they did,' recalled Felidi, a native of Parma, Italy, who grew up in the Bronx. 8 Maître d Johnny Felidi has been at Sardi's for 26 years. J.C. Rice Due to all the star-snatching, the priceless portraits adorning the walls of Sardi's — where the idea for the Tonys was conceived over lunch — are now duplicates of the originals, which are stored in a safe. It wasn't until 1986, after the death of James Cagney, that founder Vincent Sardi decided to start using dupes. Advertisement 'The night he died, they stole his caricature, never to be seen again,' said Felidi. 8 George Clooney, who made his Broadway debut this year in 'Good Night, and Good Luck' had his Sardi's portrait unveiled in April. J.C. Rice The time-honored tradition started when Sardi hired Russian immigrant Alex Gard to create the portraits in the fledgling restaurant in exchange for meals in an attempt to 'drum up business.' Brooklyn native Richard Baratz, a former engraver for the treasury department, is now the artist behind the boldfaced names. 'That's why now you see tiny little lines in his work,' Felidi noted. 8 Denzel Washington, pictured here with his 'Othello' co-star Jake Gyllenhaal, had his Sardi's portrait revealed right before the Tony Awards. Getty Images This season, Baratz sketched the portraits of Broadway A-listers Nick Jonas, Jake Gyllenhaal, Denzel Washington and George Clooney — nominated for a Tony for his debut on the Great White Way in 'Good Night, and Good Luck.' Legendary composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, who has six Tonys and is nominated for another for 'Sunset Boulevard,' also went up this year, after a decade-long wait. Advertisement 'We've had his caricature ready and drawn. It was scheduling conflicts and so we never had our paths crossed enough to do it until recently,' DeLuca explained. 8 Sardi's receptionist Lydia DeLuca spent last summer updating the binder that contains every celeb's name and their portrait's location. J.C. Rice To make room for the newcomers, current owner Max Klimavicius chooses which ones to remove and puts them into their storage facility, which contains around 500 portraits. About 230 others have been donated to the New York Public Library. Many of the famous faces are purposefully placed — and celebrity couples such as Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson and Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward are nestled side by side. Advertisement 'We have Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster together — they're dating,' Felidi said of Broadway's newest it couple. 'When Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith got divorced, we separated them. We have Richard Burton up there, we have Liz Taylor down here so they don't fight.' When Tony Danza starred in 'Chicago,' he got his portrait done — but only agreed to it under one condition. 'He said, 'Please put me next to Sammy Davis Jr. And never take me away.'' Advertisement 8 Celebrity couples, like Sutton Foster and Hugh Jackman, are placed side by side. J.C. Rice Two former employees — who worked at Sardi's before they got famous — also had their images drawn. 'Martin Sheen worked here as a busboy in the 1960s,' Felidi said, pointing to the image of Sheen on the back wall of the first-floor dining room. However, Chevy Chase, who worked there as a doorman in the '70s, still hasn't gotten his hung. Advertisement 8 Sardi's, located at 234 West 44th Street, opened in 1927. J.C. Rice 'Every time he comes here he goes, 'Where's my caricature?' And I tell him, 'Chevy, it's in the office, we're waiting for you to sign it.' And he says, 'Okay, after I finish my meal, I'm gonna sign it.' And he always forgets.'
New York Post
24-05-2025
- Automotive
- New York Post
Parents demand city pull plug on EV charging station across from Brooklyn school
Brooklyn residents are urging the city to pump the breaks on a new electric vehicle charging station set to be built across from an elementary school, insisting possible health risks aren't worth the purported green benefits, The Post has learned. Plans for an EVgo charging station on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 92nd Street in Bay Ridge are cruising along thanks to new City of Yes zoning updates that make it easier to build green energy technology and bypass community board input. EVgo submitted plans to raze the former KFC located at the site, though construction permits had not been filed yet, Crain's New York reported last week. Advertisement Parents fear increased traffic and fires resulting from the new electric vehicle charging station. J.C. Rice Parents worry the charging station would bring more traffic to an already dangerous roads around PS/IS 104, expose kids to potential radiation and bring the risk of fires that are more intense and difficult to extinguish. 'This is not something that should be built across from a school with over 1,000 children,' John Ricottone, a parent and first vice president president of the Community Education Council for District 20, told The Post. Advertisement The ev charging facility was approved without input from the local community board thanks to new zoning rules. banphote – Ricottone is leading the charge calling for further safety evaluations of the site. 'Placing EV stations in such a high-traffic, accident-prone area—directly adjacent to an elementary school—is both reckless and dangerous,' he contended in a letter to the community, school staffers and city officials. There have several hit-and-run accidents and pedestrians hit by cars in the area in recent years, Ricottone said. Advertisement 'The safety of our children and the wellbeing of our community must take precedence over infrastructure that can—and should—be located in a safer, more appropriate location,' he wrote in the letter. The lot was purchased by the Los Angeles-based EV charging company in 2022 for $5.3 million, according to reports. EVgo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
New York Post
17-05-2025
- New York Post
Trio stabbed during knife fight at NYC bar, man arrested
One person was arrested after three men were slashed outside a Manhattan bar during a fight early Saturday, cops said. The fracas erupted around 3:30 a.m. after closing outside Sally's Bar on Lexington Avenue near East 29th Street in Kips Bay, police said. The victims were approached by a group of men who asked them if they had any drugs, a police source said. 3 The fight happened early Saturday outside Sally's Bar in Manhattan. J.C. Rice One of the men then pulled out a pocketknife and slashed the threesome, the source said. One victim, who was in his 30s, was cut in his abdomen, a 45-year-old was slashed on the shoulder and a 46-year-old was cut on his neck, cops said. They were taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition, cops said. Arlo Willner, 20, was arrested and charged with first-degree assault, two counts of second-degree assault and three counts of criminal possession of a weapon, police said. He has no prior arrests, a police source said 3 Possible blood on a sidewalk outside Sally's Bar on Lexington Avenue. J.C. Rice Matthew Adams, 49, a tattoo artist for 26 years who works in the neighborhood, said too many people are armed. 'It's a shame that people walk around with knives,' he said. 'He already has a stupid mentality. He's carrying a knife, he's looking for a fight.' The neighborhood is usually safe, he added. 3 The three men were slashed outside Sally's Bar, a neighborhood watering hole in Kips Bay. J.C. Rice 'But I'm a New Yorker,' he said. 'Anything can happen anywhere. It's very unfortunate this happened here because you have blood on the sidewalk of a nice neighborhood.' Rachelle Loyear, 50, who works in the security industry and has been living in the neighborhood for 10 years, said she was 'shocked' by the incident. 'I would absolutely walk up and down the street at 2 o'clock in the morning and feel perfectly safe,' she said, adding she may now change her ways. 'I may choose not to do that.'
