James Keivom
The people of The Bronx have long been sounding the alarm about open-air drug markets in the Hub of the South Bronx, only to see our concerns fall largely on deaf ears.
If I were elected governor of New York, on Day 1, I would direct the State Police to partner with the NYPD to dismantle every open-air drug market in the city.
It would send a message that New York is no longer in the business of accepting the unacceptable.
An open-air drug market is more than a broken window.
It is a window into a broken system that is fundamentally failing the people of New York where it matters most: on the core government functions of public safety and public health.
There is nothing compassionate or progressive about allowing those with severe mental illness and chemical addiction to languish on the streets of New York, posing a threat not only to themselves but also to those around them.
Tolerance for open-air drug markets is cruelty cloaked as compassion.
Gov. Hochul would never tolerate an open-air drug market outside of the governor’s mansion.
Mayor Adams would never tolerate an open-air drug market outside of Gracie Mansion.
Why should the people of the South Bronx be forced to see drug addicts injecting 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 in City Hall and in Albany, the people of The Bronx are nonetheless entitled to the same standard of public safety and quality of life as everyone else.
No longer should the political establishment expect us to simply shut up and accept open-air drug dealing as a new normal.
Tone-deaf gov
It is no secret that we are governed by political insiders who are quick to congratulate themselves but slow to admit failure and learn from it.
Exhibit A is Governor Hochul, who went on a victory lap — boasting that “crime is down” and the “subway is safe” — on the same day that a woman was burned alive in Brooklyn and two men were stabbed in Queens.
The tone-deafness of Governor Hochul, who governs like a deer in headlights, is as staggering as the broken system she inherited but has neither the wherewithal nor the will to fix.
The governor is not leading New York. She is simply managing its decline and calling it a success.
The Governor’sHer self-serving declarations of mission accomplished are fooling no one because the reality of rising costs and declining quality of life and public safety is staring us all in the face.
New Yorkers deserve better than what a broken system can deliver.
We need a return to the basics of affordability, public safety, and quality of life, which begins with an end to open-air drug markets in America’s largest city.
Ritchie Torres is the Democratic US representative for New York’s 15th Congressional District.