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Transit Lines are Life Blood
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- SERVING LONG ISLAND CITY, MASPETH, SUNNYSIDE AND WOODSIDE -

Major Issues for District 26




Fighting AIDS with Needle Exchanges

March 25, 2005

By Gary Pang

On a deserted street under the Queensboro Bridge, a flyer on a wall advertises free, sterile syringes, “and a hot cup of coffee, someone to talk to. We won’t judge you,” it said. Of the ten paper slips printed with the address and phone number for the AIDS Center of Queens County, Long Island City branch, three had been taken.

Ten blocks away, at 42-57 Hunter Street – the address on the flyer –a windowless building, with no signs or flyers displayed, houses New York City’s first new syringe exchange program in 10 years and Queens’ first ever.

Long Island City has the borough’s highest drug usage, according to the center, and 12 percent of its AIDS cases. While many streets in this industrial area are empty during daytime, prostitutes and the area’s large number of homeless people walk beneath Queensboro Bridge and beside industrial buildings at night. Many are chronic drug users, and the vibrant drug trade keeps a variety available. The users often share the syringes they use to inject intravenous drug, presenting a major risk for the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

A syringe exchange is the first step in preventing this, said Philip Glotzer, the center’s executive director. “A syringe-exchange stops blood-borne diseases such as HIV and Hepatitis C, which kill many intravenous drug users,” he said.

According to the city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, New York City has the highest number of intravenous drug users in America. About 24 percent of all New Yorkers living with HIV or AIDS in March 2004 were intravenous drug users.

To stop the spread of HIV, in March 2004, City Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden proposed parking a mobile van offering needle exchanges across the street from Queensbridge Houses, the biggest public housing complex in New York City. Councilmember Eric Gioia and local civic groups opposed its location. They said they supported syringe exchanges but resented not being told that one was coming to their neighborhood until the night the local community board was scheduled to vote on it.

The board voted unanimously for the syringe exchange program after Borough President Helen Marshall helped both sides reach a compromise. Instead of the van, the syringe exchange would be inside the Hunter Street office.

“Many people think that a syringe-exchange program supports drug use,” said Glotzer. “We’re not condoning use of drugs; we’re just dealing with an existing problem.” He said most drug users will not travel more than 10 blocks to reach a syringe exchange.

The program now opens every Tuesday and Friday from 6 to 10 p.m. Field workers from the center go onto Queensboro Bridge, into local subway stations, and to other places where people might be using drugs.

The center also offers to help drug users with their health needs. “If they don’t have a medical provider, we can connect them with one,” said Rosemary Lopez, associate director of the center. “If they have mental issues, we can get them to talk to a psychologist. If they are homeless, we can help them find housing.”

So far, 20 clients have enrolled in the exchange program.

Glotzer says that, in dollars and cents alone, a syringe exchange program is very cost-effective. The center spends $241,000 every year to run its five offices throughout the borough, said Glotzer, but it costs $150,000 to provide life-long medical care for just one person infected with HIV. Preventing two cases alone, he said, would save a lot of money.

Many New York City and state officials support syringe-exchange programs, including Borough President Marshall, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and Health Commissioner Frieden. But syringe exchanges are nationally controversial. The Bush administration advocates abstinence and does not endorse or fund syringe exchange programs.

“The federal administration is divorced from reality,” said Glotzer. “If you’re not dealing with sex and drugs, then you won’t eliminate AIDS.”



Engine 261: A Small Victory in Long Island City

August 8, 2003

By Sarah P. Lustbader

When the Engine Company 261 was shut down after more than a century in operation, residents of Long Island City were irate. The closing of 261 was not only unfair, they thought, it was probably illegal. And so they not only responded with protests and rallies, they also were party to a lawsuit. A month later, a judge ruled that the closing was in fact illegal. But there were few great leaps of joy from the people of Long Island City.

In his decision, Justice James G. Starkey of the State Supreme Court in Brooklyn upheld Mayor Michael Bloomberg's five other firehouse closings (see related story), but ruled that the city acted illegally in closing Engine 261 by failing to notify the community board of Roosevelt Island, serviced by 261, as required by the New York City Charter. But the judge did not dispute the rationale or safety of the closing, and he did not order the company reopened, at least for the time being. A hearing is being scheduled to reach a final decision on 261's future.

"Unless the judge orders them to reopen the firehouse and give proper notice, this is absolutely nothing more than a paper victory," Stephen Cassidy, president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association, the union for New York City firefighters, told the New York Times.

But, Councilmember Eric Gioia, who represents Long Island City and is one of the petitioners in the case, said he was elated by the decision. While he acknowledged its limitations, Gioia said, "The real hope is that the mayor finally comes to his senses and reopens the firehouse." And Jerry Walsh, president of the Dutch Kills Civic Association, the area of Long Island City where 261 was located, characterized the ruling as, "a step in the right direction."

Most of the firefighters and community members do not share his optimism. For them, the battle was lost in May, when the engine was officially closed in spite of protests. According to figures released by the Fire Department on August 7, the average response time since the closing has actually decreased 4 seconds in the area, although it remains 23 seconds slower than the citywide average.

Those losing their firehouse live in the Ravenswood and Long Island City areas of Queens and Roosevelt Island. They focus on the loss of a longstanding neighborhood institution and on what they believe is compromised public safety.

Last year, Engine 261 made a total of 2,135 runs, below average. But many critics of the closing are troubled because Roosevelt Island, with the highest percentage of elderly and disabled in New York City, has no firehouse of its own. The chair of Community Board 8, Chuck Warren, said that because Roosevelt Island is fairly isolated, residents fear they might not receive adequate coverage. "There were a lot of people who came to protest the closing at the board meeting," he said.

Firefighter Steven Cycan said, "Hundreds of people were at the rallies. After 109 years of existence and despite the public outcry, [the company] was still closed."

The firehouse remains open, housing Ladder 116. According to Cycan, those firefighters will respond to emergencies in Long Island City but they will have to wait for an engine company that carries or can pump water, thereby endangering their own lives. "I'm afraid it's only a matter of time before someone gets hurt," Cycan says.

Residents of the predominantly one-family homes of Long Island City know their neighbors, and their firefighters. A group of men chatting in a grocery store agreed that the firehouse was already missed. "Everyone around here feels strongly,” Jose Hane said.

Guy Vaccaro, who works at Twin Pizza, has lived in the neighborhood his entire life. He said that the community relied on the fire department for everything. "They were always the first ones there, way before the police and the ambulance," he said.

Vaccaro has also witnessed several non-fire emergencies -- including a friend's stroke and two car accidents –- to which the fire department responded first. And he said the fire team had once even helped his son retrieve a toy helicopter stuck in a tree. "It's a big loss for us," he said.

For a look at the city-wide issue of firehouse closings, see Gotham Gazette's Issue of the Week, Firehouses.






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ALL DISTRICT 26 MAJOR ISSUES
Fighting AIDS with Needle Exchanges
(Mar 25, 2005)

Engine 261: A Small Victory in Long Island City
(Aug 08, 2003)

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