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Q&A
Council member inquires about syringe exchange programs and litter issues
1:39:32
·
94 sec
Council Member Oswald Feliz raises concerns about syringe exchange programs and the problem of syringe litter in his district. He acknowledges the importance of these programs but emphasizes the need for proper implementation to address community concerns.
- Feliz highlights the issue of syringe litter in parks, making them unusable for the community
- He asks about the number of Syringe Service Providers (SSPs) and the approximate number of syringes provided
- Health department officials acknowledge the importance of safe public spaces and introduce the community syringe redemption program
Oswald Feliz
1:39:32
Thank you chairs Brandon and Lee for this hearing, and also thank you DOH for all the work that you do on the issue of health.
1:39:38
I have a few questions about syringe exchange programs.
1:39:42
These programs, we know, are lifesaving.
1:39:44
They help ensure that individuals with drug addiction challenges have what they need, including clean and safe syringes.
1:39:51
These programs are lifesaving.
1:39:53
But we have to make sure that we implement them properly as with every other issue.
1:39:57
As council member, has been in this position for four years, the number one issue that I've heard as council member in my district is about syringe litter, including inside our parks.
1:40:08
In some cases, making our parks basically unusable, depriving an entire community of their local park given that there's used syringes in literally every single part of our parks in some of our parks.
1:40:22
I'm thankful that the buyback program has finally been implemented.
1:40:25
My understanding is that it was supposed to be implemented about two years ago, but we got there finally.
1:40:30
Very important step to help resolve the issue related to a syringe litter.
1:40:34
So a few questions on that and general SSPs.
1:40:38
How many SSPs do we have under the DOH, and approximately how many syringes are provided under the city the DOH syringe service provider programs?
Michelle Morse
1:40:47
Thank you for that question.
1:40:49
We also agree with you that it is incredibly important that all of our public spaces are safe and that New Yorkers who are using those public spaces are protected from any type of litter, particularly syringe litter.
1:41:04
So we certainly see the concern.