Loose syringes and other discarded drugs hurt straying pets in NYC’s Tompkins Square Park
Many dogs looking for a nice walk with their owners in Tompkins Square Park have suffered the effects of different types of drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, and some have even been pricked with hypodermic needles. due to the amount of drugs that are thrown away in green spaces due to the unrestrained use of some people, the owners of the dogs denounced in a New York Post report.
“I was so mad, all I did was take her to the park”said Fiorella Garcia, 26, who has had to deal with how her dog tested positive for cocaine and THC after running on the grassy knoll in the park over the summer. “He is a puppy. You don’t know what he’s getting himself into.”
For his part, Benton McClintock, 25, reported that his dog, which is a cross between a cavalier spaniel and a bichon, named Rusti, was repeatedly punctured with drugs that were thrown on the ground. He recounted that two weeks ago his dog stepped on a discarded needle near East 9th Street and Avenue A, just a few months after he was pricked with a syringe that was left near the park’s East 7th Street and Avuene A entrances.
However, cats have also been victims of rampant drug use in the park and the recklessness of leaving them lying around. At least one cat has been reported to have suffered a needle stick in recent months.noted New York Post.
A witness named Gloria Martínez, 28, recounted how the owner of a feline cursed and got angry after her cat stepped on a syringe.
“(The cat’s owner) was swearing. He was like ‘What the hell you dirty motherfuckers are always doing stuff in the paeque’said Martínez, who added that a group of drug addicts who were nearby moved away.
Residents have assured that Tompkins Square Park has had a reputation for this type of situation, with isolated cases of dogs being pricked. However, the increase in drugs strewn across the park’s green areas has seen an increase since the end of the pandemic, according to residents, following a wave of new laws seeking to reduce opioid use.
Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation in October 2021 decriminalizing the possession and sale of hypodermic needles and removing the limit on the number of syringes that medical facilities can provide. Also, the New York police implemented an order to officers not to handcuff addicts who take drugs in public.
The Sanitation Department’s syringe collection unit said it collected as many as 69,692 discarded or discarded needles in New York City’s five boroughs in fiscal year 2022, being more than double the 32,252 needles collected in the same period last year.
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