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Police Arrest 10 Alleged Drug Dealers, 2 Users In Union Square's 'Methadone Alley'
By
Garth Johnston
Published May 10, 2012
Modified May 10, 2012
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By
Garth Johnston
Published May 10, 2012
Modified May 10, 2012
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The problem with cracking down on drug addicts is that once you stop, they just come back. Take, for example, the so-called "Methadone Alley" on the east side of Union Square. Last year, after concerns arose the area was going back to the bad old days, the NYPD came in and cracked down on the drug users who had settled there. Good, right? But twelve months later grim scene was back and so, on Tuesday, the NYPD had to go back in for another taste. They walked out with 12 people in cuffs and a whole lotta pills, A Walk In The Park reports.
According to the police, the bust occurred after "complaints from the community" and led to the arrest of 10 alleged drug peddlers as well as two people carrying. In the sweep they picked up 160 pills, including Xanax and Klonopin, as well as two bags of heroin. For what it is worth, according to the police, a number of those taken into custody had prior arrests. Really though, considering the incredible police presence around the park due to OWS activities, it is pretty impressive that it took so long for the boys in blue to notice the drugs had come back (since it was pretty obvious to anyone with eyes). For better or worse, perhaps when the long-gestating and hotly contested Union Square north restaurant finally opens security will pay more consistent and warranted attention to that corner of the park?
What this story really does, however, is remind us of The Daily Show's spectacular takedown of the smoking ban on parks, in which Samanatha Bee visited Methadone Alley for its resident's opinion. Go rewatch it for yourself, or just enjoy Bee's still-classic response to the strip: "You know what else inhibits my enjoyment of the park? This giant undulating pile of human sorrow. I have to go home at the end of being in this park and scrub myself with a metal barbecue brush just to get all the sadness off."
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drugs
manhattan
methadone alley
nypd
union square
Garth Johnston
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