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Hypodermic Needles Poking People on Staten Island
By
Jen Chung
Published Jun 4, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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By
Jen Chung
Published Jun 4, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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It's a flashback to all the stories of hypodermic needles washing up on shores: Over the weekend, a 7-year-old girl was jabbed by an old needle on Staten Island's South Beach. The previous week, a woman at S.I.'s Midland Beach was jabbed by a needle when she was sitting on a sheet.
Little Sayyidah Johnson told WABC 7 what happened: "I was playing with my buckets, scooping up sand and making sand castles. I put my thumb down and I felt a point." Eek! She went to the hospital, where doctors gave her antibiotics but did not test her blood, because the needle (reportedly "caked with dried blood" per the Advance) was "too old to carry any pathogens." The Midland Beach needle victim, Filomena Rago, is awaiting her blood test results.
The Parks Department told WABC 7 that two needles on Staten Islands beaches was a "very unusual occurrence" and recommends that beachgoers call 311 to report it. Still, Sayyidah's mother said, "They need to do something about cleaning the beaches."
Tagged
beaches
hospital
News: NYC
parks
parks department
south beach
staten island
The Parks Department
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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