(NewsNation) — Manhattan’s top federal prosecutor hinted to The New York Times his office could potentially crack down on the city’s two supervised injection sites in a statement Monday night.
Overdose prevention centers, run by OnPointNYC, were authorized by New York City Hall in 2021. The group uses a method called supervised consumption, according to The Times, which allows people to use illicit drugs at special centers and nonprofit workers can intervene if something goes wrong.
The Times reported people bring their own drugs at these centers, and when they come in, they sign in and write down what they’ll be using.
To the newspaper, Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said that until state policymakers take action to authorize these supervised consumption sites, they are operating in violation of federal, state and local law.
“That is unacceptable,” he added. “My office is prepared to exercise all options — including enforcement — if this situation does not change in short order.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office did not immediately clarify what options are being considered to the newspaper.
A phone call by NewsNation to the U.S. Attorney’s Office was not immediately returned.
Federal law prohibits people from maintaining a “drug-involved premises” where illicit substances are consumed.
As The Times points out, OnPoint’s sites have been able to operate for 21 months with the knowledge of local leaders. The organization’s employees say the sites do a lot of good and even save lives.
OnPoint says it’s reversed over 1,000 overdoses. They intervene quickly, so staff members can handle most overdoses by administering oxygen. If the drug that reverses the effects of opioids, called Naloxone, is used, it’s typically in a small dose.
“It is really frustrating that a health issue has become a political issue,” Sam Rivera, the executive director of OnPoint NYC, told The Times. “What we know is no one ever has to die again of an overdose, ever. They’re preventable.”
Rivera added that he welcomes a conversation with officials, and mentioned that his organization has a relationship with city police which “highlights the effectiveness of responding to this crisis with love and care, rather than enforcement.”
Aaron, a 55-year-old recovering from addiction, said in The New York Post that the sites are a “safe haven.”
“For someone to want to take it away is foolish,” he said. “This place is helping people in many ways with meals, clean needles … they even teach you how to use Narcan if someone needs.”
Earlier this year, the U.S. government announced for the first time, it is paying for a large study measuring whether overdoses can be prevented by these supervised injection sites. A federal grant of more than $5 million over four years was given to New York University and Brown University to study two sites in New York City, and one in Providence, Rhode Island, is set to open next year.
NewsNation local affiliate PIX11 previously reported Mayor Eric Adams has pushed for more sites as part of his strategy to reduce overdose deaths by 15% by 2025. Under a plan unveiled in March, Adams said he’d like to see New York City have a total of five overdose prevention centers open in the next couple of years, with more in areas with the highest overdose deaths.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.