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Neighbors upset with New York City bookstore for giving out Narcan kits
NEW YORK — An East Village bookstore is facing eviction.
The notice from the landlord cites one of the reasons being that they are administering Narcan. The state has authorized the shop to do so, but some neighbors told CBS New York on Tuesday it’s hurting the community.
Nearly 1,000 naloxone — also known as Narcan — kits have been given out since 2021 at the Bluestockings Cooperative Bookstore, according to the state Department of Health.
The store also offers free 15-minute trainings, and hands out personal hygiene products, food and water.
Raquel Espasande, owner-worker of Bluestockings Cooperative Bookstore, said they and other owner-workers have saved others several times.
“We keep us safe and we protect each other,” Espasande said.
Back in August, the Suffolk Street shop got a surprise visit from the Department of Health following complaints from the community. Neighbors say the opioid overdose prevention program has prompted people struggling with drug addiction to congregate there 24/7, adding it has led to defecation on the streets, noise and violence.
“They give them those drugs and no sooner do they take them the drug traffickers are on them selling them drugs,” East Village resident Maddine Insalaco said.
Neighbors told CBS New York they have called 911 and 311 many times.
READ MORE: New legislation aims to protect children in New York from opioid exposure
The Department of Health found the Narcan program is “not causing quality-of-life issues” and that the area “has been a drug distribution and purchase hub for many decades.”
Some long-time residents disagree.
“This is an extraordinarily complex problem and they are farming out a solution to bookstores that have no qualification,” Insalaco said.
The landlord recently sent an eviction notice citing the store for violating its lease, in part, by “distributing free food, encouraging crowds to congregate,” which has lead to “unknown third parties are harassing tenants, engaging in fights.”
It also said the “unauthorized use of the premises as a ‘medical facility’ has also created a nuisance.”
“We are not doing anything that actually violates our lease,” Espasande said. “One of our greatest assets is we are a space where everyone can feel safe.”
The landlord did not get back to CBS New York, but his lawyer and the store owners both said they are trying to avoid court action.
CBS New York asked the Department of Health what its response was to neighbors’ requests for a longer-term solution. A spokesperson did not answer that question, but said, in part, that opioid overdoses are a public health crisis and programs like these are “a cornerstone response to reducing overdose deaths.”
NEW YORK — Former New York Gov. David Paterson and his stepson were attacked in New York City on Friday night, authorities said.
The incident occurred just before 9 p.m. on Second Avenue near East 96th Street on the Upper East Side, according to the New York City Police Department.
Police said officers were sent to the scene after an assault was reported. When officers arrived, police say they found a 20-year-old man suffering from facial injuries and a 70-year-old man who had head pain. Both victims were taken to a local hospital in stable condition.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the former governor said the two were attacked while “taking a walk around the block near their home by some individuals that had a previous interaction with his stepson.”
The spokesperson said that they were injured “but were able to fight off their attackers.”
Both were taken to Cornell Hospital “as a precaution,” he added.
Police said no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
The 70-year-old Paterson, a Democrat, served as governor from 2008 to 2010, stepping into the post after the resignation of Eliot Spitzer following his prostitution scandal. He made history at the time as the state’s first-ever Black and legally blind governor.
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A 17-year-old boy was critically injured and a person is in custody after a gunman opened fire on a SEPTA bus in North Philadelphia Friday evening, police said.
At around 6:15 p.m., Philadelphia police were notified about a shooting on a SEPTA bus traveling on Allegheny Avenue near 3rd and 4th streets in North Philadelphia, Inspector D F Pace told CBS News Philadelphia.
There were an estimated 30 people on the bus at the time of the shooting, Pace said, but only the 17-year-old boy was believed to have been shot. Investigators said they believe it was a targeted attack on the teenager and that he was shot in the back of the bus at close range.
According to Pace, the SEPTA bus driver alerted a control center about the shooting, which then relayed the message to Philadelphia police, who responded to the scene shortly.
Officers arrived at the scene and found at least one spent shell casing and blood on the bus, but no shooting victim, Pace said. Investigators later discovered the 17-year-old had been taken to Temple University Hospital where he is said to be in critical condition, according to police.
CBS Philadelphia
Through their preliminary investigation, police learned those involved in the SEPTA shooting may have fled in a silver-colored Kia.
Authorities then found a car matching the description of the Kia speeding in the area and a pursuit began, Pace said. Police got help from a PPD helicopter as they followed the Kia, which ended up crashing at 5th and Greenwood streets in East Mount Airy. Pace said the Kia crashed into a parked car.
The driver of the crashed car ran away but police were still able to take them into custody, Pace said.
Investigators believe there was a second person involved in the shooting who ran from the car before it crashed. Police said they believe this person escaped near Allegheny Avenue and 4th Street, leaving a coat behind.
According to Pace, police also found a gun and a group of spent shell casings believed to be involved in the shooting in the same area.
“It’s very possible that there may have been a shooting inside the bus and also shots fired from outside of the bus toward the bus,” Pace said, “We’re still trying to piece all that together at this time.”
This is an active investigation and police are reviewing surveillance footage from the SEPTA bus.