NYC is known for their popular destinations like the Statue of Liberty, or the Empire State Building, or even Central Park. But what many tourists don’t know is that NYC is full of drug addicts. iSchool freshman Theresa said, “I’ve seen crackheads a million times everyday. Like on the train, on the street, everyday.” This is obviously a concerning response but not surprising because when asked to Shanyn, Amanda and Mira, three other iSchool freshmans, they made similar remarks, in the train, outside, everywhere.
The drug epidemic in not only America, but in NYC is continuously rising and causing crime to rise. It’s important to not only be alert but to also know what to do in different situations because YOU can possibly be in harm’s way if something dangerous does happen. Drugs are causing a very high rise in NYC crimes, and it’s causing many instances in which someone gets hurt, harmed, or even killed.
According to Mike Bloomberg, “In 2013, NYC was the safest big city in the country, with crime down more than 32% since 2001.” This is a surprising amount since many people recount seeing drug attics attacking innocent NYC citizens.
So, are drugs affecting the crime rate in NYC?
On September 15, 2023, a 1 year old died and 3 other children of ages 2-8 months old were hospitalized after a children’s daycare in the Bronx was found to be secretly hiding fentanyl under their floor in a Bronx basement. This situation caused many people to become concerned about the safety of their kids and if they are really even being taken care of. One person, interviewed by the New York Post said, “It’s a legit day care. It’s brand new. Just a few kids, mostly babies. They’re such decent people,” another said, “I watched them fix the whole place up. It was beautiful, all according to city code. If I had a baby, I would send it there.”
Many people don’t understand the dangers of drugs and what they can do to your body even if you ingest the smallest amount. After that incident, both owners of the daycare, Felix Herrera-Garcia and Grei Mendez, were arrested, and Felix Herrera-Garcia was sentenced 45 years in prison while Grei Mendez was sentenced 20 years minimum to life in prison.
Another similar incident happened in the Bronx where a baby was found dead from consuming cocaine. On August 10 of 2024, 4-month old Ariel Gonzales was found dead. At first, EMS workers couldn’t find the cause of the child’s death, but after an autopsy, it was revealed that he died from an acute intoxication. As of December of 2024, no arrest had been made.
Although many of the cases shown were of minors, they aren’t the only ones that have been killed by drugs. In the OSAS (Office of Addiction Service and Supports) addiction data bulletin, it shows that in 2022 the amount of deaths by overdose in the Bronx was 453, Brooklyn was 359, Manhattan was 242, and Queens was 242. Out of all the boroughs in New York City, Bronx had the highest deaths of drug overdose caused by cocaine.
This is an alarmingly high number since according to the National Library of Medicine, “Better than one third (35 per cent) report the use of one or more illegal drugs. The illicit drugs most frequently used are marijuana (29 per cent) and hashish (21 per cent). About one in eight adolescents have used pills such as amphetamines and barbiturates, and about one in 12 have tried LSD or other psychedelics.”
A big case that was getting widespread attention across the US was the case of a sleeping woman who was burned alive in the Brooklyn subway. At 7:30 am, it was reported that a woman sleeping inside the F train in the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station was set on fire by an unknown person.
Right afterward, a video of a Guatemalan immigrant surfaced where he was seen lighting the woman up then immediately getting out the train and watching the woman burn from the benches. Nobody knew who he was until, it was later stated that the man, Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, was an illegal immigrant that had already crossed the border in 2018, got caught and sent back home, but later returned again.
Many people were trying to find the reason behind why he did what he did because it was obviously a horrifying crime to commit. The New York Post interviewed Sebastian Zapeta’s roommate, Raymont Robinson at the Samaritan Village Forbell Men’s Shelter, where he stated that “He smoked K2, drank and bugged out, he would bug out and talk to himself when he was high, but he never harmed nobody or himself. When he wasn’t high he’d talk like we’re talking regular.”
When Sebastian Zapeta-Calil was interviewed, he said he did not remember anything at all and was heavily drunk at the time. It was later discovered on January 1st, that the woman could not be identified because of all the severe burns she went through, but after using her fingerprints, she was eventually identified as Debrina Kawam, who was 57 years old at the time of her murder. Many were shocked since they remembered her as a bright and joyful person according to the New York Post, but said that she had gone through hard times and eventually ended up homeless. According to CNN, he pleaded not guilty to first and second degree murder and arson.
Students at the NYC iSchool also made remarks about drugs being an arising issue in NYC schools too. Freshman Amanda said, “I think [a drug addiction] starts from peer pressure and also from seeing it in school or in places you’re familiar with.”
Another freshman, Mira, said, “I think it could either start from your friends giving it to you, or maybe like your family, like if your family does drugs then maybe you can start doing it.”
It’s clear that there were many instances where many different students at there NYC iSchool were in a space where certain individuals were on drugs. I asked iSchool freshman Theresa if she thinks that drugs are causing the crime rate in NYC to rise and she said, “Yes. Because when they are on drugs their mind is weird and they want to do something different like for instance, steal a car.”
Mira also said something similar, “Probably because when you’re on drugs you dont think clearly so you do stuff that you don’t normally [commit] crimes.”
Amanda said, “Yes I do think that drugs have caused the crime to rise because drugs are pretty normalized in NYC and the only people i’ve seen so far that used them, also committed crimes”.
But, an important question to ask is, what is causing these violent outbreaks?
- Homelessness
One major factor that caused the rise of violence in NYC was the increase of homelessness in 2024. According to the New York Post, “New York faced a whopping 53% spike in homelessness last year — marking the highest per capita rate in the nation — thanks largely to the influx of migrants housed in Big Apple shelters, according to the feds”. Obviously homelessness was not the main cause of violence, but it was a huge factor because of all the cases that had to do with a homeless person.
According to the Homeless Shelter Arrest Data, as of the third quarter of 2024, there were 126 felonies, and 242 misdemeanors citywide, including Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island.
- Accessibility of Drugs
Another factor is the availability of being able to buy drugs. What many people don’t know is that buying drugs in NYC is not only easy, but very common. It’s obviously not seen everywhere everyday, but if you pay really close attention to what’s going on around you, it is possible to see some action. Some of the most well known drugs are heroin, cocaine, fentanyl and marijuana. Marijuana is the second most commonly used drug according to NYC Health. Synthetic marihuana, otherwise known as K2, is known to cause hallucinations, severe agitation, increased respiration rate, panic attacks, dilated pupils, etc.
- Addiction
Addiction is one of the most important factors of violence in NYC. This is because as freshman Theresa said, many people can commit crimes when they are under the influence. What many people don’t know is that when an addiction starts, it gets difficult to stop. There are many situations in which people will be willing to take risks and extreme measures to get what they want, for example, drugs.
Violence does not only mean hurting others but also hurting businesses and/or places.
According to the Rockefeller Institute of Government, “Deaths from drug overdoses and chronic drug abuse in New York have increased 71 percent between 2010 and 2015.” and “The death rate from drugs in New York was 9.1 per every 100,000 people in 2010. In 2015, the rate was 15.2 per every 100,000 people.”. This is a significant amount of increase because first of all, drugs are bad, and second of all the numbers are going higher and higher.
- Leniency
Although cannabis (marijuana) is bad for you, according to “substance abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, it can affect how you act (if you use it daily), marijuana is legal in NYC.
But according to NYC.gov, “Adults age 21 and older may have and share (but not sell) up to 3 ounces of cannabis flower or bud, and up to 24 grams of concentrated cannabis such as oils or vapes” and “Adults age 21 and older may smoke or vape cannabis in most places where tobacco smoking is permitted.”
However the article, “NYC Marijuana Possession Arrests Skyrocket, Illustrate NYPD Racial Bias” by “The New York Civil Liberties Union”, “The majority of the nearly 400,000 people arrested for possessing marijuana were not carrying or smoking the drug in public. Most people simply had a small amount of marijuana in their possession, usually concealed in a pocket or backpack.” The article also provides a statistical graph, “Marijuana Possession Arrests In New York City in Three Decades”, that shows that in the years 1777 – 1986 the amount of marijuana possession arrests was 33,000, between 1987 – 1996 it was 30,000 and lastly for 1997 – 2006 it was 353,000.
As crime is increasing, hopefully you become not only aware, but informed about what’s going on around you. There have been many incidents in NYC where people have been getting hurt, harmed or even killed. It’s important to also stay away from drugs/substances because it can lead to even worse problems and consequences.