Officials have quietly decided to make the controversial program permanent, but many residents are only now discovering exactly what people are being paid to bring in. Supporters say it’s designed to improve public safety, while critics argue it could send the wrong message and encourage the very problem it’s meant to address.
The Mamdani administration has quietly made permanent a controversial pilot program that pays junkies cash for turning in used needles — a move critics contend will only encourage illegal drug use. The city’s massive $126 billion budget for the new fiscal year that began July 1 includes $3 million to retain the Health Department’s Community Syringe Redemption Program, which … Read more