NYC needle exchange outside childrens library has locals raging: The whole street is infested

They say the city is sticking it to them.A city-sponsored needle exchange program outside a children’s library in the Bronx is drawing heat from one Big Apple pol — and a slew of local residents taking a jab at the “unacceptable” location.“The whole street is infested,” local resident John Martinez told The Post.

“There is kids around.I’ve seen them shooting up out in the open.

One guy putting the syringe to another guy.It’s a major disturbance.”Another neighbor said it’s gotten to the point where you have to watch where you walk.

“I’m seeing a lot of needles.They do it and they just leave it there,” said Patricia Flores, a local pharmacy clerk walking by the Bronx Library Center on Kingsbridge Road with her 8-year-old daughter.

“You got to watch where you’re stepping.It’s crazy,” Flores said.

“I would love to see them out of here and have them do it somewhere else.It would be a good thing if they could place it in some different area.

Especially not in front of a library.We go to the library all the time.”Bronx Councilman Oswald Feliz blew the whistle on the needle exchange site earlier this month in a letter to the city Health Department, saying his constituents were “frustrated and outraged” by it.“The syringe distribution program in front of the children’s library has created unsafeconditions, including illicit drug use and the discarding of used syringes in the library’srestrooms,” Feliz wrote in the Dec.

3 letter“In some instances, individuals under the influence have displayed erratic behavior inside the library, leaving visitors shaken,” he added.“The distribution of needles in front of a children’s library is outrageous, irresponsible, and difficult to comprehend, especially when coming from health professionals, and from an administration who says safety is a top priority.”Felix, like the neighborhood residents interviewed by The Post, said they largely understand the practice of supplyi...