The city Sanitation Department collected over 90,000 needles from public spaces in the last fiscal year — a 30% surge over the previous 12 months, according to the mayor’s report card.
From July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023, the agency’s needle collectors picked up a staggering 90,861 spent sharps, a sizable jump from the 69,692 needles cleared in the previous fiscal year ending June 30, 2022 — and nearly triple the 32,520 removed the year before.
Critics are pinning the spike in dropped needles on left-wing drug policies and programs approved by city and state, including decriminalizing the sale and possession of syringes and even paying addicts for their spent sharps.
“As overdoses surge in the city and our drug laws remain weak, the consequences are hitting us hard,” said City Councilman Robert Holden (D-Queens).
“The men and women of Sanitation face a significant increase in the number of syringes on our streets, putting themselves in harm’s way to clean up the mess the government has created.”
The city Health Department reported a record-breaking 3,026 people died from drug overdoses last year, the vast majority due to the deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl.
“Continued year over year growth is a product of Mayor Adams’ commitment to cleaning up the streets,” Sanitation spokesman Joshua Goodman told The Post of the collected syringes. “Collecting and disposing of needles hadn’t been prioritized before. Now, we are getting the job done.”