THE BRONX (PIX11) -- Whether they’re taking a discreet look out of the window or a quick peek out of the peephole into the hallway, Justin and Larnese Gourdine are constantly on alert in their Bronx neighborhood.
They’re also doing their best to provide a safe upbringing for their children – despite what illegal drug activity may be happening right down the block.
“We definitely need more support from our local officials to really walk around this community and see what the residents experience. There’s so many messages about the fentanyl crisis. We see the commercials. But what exactly are you guys doing about it,” said Larnese.
PIX11 News recently asked New York City Mayor Eric Adams to meet us on Larnese and Justin’s block for a frank discussion about his constituents who live in fear of the fentanyl crisis, especially in the face of a city budget crunch that could one day limit law enforcement’s reach into neighborhoods just like this.
“If there ever there was a terminology, ‘see something, say something, do something’ – this is it. if you see suspicious behavior in your building, or if you see a white powdery substance, you need to notify the police department, and you should, unfortunately, give your children information about – ‘hey Johnny, and you’re at the daycare center, and you see some powdery substance, let me know about it.’ So we have to do a whole new level of instruction for our children that is really an indictment on our society. But we have to be real about what our children are facing,” said Adams.
A few floors down from the Gourdine’s apartment, where we met the Mayor…the now locked sidewalk entrance of the daycare facility was busted in September for doubling as a hidden fentanyl operation – complete with a trap door to hide the drugs.
“Even walking out with our daughter, it’s a shame we have to walk outside and what she has to see,” said Larnese.
Nicholas Dominici, 1, died from exposure to the opioid, and three other young children suffered near-fatal overdoses – inside the daycare.
“Even as an adult, living through everything that we’ve seen, it is still a real threat. It’s still really scary,” Justin said.
The sentiments expressed by residents on the stretch of Morris Avenue aren’t new. They may suspect that one of their neighbors, whether in an apartment or a daycare, is up to no good. But they question whether calling the police – is worth the risk.
"If I have that advanced knowledge, I make a decision for my family because i don’t know if i can trust the system to address it. Absolutely,” said Justin.
Adams pointed to 311 and other city hotlines, where they could anonymously report information.
"The reality is, if you speak to police if someone sees you talking to police, the bad guys in the community will say you’re snitching. So what we must do is build mechanisms where there’s a level of discretion discreetness so people can report to our community affairs officers. To our various crisis management teams. There needs to be another line of communication so we never put everyday residents in harm’s way. So the question becomes how do we use what we have to enhance the roles we’re doing, and that’s where the partnerships come in place,” said the Mayor.
The challenge is convincing residents to have enough faith in the system - to pick up the phone.
“You don’t want to speak up because, like, what’s the point of speaking up if you’re falling on deaf ears,” said Larnese.
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