The commanding officer of the 52nd Precinct stunned his audience with a familiar topic that came with a twist: the local precinct ranks first in fatal heroin overdoses out of all 11 Bronx precincts. Compounding the problem is the mix of heroin with fentanyl, a powerful narcotic described as putting heroin on steroids.

“It is so bad that our undercovers and narcotics officers don’t want to touch it without any kind of gloves,” Deputy Inspector Peter Fiorillo, commanding officer of the precinct, said at the recent 52nd Precinct Community Council meeting on April 27. “And it’s very hard for undercovers not to touch it when they’re apprehending in an undercover capacity.”

So far, eight people have died from heroin overdoses within the Five-Two over the year, according to NYPD statistics, outnumbering the 40th Precinct, which usually sees more overdoses. Last year the Five-Two saw a total of 18 heroin-related deaths and fear the latest uptick will put them past that figure.

The trend comes amid a sweeping offensive against heroin, an opioid that could compromise progress for a borough whose drug use has been on the rise. So far, federal, state, and city governments have put the reversal of heroin use at the forefront.

The precinct’s troubling heroin figures are second to the 19th Precinct in Manhattan, which has a higher socioeconomic status than the Bronx, signaling heroin’s grip regardless of status. As of press time, 11 people have died from a heroin overdose at the midtown precinct so far this year.

The NYPD’s roving narcotics squad has now spent more time within the Five-Two’s borders, which cover Norwood, Bedford Park, Kingsbridge Heights, Fordham, and University Heights. It is unclear where the majority of overdose cases have been reported and officers haven’t provided any details on the victims’ ages or ethnic backgrounds. But officers have zeroed in mostly on East 194th Street, a largely working poor section near Fordham and Bedford Park, as the epicenter for heroin use within the precinct’s jurisdiction. The New York City Department of Health has placed Fordham and Bedford Park among the top five neighborhoods with the highest rate of overdose deaths. Three other neighborhoods and another in the borough of Staten Island round out the top five neighborhoods with a rise in opioid use. To officers in Fordham and Bedford Park, it’s known as Sector B, and many have maintained a large presence there.

“They have their targets, and hopefully arrests will become sooner [rather] than later,” Fiorillo said.

Elsewhere, narcotic takedowns continue, most recently in Norwood, where agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration charged seven for drug distribution in Knox and Gates places.

But heroin use is not so much of an in-your-face issue as many may believe. It happens away from public view, at homes or parks late at night, making it an undetectable epidemic to the public. “It’s really part of our issue in really viewing this as an epidemic, because it is so hidden,” Debra Pantin, executive director of VIP Services, a drug treatment clinic in Tremont, said. “It is almost like the best-kept secret and we don’t know that it’s happening under our noses.”

VIP Services has seen an influx of heroin users walk into its clinic on Arthur Avenue. Of the 1000 clients it sees daily, counselors have begun noticing even more taking advantage of its services, said Pantin.

Rise of Fentanyl

In combating heroin use, the Police Department has found an increased use of fentanyl blended with heroin, another opioid that prolongs the high. Its popularity has risen over the last three years, thanks to its power in boosting the effects of the high. Of the 1,268 fatal drug overdoses recorded by the New York City Department of Health in 2016, half of them were related to fentanyl, whose nicknames include Apache, China Girl, and Goodfella.

Fentanyl, when prescribed properly, works as a painkiller and is arguably more effective than morphine. Symptoms of improper use of fentanyl include stiffening of the body, blue lips, foaming at the mouth, and slowed breathing.

Dr. Mai Takematsu, an emergency room doctor at Montefiore Health System, who’s seen a steady number of overdose cases at the ER over the year, says opioid’s killer component is its ability to slow breathing.

“The opioid itself is gonna suppress all the reflexes to breathe,” Dr. Takematsu, who also has a background in toxicology, said. “Even if the oxygen goes down and they would not start breathing, and that’s the scary part. It depends on how severely their respiratory center in their brain is affected.”

Just how fentanyl is getting into the hands of suppliers baffles the police. Protocols mandated by the state, including the conversion of prescriptions from paper to electronic form, have made it tougher to obtain fentanyl from the health sector. The Police Department believes the drug is synthetically manufactured outside New York State, and trafficked to city streets.

“The consumers don’t even know that most of the time the heroin is mixed with fentanyl,” Pantin said. “In some cases they do know. In some occasions they do not.” 

Education

While the Five-Two continues to lead or join various drug takedowns across its precinct, it’s also taken a more empathetic approach to the user. These days, the Police Department’s force of 34,450 uniformed officers has been trained in administering Narcan, a chemical that reverses the effects of heroin, widening the availability of the antidote.

Drug clinics across the Bronx have also done their part, combining distribution of Narcan with outreach. “They’re getting it with a lot of education, and a lot of training,” Pantin said.

But one dose may not be enough, according to experts, who’ve found it takes two or three doses of Narcan to revive a user who’s taken a heroin-fentanyl mix.

Time remains a factor in administering the Narcan, Dr. Takematsu has found. “[If] you’re not administered the naloxone within I would say 30 minutes or so, give or take, you may not have a good brain function after you come back.”