The following is an extension of another related story which appears in our latest print edition. 

 

In the aftermath of the death of Nicholas Feliz Dominici, 1, who tragically died following an apparent fentanyl overdose at Divino Niño Daycare Center in Kingsbridge Heights on Friday, Sept. 15, during subsequent press conferences, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, NYC Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan and others went to great lengths to highlight how a seemingly small amount of fentanyl (“less than the size of a fingernail” the mayor said) could result in lethal consequences.

 

Earlier this year, NYC Administration for Children Services (ACS) launched a specific ad campaign, highlighting the risk to kids of potentially confusing colorfully wrapped cannabis for candy. Meanwhile, Norwood News had previously reported on the confiscation of a weed truck by police in Fordham Manor, along with others across the City, some of which had allegedly being selling various illegal products under the guise of candy or ice cream.

 

One month after Nicholas’s passing, a candlelit remembrance service was held on Sunday, Oct. 15, as reported, at Our Lady of Angels church on Webb Avenue in Kingsbridge Heights where his parents, Otoniel Feliz Samboy and Zoila Dominici, were joined by members of the clergy, friends, neighbors, residents, and various elected officials, including Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson.

 

In light of the referenced repeat warnings by City officials about the dangers of fentanyl, Norwood News spoke to Gibson after the service and asked her about various media reports which appear to downplay the seriousness of the crisis, presenting it essentially as a myth and as scaremongering, particularly around Halloween. Gibson disagreed that the crisis is overblown.

 

“Fentanyl is dangerous, it is deadly,” the borough president said. “And what we have seen over the last several months is that fentanyl is being mixed with other controlled substances, which makes it even more deadly and more dangerous. We need to do more on education. We need to do more about expanding access to Naloxone, beyond police officers, first responders, emergency personnel.”

As reported, according to health experts, Naloxone [in Narcan kits] is a potentially lifesaving medication designed to help reverse the effects of an opioid overdose in minutes. Since most opioid overdoses occur in the home and are most often witnessed, according to manufacturers, having a Narcan rescue kit nearby can make all the difference. “We probably saved the lives of three of those children because of Narcan,” the mayor had said of the childcare medical emergency on Sept. 15, during which Nicholas died and three other children were hospitalized but survived.

 

Norwood News previously reported on an overdose prevention training course that had been held by the nonprofit, Keep It Simple & Safe (KISS), in St. James Park in Kingsbridge Heights during the summer of 2022, which aimed to do exactly that i.e. train members of the public on how to use the kits.

 

Representatives from KISS joined the September 52nd Precinct Community Council meeting in Kingsbridge Heights as well as a recent Bronx Community Board 7 meeting in order to remind residents of their free training, and the free availability of Narcan kits. A similar training event was held in City Island earlier this year, as reported.

 

Gibson went on to say that there was a time when people talked about the need for pharmacists and small business owners and bodega owners or anyone who interacts with the public to be trained on how to use Narcan kits, and how that need has now expanded to the wider public. “We are living in a world where there’s so much uncertainty and where people are mentally unstable, and a lot of times this is happening in settings where you’re seeing drug treatment programs,” she said.

She continued, “You’re seeing active drug users, and they don’t know the dangers of fentanyl, and sometimes they don’t even know that fentanyl is mixed in, and they’re actively using drugs, so a lot of this is about education. It’s too easy to get fentanyl right now and what you’ve seen, even after the tragic death of Nicholas, you’ve seen drug busts of fentanyl in the kilos, which is outrageous.”

 

Gibson decried the manner in which fentanyl was entering New York City, through the iron pipeline. “Why is it so accessible?” she asked. “I think the more cases you see the feds coming in and really prosecuting these cases…..we have to send a message that this is not acceptable. It’s not acceptable to manufacture drugs in a daycare center, and it’s happening all over the country. Like this is not a phenomenon just with respect to New York.”

 

She added, “And so, I would say to anyone that doesn’t believe that it is dangerous, it is! Look at the numbers we have in The City of New York. Look at the numbers of overdose deaths we have in The Bronx, and Staten Island, and why we have implemented programs like the Staten Island DA, the HOPE [Heroin Overdose Prevention and Education] program, which I love, and [Bronx] DA [Darcel] Clark has a similar program. We have to make sure that there are programs out there.”

The borough president went on to say that this was why she firmly supported drug treatment programs and access to addiction prevention services and recovery centers. “Those are important for people that are living with addictions, because this work is about saving lives,” she said. “It’s about keeping people safe. If we cannot keep our children safe, a one-year-old in a daycare center, then why are we here? You know, we have not done right by this family, and we have to do more.”

 

Of the tragedy which, as reported last month, followed three inspections at the daycare center by health officials, including one unannounced, Gibson added, “We don’t know…. there could have been signs. We don’t know. We always talk about things after they happen, but this is a sign that something needs to be done, and we have to look at stopping the flow of fentanyl: these drug cartels that are coming from outside of the U.S., that are coming right here into New York; that’s number one.”

 

She said that was going to take a lot of federal intervention and State and local involvement from law enforcement partners at the NYPD. “But also, I’m a big supporter of education,” she said. “The best way you channel this is the education and programs. You can’t tell individuals to do something and you don’t offer them anything. If I’m addicted to drugs or [substances], you need to give me a program so I can get into [it] and I need to have housing and wrap around services too, and those are all the things that we’re doing.”

Asked if she had heard if there had been any hesitancy on the part of people who could potentially carry and use Narcan kits in order to help people in an emergency, she replied, “I have not heard that. I know when we rolled it out for the NYPD, there was comprehensive training for all the members of service, all the uniformed members, and I think now, in light of what happened to Nicholas, and the fact that they were three children in the daycare center that were saved because of naloxone, that, for me, is enough to say, ‘Let’s explore the options of expansion’.”

 

She added, “Let’s look at all the credible messengers and stakeholders that we work with from the FQHCs, the healthcare centers, the healthcare professionals. Let’s look at all of these institutions we have in our communities working with DOHMH [City health department] and find out how we can expand. It’s going to cost, because there’s a cost to everything, but the fact is that this investment is going to save people’s lives, and that’s what we have to do. We have to save people’s lives, and we have to remind them, you can be addicted but there’s a program for you to get into recovery, and we can save their life.”

 

Given the increased focus on the topic, it’s possible some members of the public may have concerns about their potential exposure to fentanyl if trying to help someone else. In an April 2022 article on publichealthinsider.com, Dr. Scott Phillips, medical toxicologist and medical director of the Washington Poison Center, addresses many of these concerns.

Meanwhile, Gibson continued, “A lot of times, you have family members that give up on their loved ones; they don’t have any help. They don’t know how to help them and then, sometimes, they turn homeless, and you wonder what happened, and then you start to delve into their history and find out they were abused, they were addicted in some part of their lives, and no one ever helped them until they [got] arrested, and they [committed] a crime, and then they’re incarcerated, and they’re still not getting the help they need.”

 

She said there was a lot that could be done before matters got to the criminal justice system stage. “That’s why we need to work with organizations on the ground that are already doing this work and talk to them, because usually the people closest to the [problem] are closest to the [solution],” she said.

 

As reported, federal and local law enforcement recovered large quantities of what appears to be fentanyl under the floorboards of the daycare center where Nicholas and other infants had been sleeping on Sept. 15. Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark was joined by members of law enforcement at her office on Oct. 5 to announce that Feliz Herrera Garcia, the husband of Grei Mendez, the operator of Divino Niño Daycare Center, Mendez herself, and Carlisto Acevedo Brito, cousin of Herrera Garcia, were charged with murder “under circumstances evincing a depraved indifference to human life,” assault, and other charges for allegedly exposing Nicholas and the three other surviving babies to fentanyl which was stored in the daycare.

The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until convicted in a court of law. As previously reported, they also face additional federal charges related to drug trafficking.

 

Nicholas’s father said during the press conference held after the remembrance service on Oct. 15 that even though it was a month since his son’s death, it was still a very difficult time for his family. “At this moment, we’re feeling the same pain,” he said, speaking in Spanish. “These candles are a sign that the life of our son will always shine.” He said he felt the love and support of his family and each person and was grateful for it. “I know my son’s passing will not be in vain, not only because those who are guilty will pay, but also because due to his death, many things will change, not only in this City, but in this country and across the world,” he said.

 

On Nov. 6, the FBI reported that over 220 pounds of suspected controlled substances were seized on the north shore of Massachusetts, including pills that were shaped to resemble heart-shaped candy.

 

NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) provides training and regularly updated information on how to obtain and administer naloxone (Narcan). Click here for more information.

Read our previous coverage on the Divino Niño Daycare Center tragedy here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

 

Read our previous coverage on subsequent fentanyl drug and firearms busts reported in recent weeks here, here, and here.

 

*David Greene contributed to this story.