Junkie NYC

The AM New York’s cover story today is about the rise in Heroin and perscription drug use in the city, especially amongst teens and 20 year olds. I’m glad to see that a news organization is covering this story, but where the hell have they been the last ten, twenty, thirty years? All you have to do is go to 125th Street and Lexington Avenue to see the drug epidemic up close and personal. You could stock up your entire medicine cabinet for a month off of deals made on the corner in front of Pathmark. Pfizer has nothing on the junkies at Skid Row. 24/7 the people beg for change, turn in bottles and cans at the recycle spot, dope-lean on the sidewalk, exchange pharmacueticals and drug contraband, open the doors for patrons at McDonald’s and Famiglia, sell loose cigarettes and swipes using tampered metrocard. All the while the officers just let it happen, they only interject when people complain or violence ensues. It’s one of Manhattan’s dirty not-so-little secrets, the East Side of Harlem is disgusting (including the 4/5/6 train lines) and it only gets worst the further east you go. I once saw a hooker going to town on one of her custies under the overpass on 1st Ave and 125th- in broad daylight (I was on the bus going to The Bronx, I wasn’t “shopping” or anything.)

The Corner of Skid Row and Sesame Street

It’s funny how a person’s warped adult mind can corrupt almost anything, even something as innocent as a beloved, timeless, childhood television show.

Sesame Street is the dead end block after the Boulevard of Broken Dreams at Skid Row. Most of the regulars are live in the half-way house  run by Madame Ethel also known as #67-102985. The gang just hangs-on-the-block, they don’t need to go anywhere, the party comes to them. Cookie Monster has the best pot in town, high grade muppetponic sativa- indoor. I don’t want you to get the wrong idea about them though, they’re not all lay-abouts or and slackers. Aside from being life-long partners for over 40 years now, Bert and Ernie are the Co-Presidents of their PFLAG chapter. They also tutor wayward inner-city children (only the boys) out of the goodness of their hearts.  Thanks to them, Elmo’s grades improved significantly. Elmo is an orphan; he lost his parents when their double-wide trailer, with the cinder-block tires, exploded because his dad forgot to strain the draining fluid before adding the pseudo-ephedrine into the Crystal Meth brew. Elmo has been coping well with the lost of his parents- kids are resilient and in the end they just want to be tickled.