Dem rep calls out NYC's ongoing failure to tackle Bronx 'open air drug market' crisis

For at least the past year, Torres has been trying to raise awareness of drug use and drug trafficking at The Hub in the South Bronx. 

"Despite my repeated pleas and multiple announcements of multi-agency operations-often launched with great fanfare-the City is no closer to solving the public health and safety crisis that has taken hold of the South Bronx's Hub," Torres wrote in a Wednesday letter to Mayor Eric Adams.

The Hub, home to Roberto Clemente Plaza, comprises more than 300 storefronts, 50 commercial properties and attracts more than 3.3 million people annually. 

Locals have been subjected to watching addicts inject opioids in full public view, including in front of children, Torres said. The environment has created a "climate of lawlessness and disorder" in the area, he said. 

Fox News Digital has reached out to the mayor's office. 

The business district has been plagued with quality of life issues for some time. In 2021, business leaders sent then-Mayor Bill de Blasio a letter demanding he do more to address rising crime in the area.