Neighborhood coordination with a Third Avenue clinic

Complaints about street conditions around Gramercy Park Services at 253 Third Avenue brought the Block Association into discussions with the clinic and the 13th Precinct. The Block Association’s later account describes work to document reported drug dealing, shoplifting and related concerns.

The Block Association worked with the Manhattan Neighborhood Council and its co-founder Gerard Schriffen. The retrospective also records involvement by Assemblyman Steve Sanders and the state agency responsible for substance-use services.

This chapter concerns coordination around a treatment facility and the surrounding streets. The source describes later changes in the clinic’s operation and its relocation. The Block Association’s role was neighborhood advocacy and liaison; it did not provide treatment or regulate the clinic.

1996

The wider policy debate

The contemporary press packet places the local concerns within a wider discussion among the Manhattan Neighborhood Council, the 13th Precinct and the state substance-use agency. Arlene Harrison spoke as the Block Association’s president and a council member, supporting a pilot intended to address illegal street sales.

The packet also preserves the qualifications. In a September 12, 1996 letter, Gerard Schriffen corrected reports suggesting that a newly approved treatment option would eliminate daily visits or reduce the number of patients. A September 6 New York Times account included providers’ concerns about preserving treatment choices and the shortage of treatment places.