The shocking death of a Bronx child who inhaled fentanyl at a day care center that served as the center of a drug factory has shaken locals — and dredged up memories of the “bad old days” when crack cocaine invaded the neighborhood and sent many promising youths to an early grave. .
Some say the fentanyl epidemic — fueled by the cheap and highly lethal opioid — has rotted the Kingsbridge neighborhood in the north Bronx, where 1-year-old Nicholas Feliz Dominici died and three other children were hospitalized after exposure to the drug Friday.
“My heart breaks for this neighborhood,” Jorge Gonzalez, 62, told The Post on Monday, adding he’s “lived here most of my life.”
“I see it at its worst, when people smoke in open view,” he continued. “I think those days are long gone. Now it’s back.
“Just walk on Kingsbridge Avenue when it’s not raining,” Gonzalez said. “You have to step over people who are lying along the sidewalk. You can’t believe it’s happening, but it’s happening.”
Abnar Reynoso, a 40-year-old father of three, said it was hard to see his small part of town slide down the hill.
“Kingsbridge is not the best neighborhood, but people always have a way of keeping their dignity,” he said.
1-year-old Nicholas Feliz Dominici died – and three other children went to the hospital – when they allegedly inhaled fentanyl at a drug factory masquerading as a day care center. Yeissy Dominici/Facebook
“When you see people sprawled on the sidewalk, you’re like … really? This city is just going to let this happen?” he continued. “This is a health crisis. Just because it’s self-involved, it doesn’t mean it’s not a health crisis. Addiction is a disease and its enablers enable it, and no one does anything to stop it.”
It’s not just angry locals who say fentanyl has taken a huge toll on their neighborhoods.
Police sources say the Bronx is littered with drug factories – including the 52nd Precinct, where the drug-fueled Divino Nino Daycare is located.
Police said the child inhaled a powerful synthetic opioid, which can easily kill with just a few grams. Christopher Sadowski
“Most of them go unnoticed because there’s not a lot of traffic going in and out of the location,” said a Bronx cop. “But they’re in apartments all over the area – and no one would suspect they’re dealing in these deadly drugs.”
There is little doubt that the county has been ravaged by an ever-widening epidemic, which has hit the Big Apple with unprecedented force.
Zoila Dominici, Nicholas’ heartbroken mother. CBS NY
In 2021, about 2,127 of the 2,252 opioid overdose deaths registered in New York City involved fentanyl – or more than 94%, according to a New York State Department of Health report.
Bronx residents had the highest rate of fatal overdoses that year, at nearly 71 deaths per 100,000 residents, according to another report from the city’s health department.
Police say the fentanyl problem is out of control — but “no one cares,” a source told The Post. Peter Gerber
Several residents told The Post that the Kingsbridge neighborhood has gone downhill recently — but they’re still shocked that a young child died from fentanyl.Tomas E.Gaston
The Bronx also has the highest percentage of drug poisoning deaths in the city, according to Frank Tarentino, special agent in charge of the New York Division of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.
More than three-quarters are fentanyl-related, he said.
“It’s important to warn New Yorkers that fentanyl is being mixed with all illegal drugs — cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin,” Tarentino told The Post Monday.
Police say fentanyl is a big problem in the Bronx, which is filled with drug factories.Christopher Sadowski
“It’s a big problem,” said a police source. “But nobody seems to care.”
Ahmet Biberha, who has worked for seven years at his family’s business – Brother’s Pizza – not far from the daycare center where little Nicholas lived – said he saw drug use in the area increase drastically during that time.
“I saw them bent over, down, not knowing where they were,” the 23-year-old said. “It brought down the business. It drops the entire area. Now the baby is dying!
A glimpse through the window where one child died and three others were injured after exposure to fentanyl at Divino Nino Daycare.Christopher Sadowski
“Forget about consumers — they’re adults, they make their own decisions. But cut the stuff near babies so they inhale it? That’s ridiculous. If this is not a wake-up call, I don’t know what is,” said Biberha.
“I don’t know what to say — fentanyl is the worst drug ever invented,” another local man told The Post. “This is probably an outbreak worse than crack. A family shouldn’t lose a child like this. All they did was take him to day care.”
Additional reporting by Joe Marino and Desheania Andrews
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
