Roberto Clemente Plaza, the recently cleared-out open-air drug market in The Hub in the South Bronx, survived its first big test last weekend in the city’s effort to finally disband people using drugs and clean up the needle-ridden corners of its busy commercial corridor.
Almost immediately following an escalated pressure campaign on July 9 by elected officials, including U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres, Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson, and local business leaders, the Department of Sanitation (DSNY) and the NYPD put up barriers around the plaza’s seating area at Third and Willis Avenues, escorted those using drugs out of the public area, cleared out trash and drug paraphernalia, and set up a mobile command center.
Mayor Eric Adams said in a social media post Monday that City Hall sent resources out in response to the reports that circumstances in The Hub were worsening.
“Last week, after seeing reports of poor conditions at The Hub, we sent our city agencies to make things clean and safe for everyone,” Adams posted from the Mayor’s official X account. “We won’t let any areas be neglected.”
Outrage over public opioid usage in full view of families and children, overdoses, drug trafficking and illegal activity grew in recent months as attempts to clean up The Hub netted little more than a few days of relief for the community.
Pedro Suarez, the executive director of the Third Avenue Business Improvement District (BID), told the Bronx Times that closing down the plaza was a necessary step in addressing the quality of life and safety issues that had been plaguing the BID, known as the Hub, for years.
“It [the plaza] was closed off temporarily to allow multiple city agencies to not just clean the area but also conduct homeless outreach, for NYPD to make sure that they were addressing certain issues that were occurring in the area, and then also for the department of sanitation to be able to set up strategic operations as well,” Suarez said.
Now the local business leader says he is in daily meetings, planning next steps for the plaza and the Hub to ensure that the space remains clean, safe, and open to the public.
“I just want to make sure the community knows that the goal is for this plaza to be open and accessible again and we just really have to be— I think much more intentional and strategic about how that happens,” Suarez said.
