Purdue Pharma stone removed from park
STAMFORD — A stone in Mill River Park bearing the name of OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma has been removed from the downtown green space after more than 500 people signed a petition calling for the park’s nonprofit manager to take out the marker.
Mill River Park Collaborative board members decided in a meeting this week to remove the stone, and it was extricated from the glade in the park’s north end, according to MRPC officials. The glade will no longer be named after the Stamford-based firm, either.
“The Collaborative is acutely aware of the devastating impact that the opioid crisis has had on individuals and families in our community and throughout Connecticut,” the MRPC said in a statement. “We’ve been told that the Purdue stone is a painful reminder for many who have been engulfed in this crisis. Given these circumstances, the board of the Collaborative felt that removing the stone was the appropriate thing to do. We have informed Purdue of our decision.”
Purdue declined to comment on the MRPC’s decision, but the company has not asked for the return of any of its donations.
The stone’s installation and the naming of the glade after Purdue recognized a $50,000 gift that the company made in 2009 to an MRPC capital campaign. In total, Purdue has made monetary contributions totaling about $287,000 to the MRPC since 2004, according to the organization.
Stamford resident Samantha Chiafalo, who started the petition, said she was grateful that the MRPC board quickly decided to remove the stone. She launched the petition after Purdue pleaded guilty last month to criminal charges of defrauding the government and violating anti-kickback laws. On Thursday, Purdue CEO Craig Landau and two of the Sackler family members who own the company were grilled during a Congressional hearing.
“The Purdue and/or Sackler name does not belong on the grounds and walls of our local institutions — other organizations, take note,” Chiafalo said. “After listening to the House oversight hearing, it is clear that justice has yet to be done in the case of Purdue and the Sacklers. This moment, however small, is a stepping stone in getting justice for the hundreds of thousands of lives lost, the communities and families decimated and the millions struggling with addiction.”