Apocalyptic OD plague in B’klyn spurs call for action
ONE DAY after a rash of K2 overdoses turned a Brooklyn streetcorner into Zombieland, a city councilman is calling for the NYPD to prevent the Return of the Walking Dead.
Councilman Robert Cornegy wants the NYPD to create a task force to rid his neighborhood of so-called synthetic marijuana — and he suspects “some type of network” is responsible for funneling the drug to Bedford-Stuyvesant businesses.
Twenty-five people were hospitalized Saturday after overdosing, likely on K2, outside the Big Boy Deli at Broadway and Myrtle Ave., police said. Police have received no reports that any of the overdoses were fatal.
Just two years earlier, 33 people ODed on K2 outside the same deli. The city filed nuisance abatement actions in an attempt to close the place for good. It wasn’t immediately clear how those actions were resolved.
“There are people who are considered runners who are loosely associated, if not directly associated, with local businesses in this area,” Cornegy said.
Cops inspected the Big Boy Deli and the Star Deli across the street in the aftermath of Saturday’s overdoses. They arrested Marcial Cortez, 26, at Big Boy, as well as Raddwan Alsaidi, 24, and Ashraf Rayshani, 22, at Star, all on untaxed cigarette charges. A fourth suspect, Tyquan Holley, 41, was busted on Myrtle Ave. for drug possession after cops found him carrying synthetic marijuana.
First responders arrived en masse at about 6:10 p.m. Saturday after multiple 911 calls reported people with “altered mental status.” Some were unconscious, others were having difficulty breathing, cop sources said.
“We call them ‘The Walking Dead,’ ” Israel P., 23, who works at his family’s Mexican restaurant nearby, said Sunday. He said he saw three people taken away in ambulances Saturday.
Cornegy said he wanted any enforcement efforts to be “thoughtful,” as he didn’t want police to chase away local businesses in favor of gentrification and big-box stores.
Nelson Santiago, 55, a local resident, was unimpressed by the councilman’s speech.
“All you see is people high,” he said of the area. “It’s pretty bad. I’m not just afraid for my family, but for them. They get so high. All they do is get high and pass out.”