Health Department: Bronx sees increase in overdose deaths

The city's Health Department says the Bronx has seen an increase in overdose deaths this year, despite an overall reduction citywide.
Bronx City Council member Ritchie Torres says the council is making a more than $3 million investment in programs to prevent opioid use and overdoses in the Bronx. Torres says the Bronx has the highest rate of overdoses in the city.
The City Council also passed a law spearheaded by Torres that requires all employees in the shelter system to be trained on how to administer Naloxone, the drug that reverses the effects of an opioid overdose.
The Health Department will now also offer weekly training to the public on how to administer Naloxone in case of an overdose.
Councilman Torres says that from November of last year to just August of this year, 48,000 syringes were found in St. Mary's Park.
The city says it has been putting a lot of effort into remodeling the park. Park officials tell News 12 they're working on redoing the baseball fields at the park.
But Resident Evelyn Ramirez lives near the park in Mott Haven and says spotting syringes on the ground is nothing out of the ordinary.