Clean up the 8th Avenue ‘strip of despair’ NOW

Post reporters returned Monday to the eight-block agelong profiled successful that morning’s “Eighth Blunder” screen story and spotted, among different bleakness, a antheral peeing successful nationalist and an evident stateless pistillate telling passersby, “I anticipation you get shot.”

No vicinity should person to enactment up with truthful galore addicts passed retired connected its streets, shooting up oregon engaging successful weapon fights.

You shouldn’t person to footwear utilized needles retired of the mode each greeting arsenic you locomotion your kids to school.

People surviving connected the thoroughfare successful Manhattan connected June 12, 2024. Matthew McDermott

Nor woody with earnestly high, plainly disturbed (and perchance armed) indigents bursting into shops to request cash, freaking retired customers.

The country is “blessed” with aggregate cause clinics and needle exchanges, positive social-services outlets and astatine slightest six shelters — 9 if you spell a spot further east.

Add successful the commuters flowing retired of Penn Station and the Port Authority — fantabulous to deed up for “donations” — and the ’hood is fundamentally designed to pull addicts and deranged thoroughfare people.

Indeed, the precinct (Midtown South) has immoderate of the highest drug-arrest numbers successful the 5 boroughs, though that doesn’t look to deter the druggies.

This isn’t compassion for those whose lives person gone unglued: It’s conscionable macabre.

City Hall admits it’s a occupation area, but points to (slightly) falling transgression numbers and vows it’ll “continue moving to thrust down transgression and amended prime of beingness successful this assemblage and each communities crossed the city.”

Sorry: We don’t spot however devoting a fewer much resources tin alteration the fundamentals here.

The “strip of despair” is simply a fearfulness by the bosom of the Midtown commercialized district: A municipality that can’t find the mode oregon the volition to cleanable it up is astatine hazard of becoming a city of despair.