CITY OF ITHACA

108 East Green Street Ithaca, New York 14850

OFFICE OF THE MAYOR SVANTE L. NTYRICK

Telephone: 607 /27 4-610l Fax: 6O7 /271-6526

The Honorable Andrew Cuomo

Governor, New York State
NYS Capitol Building
Albany, NY

Dear Governor:

According to news reports, last week you received a letter from New York City Deputy Mayor Hermina Palacio,
asking that the State Department of Health approve a four-site research pilot of supervised consumption for
people who inject drugs. According to the same news reports, these pilots would be located within existing
syringe exchange programs. I am writing to ask for the same approval of a fifth pilot to be located with the
Southem Tier AIDS Program (STAP) here in Ithaca.

As you will recall, in February,2016, the Ithaca Municipal Drug Policy Committee, which I appointed to make
recommendations to address our burgeoning opioid epidemic and rising overdose deaths, made the
recommendation that Ithaca pilot a supervised consumption program. At the time, I publicly endorsed this
recommendation and called for NYS to change its laws and regulations to allow such a program to come into
existence.

Since that time, STAP has continued to expand its service to people who inject drugs. This includes syringe
exchange, harm reduction counseling, overdose prevention, and prescribing and monitoring of Buprenorphine.
ln addition, STAP has been participating in a collaborative with four New York City-based syringe exchange
programs to develop the research pilot that is referenced in the New York City letter and has participated in the
formation of Research for a Safer New York, [nc., the non-profit corporation that will operate this pilot.

Here in Tompkins County and Ithaca, the need to stem the tide of preventable overdose deaths is urgent. 2017
was the deadliest year for fatal overdoses on record, with the fatal overdose rate increasing 1000% since 2007.
ln Tompkins County ir.2016, overdose-related emergency room visits stood at 55.3 per 100,000 and overdose-
related hospitalizations at 15.2 per 100,000.

Here in Ithaca, we have growing support in our community for participation in this Supervised Consumption site
pilot, among all segments of the community. I urge that you promptly approve this invaluable research pilot,
including four sites in New York City and one site here in Ithaca. The overdose crisis is statewide and the pilot
intervention should be too. It took a decade from the state authorizing syringe exchange in 1992 until the
opening of Ithaca's syringe exchange in2002. We cannot wait a decade again. This epidemic is also a rural
epidemic and our solutions will need to address that reality. Start with Ithaca. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

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Mayor

C: iohanne.morne@health.ny.gov
howard.zucker@health.ny. gov
Alphonso.David@exec.ny. sov
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