NYC NOW - April 11, 2023: Midday News

Episode Date: April 11, 2023

Rutgers faculty are in the second day of their strike and the House Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing on Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg right in the D.A.’s own backyard. Also, Narcan, the overdose-reversing drug will be widely available over the counter by late summer. WNYC’s Michael Hill speaks with Howard Haughton, CEO of the social services organization Eva’s Village in Paterson, New Jersey about what this could mean for recovery based organizations like his.

Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. It's Tuesday, April 11th. Here's your midday news from Michael Hill. Rutgers faculty are in day two of their historic strike. The first in the school's history, union leaders are also pushing back on his statement from Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway and says protesters disrupted classes. They say pickets have been peaceful and that they'll be back every day this week, at all three campuses in New Brunswick, Newark and Camden, negotiators for the unions, Ruckers administrators, and members of Governor Phil Murphy's staff,

are meeting again today in Trenton, aiming to end the walkout. The unions are looking for better job security and compensation, in particular for adjunct faculty members and graduate students. Our Nancy Solomon will ask the governor about ending the strike tonight on Ask Governor Murphy tonight at 7 on WNIC and live streaming at WNYC. dot org. The House Judiciary Committee is planning to hold a hearing on Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg,

right in the DA's backyard. Bragg's office sought the indictment of former President Trump for how he reported payments to an adult film star. Now the House Committee says it'll hold a hearing on April 17th. That's next Monday in Lower Manhattan, focusing on, quote, victims of violent crime in Manhattan. A post on the Republican-led committee's website says the hearing will examine, quote, Bragg's pro-crime anti-victim policies. Bragg's office calls the hearing of political stunt and cites data showing that murders and shootings are down in Manhattan year to date. Your forecast now 68 with sunshine, mostly sunny and 74 for a high today, partly sunny and 79 tomorrow and windy, Thursday and Friday sunny and highs in the mid-80s. We have a red flag warning

conditions are ripe for fire to spread. Local addiction recovery experts are watching closely the news that the overdose reversing drug Narcan will become more widely available for sale over the counter by late summer. The Food and Drug Administration just announced the move and this decision clears the way for it to be sold at non-pharmacy locations such as supermarkets and even gasoline stations. Joining us now to talk about it is Howard Hawton. He's the CEO of the Social Services Organization, Eva's Village, in Patterson, New Jersey. Mr. Hutton, what was your reaction to the FDA's decision? And what does this mean for recovery-based organizations like Eva's Village? Well, my reaction, first and foremost, I was enthused and excited.

The mere notion that we're able to gain access or anyone can gain access to the loxone, which is widely distributed now, means that we're going to be able to save more lives more easily, which is critical to helping people that are using, substances. So it's a good thing for us. It's a good thing for everyone. Do you think we've lost lives because of the lack of this kind of access to Narcan? Well, clearly lives have been lost when you don't have tools to reverse an overdose. In this instance, having access to this drug means that we're going to be able to help people

that have been using substances and reverse an overdose and get them the supports that they need to address substance use disorder. What a difference that makes. Mr. Hudd, I'm curious. What has gotten in the way of people looking to get Narcan, which is a brand name for naloxone, right now? Well, I think first and foremost it's education or the lack thereof. If people don't know, that's a problem. Also, it's the stigma that's the stigma that's. goes along with it. As parents, as friends, right, we're all saying, oh, it's a shame that that's happening to somebody. Oh, somebody's made a choice to use drugs, that's on them. The mere fact that people need to be educated, informed, mere fact that you can gain access to

drugs or access to fentanyl mistakenly, not intentionally, and that that can be something that alters your body chemistry almost instantaneously and you don't have a means of controlling them, the craving. That's a lot. And a lot of folks need the education to understand what goes along with that and how you counteract that. Mr. Horton, I know you've heard this. Critics sometimes argue that better access to Narcan could encourage substance users to take more drugs and more risks involving drugs. How do you respond to that? I think critics that are saying that really need to understand what a person's going through, why they're using. I had an opportunity to listen to someone recently who was a substance user and they've been sober for 10 years. And in the 10 years

that they used previously, here's what they said. They used regularly. But they only got high three times. The other times, they were just trying to address the cravings that they were feeling. So, naloxone presents an opportunity to address the cravings and to curb that. Would you walk us through how Narcan is used, how it's applied? Absolutely. It's very simple. In fact, our staff went through training last week, and nearly all of our staff were trained. So there's essentially two ways to do this. One's an injectable. which we're not going to touch, and the other is nasal. And what you get is the equivalent of a nasal spray.

If you find that someone has collapsed, they're not breathing, it appears that they may be going through an overdose. Narcan, you just take the cap off and you place it in their nose and just press the button and it releases into their nasal membranes and begins to travel and to work. Just that simple. Howard Hardin is CEO of Eva's Village in Patterson, which serves a resident struggling with poverty, joblessness, hunger, homelessness, and addiction. Mr. Harton, thank you so much for joining us.

Thank you. It was a pleasure. Thanks for listening. This is NYC Now from WNYC. Be sure to catch us every weekday, three times a day, for your top news headlines and occasional deep dives. And subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.