Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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New York Daily News (12.12.04) - Wednesday, December 15, 2004
Lisa L. Colangelo
"We know that HIV/AIDS is growing dramatically in our borough, unfortunately," said ACQC Executive Director Philip Glotzer. "Our numbers are skyrocketing. When I got here seven years ago, we had 700 clients. Now we have 3,600. More people are being infected through substance abuse."
While needle-exchange programs have operated for years in Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx, opening the exchange in Queens was difficult. A previous plan to run the exchange from a van near Queensboro Bridge was scrapped after community leaders complained. But Glotzer and other advocates of the exchange were supported in their efforts by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Borough President Helen Marshall. City Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden personally went before the local community boards and lobbied for the program.
The establishment of the Queens exchange is "really and truly profound," said Councilmember Christine Quinn (D-Manhattan), who chairs the health committee. "Queens is the borough that has the highest IV drug use and overdose rate in the city," said Quinn. "That number is obviously an indicator of how many IV drug users are there - and a high level of IV drug users leads to the spread of HIV. This will definitely save people's lives."
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