New York City Mayor Eric Adams urged New Yorkers to stop "sleeping on" the opioid crisis during his State of the City speech Thursday, warning that fentanyl abuse will "destroy generations" if left unaddressed.
Adams' address touched on virtually every aspect of life in NYC, but he made a particularly impassioned plea regarding fentanyl abuse.
"Do you remember what crack cocaine did to our city and country?" Adams said. "That's what fentanyl is about to do right now. If we don't stop the fentanyl and opioid abuse, it is going to destroy generations to come."
"This is a major crisis that we are sleeping on," he continued. "Fentanyl is destroying our cities across America. We have to fight back and stop it."
Adams went on to detail funding his administration was putting toward the issue alongside New York City law enforcement.
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The opioid crisis caused more than 100,000 deaths across the U.S. in 2021, and fentanyl abuse shows no signs of slowing.
The drug crisis comes as Adams is also facing a surge of asylum seekers from the U.S. border, bussed up from Texas by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.
Adams demanded more action from the Biden White House on Wednesday to address the border crisis and the "over-proliferation" of migrants in cities across the country.
"I was told we have an individual that is coordinating the operation, and as I shared with White House officials, why don’t I know who that is?" Adams said. "If my house is burning, I don’t want to hear about fire prevention, I want to put out the fire, and the fire right now is the over-proliferation of migrants and asylum seekers in several cities in the country."
