NEW YORK (WCBS 880) – Three people were found dead from suspected drug overdoses in and around Washington Square Park in less than a week, police said.
The two men and one woman—found last Thursday and this past Tuesday—were among five apparent overdose victims discovered dead in the area of the park since May 31, according to police.
Most recently, a 35-year-old Brooklyn man was found dead behind the wheel of a car on Washington Square North early Tuesday morning.
A man and a woman were also pronounced dead after they were discovered lying unconscious on a sidewalk in front of 139 MacDougal St. on Thursday.
Earlier this summer, a 30-year-old man was found dead on a bench on July 15. A 56-year-old man was also found unconscious inside the park and later pronounced dead at a hospital on May 31, police said.
City Health Department officials believe fentanyl is behind a spike in overdose deaths across the city over the past year. Of the deaths in the park, a John Jay College of Criminal Justice adjunct professor told the New York Post that people may "feel more comfortable using their drugs in public."
A Parks Department spokesperson told the outlet, “The loss of these lives is a tragedy and we continue to do our part working with sister agencies and partners to deter illicit activity in Washington Square Park and others across the city.”
Area residents complaining of drugs, noise, crime, vandalism and trash at the park packed an emergency meeting held by the NYPD earlier this summer to call for more security.
Amid reports of a crack and heroin "drug den" at the park, a Greenwich Village resident said, “There have always been drugs in the park, mostly pot, but what’s emerged this spring is like nothing we’ve ever seen before.”
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