New York City has been wracked by a double crisis of preventable deaths from opioids and fires. Too many of our neighbors have had to grieve the loss of a loved one due to a deadly fire or an opioid overdose. Whether the cause is faulty e-bike batteries or drug-use, I am deeply committed to combating these preventable tragedies by educating and equipping the public to save lives.
On Tuesday, July 11, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., the assemblyman’s office will host a joint Fire Safety & Opioid Overdose Prevention Training Seminar at the Hillcrest Jewish Center located at 183-02 Union Tpke, Queens, NY 11366. Representatives from the FDNY and healthcare professionals from New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell will instruct attendees on best practices to stop these preventable tragedies. The presenters and event co-sponsors are NYS Senators John Liu and Toby Ann Savitsky, City Council Members Linda Lee and James F. Gennaro. Many thanks to the organizations who co-sponsored including Queens Jewish Community Council (QJCC), Chazaq, Hatzolah, and LiveOnNY.
Attendees will learn about fire safety prevention and have the opportunity to sign up to have a smoke detector installed in their home at no charge. According to the FDNY, “Having working smoke alarms in your home can save a life; it reduces the chances of dying in a fire by 50%.”
The program will continue with a naloxone training/distribution in partnership with New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell medicine. Naloxone is an “opioid antagonist” that, if administered promptly, can rapidly reverse the effects of fentanyl or an opioid overdose. This is a critical tool in fighting the drug epidemic that has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans. “Every day in New York City, about three people die from a drug overdose. NYP/Weill Cornell is excited to partner with Assemblyman Weprin to discuss the importance of Narcan training and how it can save lives,” said Dr. Jonathan Avery, Addiction Psychiatrist at New York - Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medicine. “There have been many reports on the news of drug overdoses, and we are currently in an overdose crisis that affects every community,” said Rabbi Mayer Waxman, Executive Director of the Queens Jewish Community Council.
For more information about this or future events, please call the office at 718-454-3027 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..