Fort Greene Park officials alert visitors to potential fentanyl 'trash cans'

The park said that small plastic containers that have been found around the park could carry traces of harmful drugs

Fort Greene Park officials are telling visitors to be on lookout for little plastic colored containers — mini “trash cans” — that may contain the deadly drug fentanyl.

The park issued an alert Monday on Instagram, writing that it has received “several reports” of visitors spotting on the tiny receptacles littered throughout the park including the playgrounds and central lawn.

“We want all park users to know that we’ve had several reports of potential fentanyl ‘trash cans’ located in and around the park. These have been found in the park’s playgrounds, on the central lawn, and on the Willoughby entrance ramp,” the park wrote.

If a visitor spots one, park officials are asking them not to touch them and to take and text the picture to the Fort Greene park director at (364) 865-5423 to “safely remove and dispose of the ‘trash cans.’”

Despite the alarm, the park told a concerned commenter that they are treating the trash cans of “potentially” containing fentanyl and the trash cans could be used for other drugs too. A representative of the park declined to elaborate, telling Brooklyn Magazine, “We are going to be testing some of the debris, so we are going to hold off until we know more.”

New York, like other large cities, is battling fentanyl overdoses at “historically high levels,” the city has previously said. There were 2,668 overdose deaths in the city in 2021 — an increase from 2,103 the year prior. There were than 3,000 deaths in 2022, a record high since the city started keeping track in 2000, with 80 percent of those having fentanyl detected.

Mayor Eric Adams wrote in a recent op-ed for BK Reader that the “growing threat of fentanyl” is a concern for this administration and taking steps to combat that, including holding a two-day summit to “work towards a national strategy to combat fentanyl overdoses.”

The city recently installed a vending machine in Brownsville to freely dispense a variety of health related needs, including fentanyl test strips and naloxone (a.k.a. Narcan), which is a drug that reverses overdoses from opioids.