Controversial Clinic

Some East Harlem residents and business owners are trying to keep an AIDS facility from opening here this week. They’re concerned that the new clinic, located on East 116th Street and run by Harlem United Community AIDS Center, will attract drug users to the neighborhood.

In an interview with Metro New York, Henry Calderon, president of the East Harlem Chamber of Commerce said:

“No more is East Harlem going to be the doormat and dumping ground for these places. These aren’t just some unfortunate people with AIDS. The clinic is looking to bring a population of unemployed, of methadone users, of uninsured. These are delinquents.”

Soraya Elcock, Harlem United’s deputy director for policy and government relations, defended the facility and said it is part of a new model for treating people with AIDS.

“The most recent health department data shows that more people died from AIDS in East Harlem than any other neighborhood in the city,” she said.

In fact, according to the city, 2.5 percent of the population here — 2,755individuals — are living with HIV/AIDS, second only to the neighborhood of Chelsea.