Illegal Drug Peddlers Turn NYC Neighborhood Into Open-Air Prescription Pill Market

A half-mile section of Washington Heights has been transformed into an open-air prescription drug bazaar, with brazen vendors illegally peddling painkillers, erectile dysfunction pills, and an array of other meds, The Post has learned.

The sprawling street pharmacy stretches across 10 square blocks, in and around West 179th to West 183rd streets and St. Nicholas Avenue with at least 20 vendors showcasing their wares in loose blister packs, boxes, and bottles strewn across dingy folding tables.

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Amoxicillin was among the alarming cornucopia of pills available this week, including: erectile dysfunction meds Viagra and Cialis; Cataclofen Plus, for pain and inflammation; and antibiotic Ampicillin.

“Someone is going to die from this, I have no doubt,” warned Councilwoman Joann Ariola (R-Queens).

“Who knows what’s actually in the things being peddled here? This is a prescription for disaster. Where is the NYPD with this, and why is the Mamdani administration allowing this to go on?”

The Spanish-speaking sellers arrive at about 9 a.m. every morning with product in wheeled carts, set up their tables and umbrellas, and sit outside until about 6 p.m.

The vendors buy the drugs in the Dominican Republic, where many can be purchased over the counter, and smuggle them in to Gotham to sell for profit.

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The feds targeted prescription drug pushers in the nabe over a decade ago. In 2012, the Justice Department prosecuted 16 prescription pill peddlers in Washington Heights when gangs were operating as “street-corner pharmacists” between West 156th and West 158th streets.

Today’s sellers have no fear of being uprooted from the drug market, which has existed in varying forms over the years but exploded under the Mamdani administration, under fire for its hands-off approach to the blocks-long homeless encampment between the Intrepid Museum and the Jacob Javits Center.

Occasional enforcement action occurs, but another vendor shrugged it off as just the cost of doing business.

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This week, a Post reporter observed NYPD officers walking past at least nine tables crowded with illegal prescription drugs without taking any action.

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Unlicensed street vendors can be hit with $250 for their first violation, with subsequent violations costing $1,000 each plus another $250 for each day out of compliance.

Selling prescription drugs without a valid license is a Class D felony in the state of New York which can result in up to seven years in prison.

Illegally importing and peddling prescription drugs from abroad is a federal and state crime, and the penalties can range from $1,000 to $250,000 in fines and one to 20 years in prison.

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