Pains of addiction: How this West Village plaza has become a hotbed of suffering for drug users and locals alike

Pains of addiction: How this West Village plaza has become a hotbed of suffering for drug users and locals alike

The area near McCarthy Square, a small patch of green space at the corner of 7th Avenue and Charles Street in the West Village, has become an epicenter of drug abuse for down-on-the-luck individuals openly injecting themselves with opioids, and local residents say few people are doing anything to stop it. McCarthy Square has seen a surge of individuals spread out on the sidewalk, some with needles jutting out of their arms. Others hunker down ne…