The father of two young boys is trying to figure out how dozens of tiny needles ended up in a flower bed just feet from his front door in Cleveland.
The flower bed, which runs along Fairview Hospital’s property looks well maintained at first glance.
But a closer look Friday revealed a pile of medical supplies scattered in the mulch bed which stretches down the entire block.
The little blue pieces of plastic have a blood-drop icon at the top.
“They’re needles for checking your blood sugar levels,” said George Gorze.
Gorze said thousands of them showed up this week along West 179th Street.
“It looked like someone literally walked down the street and was just Johnny Appleseeding it or something,” said Gorze.
Gorze said this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the litter problem plaguing his neighborhood.
“It’s beer bottles, cigarette packs, and plastic bags,” said Gorze.
“All I want is a nice environment for my family and my neighbors,” said Gorze.
It’s an issue Gorze told me he has been trying to get the Cleveland Clinic to address for years.
“It’s just sad that when a situation like that arises that we just simply can’t make a phone call and they send somebody out and just clean it up,” said Gorze.
In a statement, the Cleveland Clinic told News 5 the items in question are not medical supplies used at Fairview Hospital and could have been dumped by anyone.
Regardless, Gorze would like the Clinic to quickly get rid of the needles.
“I have children. They’re learning to ride their bikes and they’re up and down the street,” said Gorze.
Gorze told News 5 that more can be done to improve the appearance of his street.
“Because this is not okay. And it’s really not okay.”
A clinic spokesperson told News 5 that as soon as they know about an issue they address it in their ongoing effort to be a good neighbor.
It was just two days ago I’m told they had a crew out here cleaning up the area.
However, I was not told if they would return to address these needles.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly identified the location as a Fairview Park neighborhood.
