NYC Receives First Dose Of $256M Opioid Settlement: AG, Mayor

NEW YORK CITY — New York City received its first installment out of its $256 million share of an historic opioid settlement, officials announced Thursday.

The payment is a milestone in the fight against the opioid crisis, which caused a record number of overdose deaths nationwide in 2020, Attorney General Letitia James said in a news conference alongside Mayor Eric Adams.

More than 1,200 New Yorkers died from drug overdoses in the first half of 2021, city data shows.

"These funds will be placed in a lockbox and they will go primarily to treatment, prevention and education — and to reverse overdoses," James said.

The total $1.5 billion settlement obtained by James for the state is paid up by pharmaceutical companies that manufactured and distributed opioids.

New York City's five boroughs will receive $256 million over the settlement's course. This year, it's slated to receive $88.9 million, with $11.5 million this week, officials said.

Adams called the boroughs "ground zero" for the opioid problem. He thanked James for going after the pharmaceutical companies who created and pushed opioids.

“It’s time to look at the three-piece suit pharmaceutical industries of those who are the distributors of drugs,” he said.