Mayor Mamdani Opens City’s First Public Health Vending Machines on Staten Island

 

Two machines funded with opioid settlement dollars will provide free health and overdose prevention supplies 24 hours a day 

 

Overdose deaths on Staten Island fell 49% between 2023 and 2024 

 Today, Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani, the New York City Health Department and the Staten Island Partnership for Community Wellness opened the City’s first publicly supported health vending machines on Staten Island. Located in Port Richmond, the two machines will provide free health and harm reduction supplies 24 hours a day, seven days a week outside Community Health Action of Staten Island and A Chance in Life, expanding low-barrier access to lifesaving resources for New Yorkers. 

 

“Too many New Yorkers have lost loved ones to the overdose crisis. We have a responsibility to meet this crisis with urgency and the tools that save lives. These public health vending machines will make naloxone, hygiene supplies and other essential resources available whenever people need them, free of charge and without barriers,” said Mayor Mamdani. “Health care is a human right, and it is our job to make it easier for New Yorkers to get the care they deserve.” 

 

“As we confront the opioid epidemic, we have to make lifesaving resources as easy to access as possible,” said Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Dr. Helen Arteaga. “These public health vending machines will connect more Staten Islanders with essential supplies while reducing barriers to care. Every overdose prevented is a life saved, and this investment reflects our commitment to protecting the health of every New Yorker.”  

 

“Public health vending machines offer New Yorkers barrier-free access to resources ranging from naloxone and condoms to socks and hygiene supplies where and when they need them,” said NYC Health Commissioner Dr. Alister F. Martin. “Tools like this allow us to reach more people while opening the door for deeper community engagement and connection to services. This is public health in action.” 

 

Anyone can use the machine by entering a New York City ZIP code before selecting free supplies. The machines are stocked with health and harm reduction tools, including naloxone, hygiene kits, fentanyl test strips and safer sex supplies, including condoms. 

 

The City’s first four Health Department-supported public health vending machines opened in 2023 in Brooklyn and Queens to expand access to lifesaving supplies and connect more New Yorkers to harm reduction services. Since then, the machines have been used more than 73,000 times and have dispensed more than 6,600 naloxone kits. The most frequently selected items include hygiene kits and first aid supplies, sexual health kits, naloxone and other harm reduction resources. 

 

The new Staten Island machines are funded through $12 million in opioid settlement dollars the City allocated in 2023 to expand prevention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery services across the borough. Through those investments, Staten Islanders have been connected to services and support nearly 7,000 times through eight community-based providers. 

 

Those investments are making a difference. Overdose deaths among Staten Island residents fell 49% between 2023 and 2024. After recording the city’s second-highest overdose death rate in 2023, Staten Island has the second-lowest rate in 2024. Provisional data also shows overdose rates remained stable citywide through the first three quarters of 2025 following a significant decline in 2024.