Builds on Work Adams Administration Has Done to Ramp Up Annual Support to $50 Million for Opioid Prevention, Treatment From Major Settlements Secured by City and State of New York
New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Corporation Counsel Muriel Goode-Trufant today announced the city’s commitment to participate in a new proposed settlement with Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family that would bring approximately $48 million to the five boroughs and, more importantly, closure to the communities torn apart by the opioid crisis. The settlement is the result of litigation brought, beginning in 2017, by the city, numerous state attorneys general, and several thousand subdivisions across the country to address the harms caused by the opioid crises. The total settlement amount is expected to be approximately $7.4 billion, including $4.5 billion for state and local governments, of which approximately $48 million will go to the City of New York. The settlement would combine an agreement with certain members of the Sackler family to pay $6.5 billion and an anticipated contribution from the bankruptcy estate of Purdue Pharma, expected to be $900 million pending approval from the bankruptcy court on the proposed bankruptcy plan later this fall. Purdue Pharma and certain members of the Sackler family were at the heart of a scheme to misleadingly market prescription opioids as safe and effective for long-term chronic pain management, contributing greatly to the nationwide opioid crisis.
“The opioid crisis stole thousands of lives, tore apart countless communities, and devastated families across our city and the rest of the nation, and while nothing can replace all that we lost, we will never stop fighting until we bring justice to communities devastated by this crisis,” said Mayor Adams. “At the heart of the scheme to hook Americans on opioids were the Sackler family and their company, Purdue Pharma, and the potential for this $7.4 billion settlement will serve as an example of how New Yorkers can trust us to always hold those with power accountable when they break the law and harm our citizens. I thank Corporation Counsel Goode-Trufant and the Law Department for their role in this settlement and for helping to ensure we do what we can to help make New Yorkers whole again.”
“This settlement will represent a major milestone in the city’s longstanding legal effort to hold manufacturers and distributors of prescription opioids accountable for their role in the city’s deadly opioid epidemic,” said Corporation Counsel Muriel Goode-Trufant. “The opioid crisis resulted in a tremendous human and financial cost to the city. This $48 million settlement adds to the hundreds of millions of dollars we have already worked to recover from irresponsible drug companies. I commend all the dedicated individuals on the city’s legal team for their work in bringing about this outstanding result.”
Today’s announcement builds on the work the city has done to bring justice to the victims and families of the opioid epidemic. In January 2018, the City of New York sued manufacturers and distributors of prescription opioids to remedy the harms caused within the city by the misleading marketing and improper distribution of these drugs. New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a similar lawsuit in March 2019. Settlements reached by both the city and the state, as well as a court victory by Attorney General James, have provided the City of New York alone with nearly $190 million as of the end of Fiscal Year 2025, which, with this new settlement, is expected to grow to a total of more than $550 million by 2041. In April 2022, Mayor Adams and Attorney General James announced allocations for the first of hundreds of millions of dollars coming to New York City to combat the opioid crisis. In September 2024, Mayor Adams announced city funding will ramp up to an annual $50 million for opioid prevention and treatment.
Recently, Mayor Adams announced the third quarter of 2024 saw the lowest number of overdose deaths in New York City in a single quarter since 2020. In 2023, New York City saw a slight decline for the first time, since 2018, in overdose deaths.
Ongoing funds from opioid settlements have supported new and expanded activities at New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), NYC Health + Hospitals, and the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner that collectively aim to reduce opioid overdose deaths through harm reduction, preventive, and treatment strategies.
Funds from opioid settlements through DOHMH have supported wraparound services for syringe service programs, including on-site medical care, connections to health care and social services, and support for basic needs. Between July 2024 and April 2025, syringe service programs that operate Overdose Prevention Centers provided more than 38,000 harm reduction services to approximately 6,600 participants, reducing the risk of overdose and infectious disease and providing referrals to treatment and other health and social services. In 2023, the Adams administration also allocated $3 million to eight providers on Staten Island through a request for proposal to directly support the expansion of buprenorphine treatment, outreach and engagement, and care navigation services in the borough. Procurement to expand the number of hospitals participating in DOHMH’s emergency department-based nonfatal opioid overdose response program, called Relay, remains ongoing.
Since beginning to receive funding through opioid settlements, NYC Health + Hospitals has had over 9,800 patient engagements with expanded substance use services at Street Health Outreach and Wellness vans, nearly 80,000 encounters with patients in emergency departments with addiction services provided by the Emergency Department Leads program, and has successfully launched a cutting-edge addiction simulation training for emergency department prescribers. Additionally, NYC Health + Hospitals has provided comprehensive addiction consultations at over 23,000 inpatient admissions through the Consult for Addiction Treatment and Care in Hospitals program. Further, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner’s Drug Intelligence and Intervention Group program has offered support services to more than 2,000 individuals following the death of a loved one from an overdose.
Today’s investment and all of the actions taken by Mayor Adams and the Adams administration to prevent overdose deaths also underscore the administration’s efforts to improve and extend the average lifespan of all New Yorkers through “HealthyNYC” to 83 years by 2030. HealthyNYC sets ambitious targets to address the greatest drivers of premature death, including chronic and diet-related diseases, screenable cancers, overdose, suicide, maternal mortality, violence, and COVID-19.
New Yorkers looking to access substance use services can call or text 988 for free, confidential support 24/7. Resources can also be found on the “NYC HealthMap” and on DOHMH’s website.
Today’s announcement builds on Mayor Adams’ “End the Culture of Anything Goes” campaign, which highlights the work the administration has done to date to change the culture and laws that prevented people with severe mental illness from getting the help they needed, while simultaneously making the investments necessary to support outreach, harm reduction, wraparound services, and housing — all in an effort to make lasting impacts in lives and communities. Mayor Adams is bringing the same energy and approach that proved to be successful in carving a new path to help people with severe mental illness to address other health crises, like drug addiction, playing out on city streets, and recently laid out plans to realize that vision by connecting those suffering with treatment.
