Staten Island had the fourth highest rate of overdose deaths in the five boroughs last year, falling from the second highest in 2023. The borough saw 76 fewer deaths last year, with the rate dropping from 40.2 to 20.7 per 100,000 residents, according to the Health Department.<\/p>\n
In line with national trends, unintentional overdose deaths tumbled 28% last year citywide, with decreases occurring in all five boroughs, according to the Health Department.<\/p>\n
![\"Drug](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/WNGX7TCJ5BANHB47MP627SCHXQ.png\"\/)
Overdose deaths on Staten Island plummeted about 49% from 2023 to 2024 on Staten Island. Staten Island is the leader among the five boroughs of New York City in reducing the number of fatal overdoses. This graphic shows the positive downward trends in drug poisonings amid a fentanyl crisis in New York City.(New York City Department of Mental Health and Hygiene)Teamwork is key<\/p>\n
Borough leaders expressed cautious optimism about promising statistics.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe downward trend in overdose deaths citywide is promising and welcome news, but we still need to remain vigilant,\u201d Borough President Vito Fossella said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile there is still much work to do, the Staten Island approach to beating back the opioid and overdose epidemic is working,\u201d said District Attorney Michael E. McMahon. \u201cMy office is committed to doing everything in its power to defeat this deadly scourge. With that said, we cannot simply prosecute our way out of this epidemic.\u201d<\/p>\n
Borough leaders stressed that teamwork was key to decreasing the number of fatal overdoses.<\/p>\n
McMahon and Fossella founded the Staten Island Fentanyl and Overdose Task Force in September 2023 in response to the deadly fentanyl crisis. The task force is comprised of local leaders in law enforcement, government, health care, treatment and recovery, as well as individuals and families impacted by substance abuse disorder.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne overdose death is one too many, and we will continue working with our partners on the Staten Island Fentanyl and Overdose Task Force so that hopefully, one day, no family has to experience the pain of losing a loved one to addiction and overdose,\u201d Fossella said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs chairman of the Staten Island Fentanyl and Overdose Task Force, I know how critically important treatment providers, medical and health care professionals, and prevention specialists are in this fight,\u201c McMahon said. \u201dWhile one overdose death is one too many, and 81 lives lost last year is wholly unacceptable, and we renew our resolve to continue this fight, the encouraging statistics contained in this report are a testament to Staten Island\u2019s united approach on this front and the shared commitment and continued collaboration of our partners to save as many lives as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
The borough president said that in addition to the many initiatives on the Island to help people suffering from substance use disorder, it is important \u201cto prevent the distribution of the drugs and to hold those who do so accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Drug](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AK5ME5I3GZC55DBXEORZE2P6HY.png\"\/)
Overdose deaths on Staten Island plummeted about 49% from 2023 to 2024 on Staten Island. Staten Island is the leader among the five boroughs of New York City in reducing the number of fatal overdoses. This graphic shows the positive downward trends in drug poisonings amid a fentanyl crisis in New York City.(New York City Department of Mental Health and Hygiene)\u2018A powerful turning point\u2019<\/p>\n
The nearly 50% decline in fatal overdoses on the Island \u201cmarks a powerful turning point for our community,\u201d said Meagan Sills, president of Northwell Staten Island University Hospital. \u201cThe borough\u2019s rate fell to its lowest level in more than a decade, reflecting years of collaboration among health care providers, law enforcement, treatment centers, and community partners.\u201d<\/p>\n
The decline in overdose deaths \u201creflects what can be achieved when committed partners unite around data-driven care, harm reduction, and recovery supports,\u201d Sills said.<\/p>\n
The AI-based Hotspotting the Overdose Epidemic Program<\/a>, sponsored by Staten Island Performing Provider System, \u201chas helped lead a proactive, coordinated model that identifies and engages individuals at highest risk before tragedy occurs,\u201d said Dr. Joseph Conte, executive director of the Staten Island Performing Provider System\/Social Care Network.<\/p>\n McMahon touted his office\u2019s innovative programs, from \u201cimplementing precision prosecution in the courtroom against drug dealers to diverting thousands of Staten Islanders in the throes of addiction into life-saving treatment programs to working with the NYPD to investigate every overdose death through our Overdose Response Initiative (ORI).\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOur HOPE program, Ripples of HOPE<\/a>, direct outreach to individuals in crisis by our peer navigators, and our collaboration on Hotspotting are just a few examples of our borough\u2019s unique approach to this public safety and health crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement<\/a> and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and\/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 Staten Island\u2019s significant drop in overdose deaths is being hailed by community leaders as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24488,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":["post-24487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-staten-island","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-staten-island","tag-staten-island-headlines","tag-staten-island-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24487","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24487"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24487\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}