STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 The Staten Island Fentanyl and Overdose Task Force is urging Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York state legislators to provide more funding for drug addiction treatment and prevention programs in the borough.<\/p>\n
The task force released its 2025 final report and recommendations for the governor and state legislators during a news conference Wednesday at the office of District Attorney Michael E. McMahon.<\/p>\n
This year, as of Nov. 9, 78 people died of suspected overdoses on Staten Island, while 66 people were rescued, according to preliminary and incomplete statistics provided by the District Attorney\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n
The district attorney and other speakers said that the efforts of the task force played a crucial role in the 49% reduction in fatal overdoses on Staten Island in 2024. However, additional state and federal funding is needed for the many innovative programs that task force members say offer hope and healing, while driving down the number of overdoses. <\/p>\n
\u201cAs we stand here today, we are energized,\u201d McMahon said about Staten Island topping all the other boroughs in its percentage decline of overdose deaths.<\/p>\n
\u201cI should say we\u2019re not celebrating; the battle is far from over,\u201d McMahon said, stressing that 81 people lost their lives to drugs last year while the goal is zero overdoses.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are all here to also send a very clear message that yes, we\u2019ve made progress, but we have more work to do.\u201c<\/p>\n
![\"Staten](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/C67FX52MYFAPLIN26FFUWZQ2OI.jpeg\")
The Staten Island Fentanyl and Overdose Task Force reveals its legislative agenda during a news conference Wednesday hosted by District Attorney Michael E. McMahon at his office in St. George on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025. McMahon speaks at the podium.(Advance\/SILive.com | Jan Somma-Hammel)<\/p>\n
At the top of the task force\u2019s list is ensuring that Staten Island receives its fair share of the state\u2019s Opioid Settlement Funds. The money was provided by pharmaceutical companies, pharmacies and related entities to resolve lawsuits over their roles in the opioid epidemic. People who became addicted to pain pills often turned to street drugs when their prescriptions ran out. <\/p>\n
Deaths from overdoses currently are linked mostly to illicit fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine.<\/p>\n
\u201cBig Pharma created the underpinnings of this five-alarm fire that has taken over a half a million lives since 2019; That number is astounding,\u2033 said Dr. Joseph Conte, executive director of the Staten Island Performing Provider System, referring to the national death toll from drug overdoses.<\/p>\n
![\"Staten](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/S2G4MY6UAZDVDLP2JQYEEWALHU.jpeg\")
The Staten Island Fentanyl and Overdose Task Force reveals its legislative agenda during a news conference Wednesday hosted by District Attorney Michael E. McMahon at his office in St. George on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025. Dr. Joel Idowu, chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health Sciences at Richmond University Medical Center, speaks at the podium.(Advance\/SILive.com | Jan Somma-Hammel)<\/p>\n
Conte\u2019s organization runs The Hotspotting the Overdose Epidemic Program, an AI driven initiative that is reducing the number of drug-related deaths among participants on Staten Island. <\/a><\/p>\n \u201cSince 2022, New York state has accrued $35 million in interest on its $500 million Opioid Settlement Fund, yet a substantial portion of that money remains unspent,\u201d according to the report. \u201cProviders and advisory board members across the state have voiced concern that funds are not reaching communities most in need \u2014 particularly those with historically high overdose rates like Staten Island.<\/p>\n \u201cAs we sit here today, $500 million in opioid settlement funds are still unallocated in New York,\u201d Conte said. \u201cThe deadly problems that the funds need to be allocated to are present, but the allocations have not been made. They are sitting useless in the bank. Release them.\u201d <\/p>\n In 2024, $12 million in settlement funds was slated for eight borough organizations that provide treatment and prevention services. Each organization is designated to receive $375,000 over four years. The funds were appropriated by state Attorney General Letitia James and Mayor Eric Adams, according to the report. <\/p>\n \u201cWhile this funding is deeply appreciated, it remains insufficient to meet the borough\u2019s widespread and escalating needs,\u201d according to the report.<\/p>\n McMahon noted that there are no Staten Islanders on the advisory board that determines how the funds are distributed and he and other task force members believe that needs to change.<\/p>\n \u201cThis absence of local input contributes to a distribution system that fails to prioritize high-risk counties, leaving Staten Island\u2019s providers underfunded and our residents underserved,\u201d according to the report.<\/p>\n Many of the task force members also have been hard hit by cuts in Medicaid funding under President Trump\u2019s One Big Beautiful Bill.<\/p>\n Additional speakers included Dr. Ginny Mantello, director of Health and Wellness at the Borough President\u2019s Office; NYPD Deputy Chief Amir Yakatally, of Patrol Borough Staten Island; Meagan Sills, president of Northwell Staten Island University Hospital; Dr. Joel Idowu, chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health Sciences at Richmond University Medical Center; Jacqueline Filis, executive director of the YMCA of Greater New York Counseling Service; and Adrienne Abbate, executive director of Staten Island Partnership for Community Wellness.<\/p>\n The task force is appealing to the governor and state legislators for support to do the following:<\/p>\n Restore federal funding, continue funding and support overdose preventive services.Increase behavioral health accessibility on Staten Island for children and young adults.Expand and increase funding for prevention services.Enhance prevention efforts within schools and colleges.Increase naloxone distribution and efforts to combat stigma.Add Kratom, a supplement with opioid effects,<\/a> to the New York state schedule of controlled substances.Sustain and expand data-driven, community-based care coordination models.Integrate Zero Overdose\/Zero Suicide training across healthcare, educational and justice systems. 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 The Staten Island Fentanyl and Overdose Task Force is urging Gov. Kathy Hochul and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":37868,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":["post-37867","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\/37867","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=37867"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37867\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Staten](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SQDQH2D75BCV3G3AP435KGIREQ.jpeg\")
The Staten Island Fentanyl and Overdose Task Force reveals its legislative agenda during a news conference Wednesday hosted by District Attorney Michael E. McMahon at his office in St. George on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025. Dr. Ginny Mantello, director of Health and Wellness at the Borough President\u2019s Office, speaks at the podium.(Advance\/SILive.com | Jan Somma-Hammel)<\/p>\n![\"Staten](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/NY3NAGPJBJFFZNPXG5RP7E2AJE.jpeg\")
The Staten Island Fentanyl and Overdose Task Force reveals its legislative agenda during a news conference Wednesday hosted by District Attorney Michael E. McMahon at his office in St. George on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025. McMahon speaks at the podium.(Advance\/SILive.com | Jan Somma-Hammel)<\/p>\n![\"Staten](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/F5GSOMJDWREPNHVAJ7NUD5GHVQ.jpeg\")
The Staten Island Fentanyl and Overdose Task Force reveals its legislative agenda during a news conference Wednesday hosted by District Attorney Michael E. McMahon at his office in St. George on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025. McMahon speaks at the podium.(Advance\/SILive.com | Jan Somma-Hammel)<\/p>\n