New York City reported its first major decline in overdose deaths in nearly ten years, signaling progress in the ongoing fight against the opioid crisis.
According to new data released on Tuesday by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), 2,192 people died from overdoses in 2024, a sharp drop from 3,056 deaths in 2023.
All five boroughs saw decreases in overdose deaths last year, and for the first time since 2018, the number of deaths among Black and Latino New Yorkers also declined. City officials attributed the progress to targeted investments funded by opioid settlement dollars.
“The data we are releasing today represents a major shift in a decades-long overdose crises that has claimed the lives of so many New Yorkers and Americans across the nation," New York City Mayor Adams said in a statement. "Progress on reducing opioid overdoses will never make up for the families that have been devastated and the communities torn apart by these drugs, but it gives us hope that brighter days are ahead."
Despite the overall decline, inequities in overdose deaths continue to affect certain communities more severely. Black and Latino New Yorkers each experienced a 29% reduction in fatalities but still died at twice the rate of white residents.
“While we are finally seeing the needle move on fatal overdoses across the city, too many New Yorkers still continue to die from preventable deaths,” said DOHMH Acting Commissioner Dr. Michelle Morse. “As city leaders, we must be steadfast in our support of programs that save lives, while we continue to address historic disinvestment and other forms of structural racism.
Since 2018, the city has pursued legal action against opioid manufacturers and distributors, securing nearly $190 million as of the end of Fiscal Year 2025. With a new proposed settlement with Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family, that total could exceed $550 million by 2041.
In Fiscal Year 2025, $41 million has been allocated across city health agencies to expand harm reduction, treatment and outreach programs. These include syringe service programs that offer on-site medical care, harm reduction tools and treatment referrals, serving more than 8,000 participants citywide last year.
Additional funding is expanding access to methadone and buprenorphine, as well as supporting overdose response initiatives in hospital emergency departments.
