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NY Post
New York Post
4 Mar 2023


NextImg:Opioid-plagued Staten Island wrongly cut out of $1.5B settlement fund: pol

Staten Island is getting screwed out of its cut of a $1.5 billion settlement drug companies agreed to pay toward overdose prevention – despite the “forgotten borough” being “Ground Zero” of the Big Apple’s opioid epidemic, a local pol claims.

The city’s share of the whopping legal payout is being allocated only to facilities in the city’s hospital system — and Staten Island is the only borough without a city-run hospital, Republican Assemblyman Sam Pirozzolo told The Post.

Pirozzolo plans to testify Monday in Albany, before a state-appointed board overseeing the fund, that Staten Island is getting a raw deal.

“The intent of the New York State Opioid Settlement Fund was never meant to exclude any New Yorker based on their residence or lack of a city hospital,” says Pirozzolo, according to a copy of his testimony.

“Denying Staten Island residents resources that were specifically earmarked to provide much-needed care and protection is without a doubt discriminatory and likely illegal.”

Staten Island averaged 37.1 accidental overdose deaths from opioid drugs per 100,000 residents in 2021, according to reports.
Getty Images

A aerial view of Staten Island Ferry station in New York City.

Staten Island is the only borough without a city-run hospital, Republican Assemblyman Sam Pirozzolo told The Post.

AFP via Getty Images

Pirozzolo said he plans to demand Gov. Hochul, Mayor Adams other officials take steps to immediately give Staten Island its “fair” share of the 2021 settlement – which he estimates would top $10 million – or he’ll introduce legislation requiring the city and state to do so.

Staten Island averaged 37.1 accidental overdose deaths from opioid drugs per 100,000 residents in 2021, second only to The Bronx’s 58.7 among the five boroughs, according to city Health Department records.

A spokesperson for the mayor insisted there will be “numerous rounds of opioid settlement funds that will support live-saving programs citywide — including Staten Island — as we work to tackle the overdose crisis.”