Phoenix House Statement on 2026 NYC Opioid Overdose Deaths: "Fentanyl Remains A Threat To Our Students…"

NEW YORK, NY (11/13/2026) (readMedia)-- Yesterday, Mayor Mamdani and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene announced that opioid overdose deaths have decreased 58% citywide since their peak in 2022, reaching the lowest level on record since 2019.

Phoenix House CEO and President Ann-Marie Foster, and former member of the NYSBA Task Force on Opioid Addiction, issued the following statement in response:

"A 58% drop in overdose deaths means thousands of New Yorkers are alive today who might not have been. That is a crucial milestone, and it belongs to our city's health workers, treatment providers, and recovery leaders, whose commitment, backed by sustained public investment, made it possible. But this progress is fragile. Federal health budget cuts have already cost New Yorkers access to lifesaving recovery programs. And as we have seen in recent months, fentanyl remains an insidious threat to some of our youngest New Yorkers: students.

If we want to beat this crisis, our city must distribute the opioid settlement funds more quickly, continue to invest in overdose prevention and distribute resources at every level of community: in schools, on college campuses, and in the workplace. Phoenix House remains committed to serving our most vulnerable neighbors and working alongside our city partners to ensure that every New Yorker has access to the treatment and support they need."

Earlier this year, Mayor Mamdani announced a $12 million investment to expand peer-led substance use recovery programs citywide, including Phoenix House. Phoenix House has since put that investment to work in Brooklyn with "Phoebe," its first-ever Neighborhood Outreach Wellness (NOW) mobile van, which offers peer support, recovery resources education, Narcan training, and harm reduction and engagement services right in the community.

According to the NYC Health Department, Black and Latino New Yorkers died of overdose at about twice the rate of white New Yorkers in 2024, while up to 90,000 residents reported an unmet need for substance use treatment. To help close those gaps, Phoebe is focused on the neighborhoods hit hardest by the crisis - East New York, Brownsville, Flatbush, Williamsburg, and Bushwick - meeting residents where they are and connecting them to peer support and recovery resources without requiring them to travel to a traditional treatment setting.

About Phoenix House: For nearly 60 years, Phoenix House New York and Long Island has helped thousands of people overcome substance and alcohol use in order to lead healthy, productive, and rewarding lives. Born as a model for integrated substance use treatment, Phoenix House has grown into a treatment network that offers short-term and long-term residential, intensive outpatient, and general outpatient treatment. Phoenix House also offers treatment for co-occurring mental health disorders, clinical services, medication for addiction treatment, health and wellness goals, and vocational and educational support.

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