New York City makes needle exchange program permanent with opioid funds
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New York City is permanently funding a program that pays people up to $10 a day for used syringes; It’s a controversial effort that critics argue puts taxpayer dollars in the pockets of addicts rather than getting them treated.
The program, known as the Community Syringe Take-Back Program, was quietly made permanent through Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s first city budget, following a $126 billion spending plan in which the city set aside $3 million to continue beyond its pilot phase. New York Post reported. The funding appeared in budget documents submitted to the New York City Council on June 30, shortly before lawmakers approved the budget.
According to the New York City Department of Health, participants receive 20 cents for each used syringe they return; Payments are limited to 50 syringes or $10 per day. The city operates eight redemption sites, five in the Bronx and one each in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens, where registered participants can drop off used needles during scheduled collection times.
MAYORS WANT TO CONTINUE DISTRIBUTING FREE CASH AFTER FEDERAL FUNDS ARE ESTABLISHED
A used syringe lies on the ground in a park as local politicians, religious leaders and members of the Harlem community attend the ‘Make Our Streets Safe for Our Children’ march and rally in New York City on October 8. (Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
The program launched on a pilot basis in March 2025, following the passage of legislation supported by progressive City Council members in 2022. The program is being run by Addiction Intervention Resources, a nonprofit organization that has launched a similar syringe take-back program in Boston, under an $11.1 million contract that runs through the end of next year, the Post reported.
Health officials say the program has collected more than 2.3 million used syringes since it began nearly 16 months ago. In its first year, the city paid nearly $292,000 to more than 1,700 participants.
Department of Sanitation data cited by the Post shows workers have collected 26,229 discarded needles so far this year; this number was 64,560 in the same period in 2025.
St. Danilo, an outreach worker from Ann’s Corner of Harm Reduction, participates in a weekly needle cleanup at a Bronx park frequented by drug users on April 23, 2025 in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
The city is paying for the program with more than $189 million in settlement funds it receives from major opioid manufacturers and distributors, according to the Post; Some critics argue that this money should be directed to addiction treatment instead.
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Queens Republican Assemblywoman Joann Ariola argued that the opioid settlement money used to fund the program “should go to addiction treatment services, not to pay users to surrender their needles for cash,” the Post reported. He added that the program “puts money in addicts’ pockets” rather than helping them overcome addiction.
St. Outreach workers at Ann’s Corner of Harm Reduction participate in a weekly needle cleanup at a Bronx park frequented by drug users on April 23, 2025 in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Bronx Democratic Councilman Oswald Feliz praised the effort to remove discarded syringes but warned that the city “should not recklessly create conditions that could threaten the safety of vulnerable communities,” according to the Post.
Some participants view the program differently.
Tamia Wright, 43, told the Post it “definitely became a side hustle” after returning used needles at a Bronx park, adding that she planned to spend the money on “weed and cigarettes.”
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City officials say the program aims to reduce hazardous syringe litter in neighborhoods where discarded needles are frequently reported. The Health Department says improperly disposed syringes can pose a risk of needlestick injuries and disease transmission and urges residents to safely dispose of sharps or report syringe litter to 311.
Department of Health spokeswoman Rachel Vick defended the program, saying it helps residents “live in a community free of syringe trash” while safely disposing of medical waste and connecting people in need to nearby care services.
