{"id":4836,"date":"2026-07-19T10:10:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T10:10:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4836"},"modified":"2026-07-19T10:10:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T10:10:09","slug":"exclusive-mamdani-administration-makes-cash-for-syringes-pilot-program-permanent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4836","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive | Mamdani administration makes cash-for-syringes pilot program permanent"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The Mamdani administration has quietly made permanent a controversial pilot program that pays junkies cash for turning in used needles \u2014 a move critics contend will only encourage illegal drug use.<\/p>\n

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The city\u2019s massive $126 billion budget for the new fiscal year that began July 1 includes $3 million to retain the Health Department\u2019s Community Syringe Redemption Program, which pays the public 20 cents per syringe.<\/p>\n

The announcement was made with little fanfare in budget documents the agency provided to the NYC Council on June 30, shortly before members approved Zohran Mamdani\u2019s first spending plan as mayor.<\/p>\n

Addiction Response Resources, a nonprofit that launched a similar program in Boston in 2020, will continue to operate the Big Apple\u2019s program through an $11.1 million contract that runs through the end of next year.<\/p>\n

Participants can return up to 50 used syringes per day \u2014 collecting $10 \u2014 by dropping them at eight designated sites: five in The Bronx, and one each in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens.<\/p>\n

There are no current plans to expand the program, which attempts to get hazardous syringes off city streets, parks and other property. It was initially approved as a pilot through legislation backed by far-left City Council members in 2022 and officially began in March 2025.<\/p>\n

The program is being paid for through more than $189 million in settlement funds that the city secured from major opioid manufacturers and distributors.<\/p>\n

Councilwoman Joann Ariola (R-Queens) ripped the initiative, saying the settlement cash \u201cshould all be going toward addiction treatment services \u2014 not for paying users to turn in their needles for cash.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll this is doing is putting money in the pockets of addicts, so they can continue to fuel their habits, rather than helping them break free of their disease.\u201d<\/p>\n

More than 2.3 million needles have been collected through the program since it began as a pilot nearly 16 months ago, according to the Health Department. During its first year, $292,000 in cash was handed out to more than 1,700 participants, officials said.<\/p>\n

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The program\u2019s popularity has meant fewer needles for the Sanitation Department to pick up\u00a0\u2014 but the agency insists it is devoting the same resources to needle removal in parks and other public places as it did before the program started.<\/p>\n

Sanitation workers as of Wednesday had collected 26,229 needles this year \u2014 or nearly three times less than the 64,560 they picked up during the same period in 2025, according to the agency.<\/p>\n

Councilman Oswald Feliz, a Bronx Democrat whose district is home to two of the drop-off sites in Fordham Heights and Tremont, credited the clean-up effort but warned about the environment the program enables.<\/p>\n

\u201cToo often, used syringes end up in front of schools and children\u2019s parks, and this is an issue that should be treated with the seriousness it deserves,\u201d he said. \u201cWe should not recklessly create conditions that can threaten the safety of vulnerable communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Some admitted drug users hailed the news \u2014 but pined for more drop-off sites and no limits on how many syringes they could bring.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s definitely a side hustle for me. Yeah, definitely!\u201d crowed Tamia Wright, 43, after returning needles at Walter Gladwin Park in The Bronx on Thursday. \u201cRight now, I\u2019m gonna buy some weed with [the earnings] and cigarettes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Health Department spokesperson Rachel Vick touted the program, saying \u201ceveryone deserves to live in a community free of\u00a0syringe\u00a0litter\u201d in public spaces.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe city\u2019s\u00a0syringe\u00a0redemption program allows New Yorkers in neighborhoods where we see the most complaints to help keep their communities clean, while safely disposing of medical waste and connecting people in need to nearby care,\u201d said Vick. <\/p>\n

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\u201cWe look forward to continuing this important work in the years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New York City is making its controversial cash-for-needles program — which pays 20 cents a syringe with a $10 daily cap — permanent in the new budget as critics say it just funds addicts’ habits.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4835,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-metro"],"yoast_head":"\nExclusive | Mamdani administration makes cash-for-syringes pilot program permanent - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4836\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Exclusive | Mamdani administration makes cash-for-syringes pilot program permanent - 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