Monday, April 21, 2025
Three years into Nassau County Executive Bruce A. Blakeman’s administration, nearly $100 million in opioid settlement funds sits mostly untouched. Meanwhile, lives are being lost. The money is stuck in limbo — apparently with no urgency, no transparency and no plan emerging from his administration.
This is unacceptable. While families mourn and communities struggle, Blakeman’s inaction has left these critical funds collecting dust. It’s time for outside experts to step in and fix this mess.
The county’s opioid settlement funds came from lawsuits initiated by former County Executive
Laura Curran against the distributors, manufacturers and retailers of addictive drugs. The funds were intended to support agencies providing treatment, prevention and recovery services on the front lines of this crisis. The most recent funds accepted by the County Legislature — $1.185 million in total — came from settlements with ShopRite supermarkets, Target and Henry Schein Inc.
Yet out of nearly $100 million, only $4.8 million has been spent. That is a shocking failure.
While Blakeman and his administration claim that $36 million is “encumbered” to various agencies, that’s just a fancy way of saying they’ve promised the money but haven’t delivered it. Worse yet, they blame the service providers for failing to submit reimbursement claims quickly enough.
That’s an insult to families fighting to save loved ones in the grip of addiction. “Help is on the way” means nothing when that help never arrives.
Under intense questioning by Legislator Scott Davis and me during the Feb. 24 meeting of the Legislature, Department of Human Services officials finally admitted that only $4.8 million has been spent to date — even though we had selected many of the intended recipients because of the county’s familiarity with their programs and trust in their leadership.
Their testimony and lack of results to date made it clear that DHS doesn’t have the ability to handle the distribution of these funds under its current leadership — and that agencies entrusted with distributing these funds should at least be consulting with experts in the field as they formulate a strategy.
After years of delays, the Legislature in February created a method for providers to submit applications, and authorized a maximum allocation of $1 million to bring in an outside firm to fix this disaster. I joined my fellow legislators in supporting the measure because we need professionals to cut through the confusion and get these lifesaving resources to where they belong. Had we known of the level of disorganization three years ago, we could have acted much sooner — but the administration would not admit that it was unable to adequately manage this critical task. Its failure to come clean — a recurring problem with the administration — will have real-life consequences.
I have attended far too many funerals for young overdose victims, and know the heartbreak this crisis inflicts. Addiction doesn’t discriminate — it devastates families of all backgrounds, regardless of age, race, religion, sex or economic status. The catastrophic danger posed by the increasing presence of deadly fentanyl makes the stakes higher than ever before.
I regularly hear from families pleading for help, desperate for action. While we cannot undo the pain already inflicted, we can demand accountability. Nassau’s opioid settlement funds must reach those in need without further delay, and it is my hope that hiring a qualified firm will help us fulfill this mandate.
Every life we lose to opioid addiction is one too many. I will continue to meet my responsibility as a fiduciary of the county by continuing to closely monitor the distribution of these funds, which are intended to be used in an efficient, impactful and serious manner. In memory of everyone we have lost and with the hope of reaching our neighbors who are struggling right now, I am committed to doing everything in my power to ensure that we maximize the positive impact of these resources as expeditiously as possible.
Delia DeRiggi-Whitton represents Nassau County’s 11th Legislative District and is the Legislature’s Democratic minority leader.
