Sam Rivera

Sam Rivera

Sam Rivera
Occupations
  • Nonprofit executive
  • Harm reduction advocate
OrganizationExecutive Director of OnPoint NYC (2020-)
AwardsTime 100 2023

Sam Rivera is an American activist and nonprofit executive of Afro-Taino descent. He became known for serving as the Executive Director of harm reduction-focused nonprofit OnPoint NYC in 2020, and led its creation of the first two safe injection sites in the United States in NYC in November 2021. For his work leading OnPoint, he was named to the Time 100 in 2023.

Biography

Rivera was convicted of a drug and gun charge in his early 20s. During his time in prison, he noticed a broken window in a room where several ill men were and reported it. He was immediately whisked to a quarantine room and made to sign a waiver: those men had HIV/AIDS. Ultimately, he wound up volunteering to read to them and help them write letters to their family.[1] He was freed from prison in 1990, and two years later went to work for the Fortune Society, a prison re-entry nonprofit, as an advocate.[2]

After rising to the role of Associate Vice President for Housing at the Fortune Society, he became the Executive Director of two organizations then in the middle of merging: the Washington Heights Corner Project and the New York Harm Reduction Educators.[3] After merging, the two became known as OnPoint NYC and Rivera became the new organization's Executive Director.[4]

In 2021, Bill de Blasio authorized the opening of the first two Supervised injection sites in the United States by OnPoint under Rivera's leadership.[5][6] During just the first few months of the sites being open under Rivera's leadership, these sites reversed over 100 overdoses.[7] By late 2025, that number had reached over 1900.[8] Rivera's vision also focused on holistic care at these sites, including laundry, mental health, acupuncture, showers, and drug testing.[9]

The center has faced political trouble, though: though all three Mayors during OnPoint's sites have supported them (de Blasio, Eric Adams[10] and Zohran Mamdani[11]), in 2025 Nicole Malliotakis, a congresswoman from Staten Island, asked the Department of Justice to shut them down. Rivera, however, reaffirmed his commitment to these supervised injection sites.[12]

He was named to the Time 100 in 2023: his profile in Time 100 was written by Beth Macy.[13] He also won the David Prize for individuals with the best ideas to create a better NYC in 2023,[14] and received the Legal Action Center's Edward J. Davis Community Service Award that same year.[15]

Personal life

He is of Afro-Taino descent, and cited his uncle, a Puerto Rican activist, as one of his biggest inspirations.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b "Q-and-A with Sam Rivera, executive director of OnPoint NYC". www.lac.org. Retrieved May 11, 2026.
  2. ^ "Director of harm reduction centers wants to use love, not aggression, to address adversaries". The Fortune Society. Retrieved May 11, 2026.
  3. ^ New York Harm Reduction Educators. "Please join us in welcoming Sam Rivera". www.facebook.com. Retrieved May 11, 2026.
  4. ^ Soto, Emerson (May 31, 2019). "NYHRE: Who We Are". OnPoint NYC. Retrieved May 11, 2026.
  5. ^ "NYC Opens First Supervised Injection Sites In US To Fight Opioid Overdoses". Gothamist. November 30, 2021. Retrieved May 11, 2026.
  6. ^ Paun, Carmen; Payne, Daniel; Schumaker, Erin (April 19, 2024). "The case for supervised drug use". POLITICO. Retrieved May 11, 2026.
  7. ^ Oladipo, Gloria (January 25, 2022). "'It's saved many lives': first US overdose prevention centers give safe spaces to people in crisis". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved May 11, 2026.
  8. ^ Facher, Lev (December 18, 2025). "Facing federal hostility, supervised consumption site points to 1,900 overdose reversals". STAT. Retrieved May 11, 2026.
  9. ^ "A Safe Space for Users: A Conversation With Sam Rivera". Vital City. December 13, 2023. Retrieved May 11, 2026.
  10. ^ Knibbs, Kate. "Hope on the Front Lines of the Drug Overdose Crisis". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved May 11, 2026.
  11. ^ Soto, Emerson (March 19, 2026). "Partnering to Keep New Yorkers Safe: Mayor Mamdani Visits OnPoint NYC". OnPoint NYC. Retrieved May 11, 2026.
  12. ^ "President Trump asked to shut down safe injection sites operating in New York City". ABC7 New York. February 14, 2025. Retrieved May 11, 2026.
  13. ^ Macy, Beth. "100 Most Influential People 2023: Sam Rivera". Time. Retrieved May 11, 2026.
  14. ^ "Sam Rivera". The David Prize. September 5, 2024. Retrieved May 11, 2026.
  15. ^ "LAC Celebrates Historic Milestone and Three Incredible Honorees at Its 50th Anniversary Arthur Liman Public Interest Awards Benefit". www.lac.org. Retrieved May 11, 2026.

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