Press Releases

NYC Test & Treat Corps, Department of Finance and Department of Small Business Services Partner To Expand City’s Network of Walk-Up At-Home Test Distribution Sites

34 new walk-up distribution sites at Department of Finance and Small Business Services locations will receive initial allocation of nearly 150,000 at-home rapid tests

Partnerships expand Test & Treat’s network of walk-up at-home test distribution sites to over 280 locations

Jan 31, 2023

New York, NY

The NYC Test & Treat Corps, in partnership with the Departments of Finance (DOF) and Small Business Services (SBS), announced today the opening of 34 additional walk-up at-home test distribution sites, further expanding the city’s network of over 280 locations where New Yorkers can pick up free at-home rapid testing. The new walk-up distribution sites will receive an initial allocation of nearly 150,000 at-home rapid tests and include SBS’s Workforce1 Career Centers and NYC Business Solutions Centers in every borough, providing free testing to job seekers and small business owners.

“COVID-19 is still with us and we must continue to take steps to protect ourselves and our communities,” said Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom. “At-home tests are a powerful tool in that effort and Test & Treat’s partnerships with the Departments of Finance and Small Business Services will help us keep meeting people where they are in order to keep us all safe and healthy.”

“The Test & Treat Corps’ expansive network of over 280 walk-up sites offering free at-home testing ensures that critical testing resources are near at hand for all New Yorkers,” said Dr. Ted Long, Executive Director, NYC Test & Treat Corps; Senior Vice President for Ambulatory Care and Population Health, NYC Health + Hospitals. “Our latest partnership with the Departments of Finance and Small Business Services ensures free testing is available to New Yorkers on the go—whether looking for work, training for their next position, managing their finances or starting a new business. We are committed to helping New Yorkers continue to recover from the pandemic, and thankful for our partners’ work that will help make New York City stronger than ever.”

“With business centers in each of the five boroughs, the Department of Finance provides in-person assistance to hundreds of New Yorkers each day,” said Department of Finance Commissioner Preston Niblack. “We are pleased to partner with the NYC Test & Treat Corps and join the growing list of locations where New Yorkers can access COVID-19 tests to keep themselves and their loved ones safe.”

“Economic health stems directly from public health. SBS is proud to provide free at-home tests to jobseekers and business owners getting help at any of our 25 Workforce1 and Business Solutions,” said Kevin D. Kim, Commissioner, Department of Small Business Services. “This partnership with the NYC Test & Treat Corps significantly expands access to vital resources that will help New Yorkers build both health and wealth.”

The initial allocation of nearly 150,000 tests will provide testing at Department of Finance and Small Business Services locations in all five boroughs, including locations where New Yorkers receive employment support, workforce training, career preparation and financial counseling, as well as assistance with their property taxes and exemptions, parking and camera violations, Rent Freeze Program inquiries and City Register services.

“Like so many New Yorkers, I’m grateful to the city agencies, public libraries, cultural institutions, and community-based organizations that are stepping up to help make at-home tests readily accessible,” said Theresa Doherty, Deputy Director, NYC Test & Treat Corps Outreach Campaigns. “I’ve heard from many community members – including my own friends and family – who have needed the convenience of free at-home tests to get back to work after potential exposure, to travel, go out on the town, or gather safely with loved ones. I’m always excited to help direct them to our amazing partners, and look forward to engaging new organizations in this growing city-wide network!”

To date, the NYC Test & Treat Corps has distributed over 77 million free at-home tests through its network of over 1,200 distribution partners. The Corps has established walk-up sites at 193 City libraries, 27 NYC Parks facilities, 14 prominent cultural institutions, five Department of Probation NeON Kitchens, and seven Gotham Health locations. Walk-up sites receive weekly deliveries of at-home tests where they are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.

Additionally, the Test & Treat Corps’ network of over 1000 community and faith-based distribution partners has distributed nearly 6 million at-home tests and over 16 million KN95 or surgical masks. This massive distribution effort has ensured critical self-testing resources and personal protective equipment (PPE) is widely accessible for City residents across the five boroughs. Program partners have established distribution sites in 157 of the City’s 178 zip codes and 99% of neighborhoods the city’s Taskforce on Racial Inclusion & Equity (TRIE) determined were hardest hit by the pandemic.

Making at-home testing widely available has ensured New Yorkers can test themselves immediately if they have symptoms, so they can safely head to work, school, or other gatherings with family or friends or be immediately connected to life-saving COVID-19 treatments in the event of a positive test.

The Corps continues to expand its network of distribution partners, providing additional sites for City residents to pick up at-home tests. Any New York City-based community organization that would like to participate as an at-home test distribution partner is encouraged to sign up online.

New Yorkers can find the location most convenient to them and site hours of operation by visiting the City’s COVID-19 testing page. New Yorkers with a disability who need assistance or have questions regarding at-home tests should call 311. Those who are deaf or hard of hearing and use American Sign Language can call via video phone at 646-396-5830.

The rapid results provided by at-home tests allow New Yorkers to know their COVID health status in minutes and, if positive, immediately seek antiviral treatment through New York City’s unique COVID-19 Hotline (212-COVID19). New Yorkers who test positive using an at-home test are encouraged to call the hotline at 212-268-4319 to take advantage of free, at-home delivery of COVID-19 treatments, which include life-saving medicines like Paxlovid.

Multiple COVID-19 treatments are available for people ages 12 and older, and can be delivered to New Yorkers’ homes for free. For more information on COVID-19 treatments, please call 212-COVID19 and press 9 or visit the NYC Test & Treat Corps’ COVID-19 treatments website.

Calling 212-COVID19 provides New Yorkers an immediate connection to a clinician who can refer them to monoclonal antibody treatment or prescribe antiviral medications, like Paxlovid, and arrange to have it delivered to their home that same day for free.

Contact: Press Office, 212-788-3339

About the NYC Test & Treat Corps

The NYC Test & Treat Corps is the City’s comprehensive effort to respond to COVID-19 by providing New Yorkers accessible, no-cost testing, rapid connections to COVID-19 treatments and resources to support those recovering from Long COVID. Through a partnership with NYC Health + Hospitals and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the NYC Test & Treat Corps provides New Yorkers equitable, widespread access to the critical tools for COVID-19 testing and treatment. For more information, visit testandtreat.nyc.

About NYC Health + Hospitals

NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest municipal health care system in the nation serving more than a million New Yorkers annually in more than 70 patient care locations across the City’s five boroughs. A robust network of outpatient, neighborhood-based primary and specialty care centers anchors care coordination with the system’s trauma centers, nursing homes, post-acute care centers, home care agency, and MetroPlus health plan—all supported by 11 essential hospitals. Its diverse workforce of more than 43,000 employees is uniquely focused on empowering New Yorkers, without exception, to live the healthiest life possible. For more information, visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org and stay connected on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/NYCHealthSystem or Twitter at @NYCHealthSystem.