“The recent surge in violent crimes in our public transit system cannot continue — and we need to tackle this crisis head-on. Many of these horrific incidents have involved people with serious untreated mental illness, the result of a failure to get treatment to people who are living on the streets and are disconnected from our mental health care system. We have a duty to protect the public from random acts of violence, and the only fair and compassionate thing to do is to get our fellow New Yorkers the help they need.
“This is an issue that has plagued New York for decades. I took office after nearly half a century of disinvestment in mental health care and supportive housing, which directly contributed to the crisis we see on our streets and subways. I pledged to reverse that trend, launching a $1 billion plan to transform the continuum of care. We created mental health outreach teams that have already helped 750 New Yorkers get off the streets and into stable care. We’re close to reaching our goal of bringing 1,000 inpatient psychiatric beds back online, so individuals who need care have a place to go. And we’re imposing new regulations on mental health facilities to ensure patients are discharged with a treatment action plan. This is critical work, and I’m grateful to the many mental health professionals and nonprofit partners who are helping us implement these policies.
“I’m also deeply grateful for the men and women of law enforcement, who put on the uniform every single day and fight to keep our subways safe. The NYPD has primary authority to patrol the subways, and we’ve supported their efforts by deploying additional State Police, MTA Police and 1,000 members of the New York National Guard. I directed the MTA to install security cameras in every single subway car, and now that the project is complete these cameras are helping police solve crimes even faster. Fighting crime requires collaboration at all levels of law enforcement, and I’m committed to continuing our strong partnership with City Hall to address this issue.
“But we can’t fully address this problem without changes to state law. That’s why I will be including legislation in my executive budget to finally change New York’s involuntary commitment standards. Currently hospitals are able to commit individuals whose mental illness puts themselves or others at risk of serious harm, and this legislation will expand that definition to ensure more people receive the care they need. I will also introduce companion legislation to change Kendra’s Law, improving the process through which a court can order certain individuals to participate in Assisted Outpatient Treatment while also making it easier for individuals to voluntarily sign up for this treatment. I’ve been pushing these changes for the past three years — the time for legislative action is now.
“Public safety is my top priority and I will do everything in my power to keep New Yorkers safe.”
