You know the menace of homeless mentally ill haunting our city streets and subways has gotten serious when even Mayor Adams’ lefty challengers are paying lip service to taking it seriously.
Like Adams, they all want to expand mental-health outreach teams and ensure supportive housing and so on for those who can be talked off the streets, but some are even agreeing on the need to force them into treatment.
City Comptroller Brad Lander now calls for reforming the rules surrounding involuntary commitment, e.g. by letting nurses to make those evaluations as well as MDs.
Scott Stringer, a former comptroller, also would remove people who pose a danger to themselves or others — but hasn’t offered details.
Then again, Queens progressive state Sen. Jessica Ramos wants to solve the mess via “fairness and transformative change,” including a “holistic” approach that achieves “harmony” via a host of touchy-feeling programs.
And Brooklyn state Sen. Zellnor Myrie faults the Adams administration for letting the homeless mentally ill fall through cracks in city services.
Myrie used the memorial service for homeless F-train immolation victim Debrina Kawam to accuse the city of failing her — while failing to mention his opposition to forced removals for psychiatric reasons.
No wonder polls suggest that ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo would trounce them all if got in the race: He plays tough guy well enough that voters surely think he’d break with progressives’ “we must respect homeless rights” delusions.
Then again, Cuomo as governor did nothing on this front — and actually slashed the number of inpatient psych beds in the state and city, the very beds needed to treat street people with severe mentally illness, should New York law change to allow major involuntary commitments.
So far, Adams is the only Democratic candidate with a clear, yearslong record of wanting to get these people into treatment even when they don’t want to go.
He’s had no luck getting the Legislature to let him do it, but that still puts him head and shoulders above the progressive pack.
