NYC resorts to involuntary hospitalizations of mentally ill homeless people to alleviate crime
New York City public advocate Jumaane Williams weighs in on New York City’s growing crime problem and the current efforts that the city is implementing to attempt to lessen the crisis.
A federal judge rejected a request Wednesday to stall New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ plan to forcibly hospitalize mentally ill homeless people living on streets and subways ahead of the winter months.
The plan, unveiled by the Democratic mayor on Nov. 29, would see EMS and joint patrols of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the New York City Police Department transporting individuals with "untreated psychotic disorders who pose a risk of harm to themselves even if they are not an imminent threat to the public."
In a written order Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Paul Crotty decided it was premature for a coalition of lawyers, which included New York Lawyers for the Public Interest and the National Alliance on Mental Illness of New York City, to seek emergency relief from the plan.
Without ruling on specifics, Crotty said the coalition failed to prove Adams’ plan would currently cause irreparable harm, arguing the city hasn’t progressed the initiative beyond basic training for superior officers, the New York Daily News reported.
"We are pleased that the Court agreed there was no basis to freeze this important initiative while the case continues," Law Department spokesman Nick Paolucci said in a statement to the newspaper. "When the all the evidence is heard, we are confident that the Court will agree that the City’s compassionate efforts to assist people suffering from homelessness and severe mental illness, comply with federal and state law."
This file image shows New York City Mayor Eric Adams at a conference addressing the rise in anti-Semitic incidents across the United Sates at the Lincoln Square Synagogue in Manhattan on Dec. 12, 2022, in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
At the hearing, the Manhattan federal judge asked whether anyone has been directly impacted by the initiative, to which City Hall lawyer Alan Scheiner responded no, "not a single example of someone taken into custody because of this initiative," news publication The City reported. Crotty also referenced a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of Steven Greene, a 26-year-old diagnosed with posttramautic stress disorder and attention deficit disorder who claims he has been detained by police and involuntarily hospitalized more than three times since 2020.
A homeless sits in the street on November 30, 2022, in New York City. (Leonardo Munoz/VIEWpress)
Despite those hospitalizations coming before Adams even ran for office, Greene claims that as a result of the mayor’s announcement, his PTSD exacerbated, and he doesn't leave home "constantly fearful that my mental disability will cause an NYPD officer to forcibly and violently detain me and hospitalize me against my will."
Opponents of New York Mayor Eric Adam's plan to involuntarily send mentally-ill homeless people to psychiatric hospitals participate in a rally at City Hall on Dec. 8, 2022 in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
His attorney, Luna Droubi, contended the policy is unconstitutional and violates the Americans With Disabilities Act.
Adams defended the plan, saying officials would not be making arrests.
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"If we are saying let’s leave the status quo, those who are saying that, it’s basically stating leaving people on the streets who cannot take care of their basic needs, and they are a danger to themselves or others. That’s inhumane," Adams said on Dec. 10.
"I am not going to do that. I’m going to make sure we give people the care they need," he said. "We are not taking everyone who has a mental illness into custody. We’re not arresting people. So, all of this hysteria that’s being raised, it’s totally in conflict with New Yorkers."
