New York City Mayor Eric Adams has expressed strong support for Governor Kathy Hochul’s announcement of plans to introduce legislation aimed at reforming New York’s involuntary commitment standards.

The mayor praised the proposal as a long-overdue step toward providing life-saving psychiatric care to individuals suffering from severe mental illness.

In a statement released today, Mayor Adams said, “Denying a person life-saving psychiatric care because their mental illness prevents them from recognizing their desperate need for it is an unacceptable abdication of our moral responsibility. That is why, two years ago, our administration announced an ambitious plan to support New Yorkers living with untreated severe mental illness and experiencing homelessness, which included a new city protocol on involuntary removals and a package of proposed state legal reforms to maximize our ability to serve this population.”

Mayor Adams underscored the urgency of the issue, pointing to several tragic incidents that highlight the consequences of untreated severe mental illness. He noted that the proposed Supportive Interventions Act would address these gaps in care, ensuring individuals receive the help they need rather than waiting for crises to unfold.

“Several recent incidents have shown what happens when these issues go untreated. As we have repeatedly said, we cannot wait for change,” he said.

The mayor also outlined the steps his administration has already taken to address the crisis.

“Since the start of our administration, we’ve put nearly every possible solution into action within the city’s control without passage of this law: we’ve restored all public hospital psychiatric beds that were closed during the pandemic, doubled outreach staffing at the Department of Homeless Services, aggressively expanded specialized shelters like Safe Havens and stabilization beds, brought more than 1,400 new beds online, and connected thousands of unsheltered New Yorkers on the subway system to critical services through SCOUT, PATH, and other programs.”

Mayor Adams expressed gratitude for Governor Hochul’s commitment to addressing the issue. “With today’s announcement, we are exceptionally grateful to Governor Hochul for listening to our calls and to the calls of everyday New Yorkers, and we look forward to working with her to develop next steps to finally codify these changes into law,” he stated.

The mayor concluded with a powerful call to action: “There is no dignity in withering away on the streets without the ability to help yourself, and there is no moral superiority in just walking by those individuals and doing nothing. We must stop being so idealistic that we’re not realistic.”

Governor Hochul’s proposed legislation aims to strengthen New York’s approach to addressing severe mental illness, marking a pivotal moment in the state’s efforts to balance compassion with practical solutions.