Council Member Robert Holden has accused Gov. Kathy Hochul of “gaslighting the public” after she issued a plan to tackle the mental health crisis in New York.
Hochul believes many crimes are linked to untreated mental illness and plans to introduce legislation to make it easier to commit those suffering from it involuntarily to hospitals.
“This has been rejected by the legislature in the past. It is my sincere hope that everyone in the legislature is paying attention to what is unfolding in our city and in our state and that we need to ensure that those who are suffering from severe mental illness are getting the care they need and we’re also protecting the innocent bystanders on our subways and on our streets,” she said.
Hochul’s legislation would expand the definition of rules that allow someone to be committed to a hospital for a mental health evaluation if they are determined to be a potential harm to themselves or others.
It would also change Kendra’s Law, which allows people to petition a judge to force someone with mental illness into treatment.
Holden, who represents District 30 in Queens, which covers Ridgewood, Maspeth, Middle Village, and Glendale, is against these changes and believes that the current regulations should work fine as long as they are used correctly.
“Governor Hochul is gaslighting the public by punting the mental health crisis to the State Legislature under the guise of needing changes to Kendra’s Law. The truth is that Kendra’s Law works when properly enforced, but city and state agencies have failed to follow through, and the Governor has failed to allocate the necessary resources to make it effective,” he stated.
“Instead of moving the goalposts, we need real leadership to take meaningful action and ensure those who pose a danger to themselves or others are removed from our streets and subways.”
Along with the proposed new legislation, Hochul’s plan to enhance subway safety also involves a $1 billion initiative to improve care, which includes restoring nearly 1,000 inpatient psychiatric beds and establishing discharge treatment plans.
Additionally, Hochul wants to ensure the presence of extra state police, MTA police, and National Guard personnel throughout the subway system and install security cameras in every subway car.
These changes come in the midst of a series of high-profile violent subway crimes, which include a man being shoved onto subway tracks ahead of an incoming train on New Year’s Eve, a sleeping woman being burned to death, and a man slashing two people with a knife in Grand Central subway station on Christmas Eve.
