
Cuomo unveils plan to fix NYC's mental health crisis — and it looks a lot like Adams' agenda
Cuomo, who is vying to unseat Adams as New York City's mayor, unveiled more than a dozen proposals to help get people with severe mental illness off the streets, including expanding involuntary hospitalizations and increasing psychiatric beds.
But many of the key elements bear striking similarities to ones already rattled off by Hizzoner during his current stint in City Hall.
Advertisement
'Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,' an Adams' administration source told The Post after Cuomo's plan dropped.
'Especially when it comes to cleaning up situations created by the imitator.'
One of Cuomo's main focuses would be removing those who are a danger to themselves from the streets, according to his 36-page proposal.
Advertisement
As part of the plan, Cuomo has vowed to expand the use of court orders under Kendra's Law — mainly by requiring 'universal screening' when people are discharged from public hospitals and from Rikers Island jail.
Adams, for his part, has long called for the state law to be strengthened so the city can commit people suffering from severe mental illness for longer.
Cuomo has also called for adding between 100 to 200 new inpatient psychiatric beds within the city's Health and Hospitals system in a bid to keep mentally ill perps out of Rikers.
The additional inpatient beds are up from the 100-odd new beds Hizzoner touted during his State of the City speech earlier this year to tackle the crisis.
Advertisement
The former governor, too, floated boosting supportive housing units from 500 to 1,600 per year — up from the 900 'Safe Haven' beds promised by Adams to house the homeless and transition them to permanent housing.
Cuomo also highlighted how the city needs to tap into involuntarily removing homeless people from the streets who can't meet their basic needs — a policy expansion that was put in place nearly three years ago under the Adams admin following a spate of horrifying subway attacks.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Politico
2 hours ago
- Politico
Eric Adams' former top aide to face new charges
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The New York Post first reported on the imminent charges. Lewis-Martin resigned from her role as chief adviser to the mayor in December, days before she was indicted on bribery charges. She's accused of helping a pair of real estate developers with bureaucratic issues in exchange for gifts to her son, including $100,000 he allegedly used to purchase a Porsche. She pleaded not guilty and denied any wrongdoing. The new charges will be entirely separate from those allegations, Aidala said. He is expecting at least two new cases to be brought, likely with co-defendants. 'Mayor Adams was not involved in this matter and has not been accused of or implicated in any wrongdoing,' City Hall spokesperson Kayla Mamelak Altus said in a statement. 'He remains focused on what has always been his priority — serving the 8.5 million New Yorkers who call this city home and making their city safer and more affordable every single day. Ingrid Lewis-Martin no longer works for this administration.' Lewis-Martin remains a volunteer adviser on Adams' reelection campaign. It would be just the latest legal issue to dog Adams and his inner circle. A federal judge dismissed his own corruption charges after the Trump administration moved to drop the case. But a donor and a staffer have both pleaded guilty to conspiring on straw donor schemes benefitting Adams' campaign, and several other donors pleaded guilty to a separate scheme in state court. Top members of his administration, including his first deputy mayor, police commissioner and schools chancellor were also pushed out last year after coming under federal investigation.


New York Post
3 hours ago
- New York Post
NY must launch own probe into city's handling of deadly Harlem Legionnaires' outbreak, ex-Gov. Cuomo says
Gov. Kathy Hochul's administration must launch its own probe into New York City's handling of the deadly Legionnaires' disease outbreak in Harlem, her predecessor Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday. Cuomo — now running for mayor — was governor when a Legionnaires' outbreak hit The Bronx in 2015, resulting in 15 deaths and 120 hospitalizations. After hearing complaints from Bronx officials and residents, he ordered a state investigation that led to stricter rules involving testing cooling towers for the disease-causing bacteria Legionnela. 'Confidence in government is paramount, and New Yorkers deserve to know if the City followed its own rules to prevent this deadly outbreak,' Cuomo said in a statement. Advertisement 4 Andrew Cuomo said NY must launch own probe into city's handling of deadly Harlem Legionnaires' outbreak. Matthew McDermott 4 Cuomo said Kathy Hochul must act on the outbreak. Tomas E. Gaston 'The last time we confronted a Legionnaires' outbreak of this scale, we not only moved heaven and earth to stop it, we put in place tough new protocols to prevent it from happening again,' he said. 'With the City now serving as both the regulator and the landlord for many of the affected buildings, there is an inherent conflict of interest. Only an independent review can determine whether the right steps were taken – or whether City inaction made a bad situation worse.' Advertisement Some of the cooling towers that tested positive for Legionnella in the current outbreak are on city-owned buildings, including Harlem Hospital and the city Department of Health's Central Harlem Sexual Health Clinic on the same stretch of West 137th Street. 4 Cooling towers in Harem that tested positive for Legionnaires'. Google Earth Cuomo said that means city officials may not be complying with the law they're supposed to enforce. There's an 'inherent conflict of interest' for the city to serve as both 'the regulator and the landlord' of the affected buildings, he said. Advertisement The state Health Department must conduct an independent probe because the city can't investigate itself, Cuomo said. 4 A locator map showing the locations of the Harlem Legionnaires' outbreak. Rob Jejenich / NY Post Design At least five people have died and more than 100 others have been sickened with Legionnaires', according to city health officials. A state Health Department spokesperson told The Post on Tuesday that it was assisting city Health Department officials in addressing the outbreak. Advertisement 'DOH continues to work around the clock to support NYC's legionnaires response. As a result of this collaborative effort, exposure has been significantly reduced, with no new diagnoses since August 12, and all identified deficient cooling towers have been remediated. We are continuing to aggressively monitor the situation, and any New Yorker experiencing symptoms should seek medical treatment immediately,' the DOH spokesperson said. Hochul said the state was playing a 'supportive role,' adding, 'I'm concerned and that I know the city's all over this. If I didn't think so, I'd let you know.' The Rev. Al Sharpton, along with civil rights attorney Ben Crump, is unveiling a lawsuit Wednesday against a construction company that did work in Harlem Hospital and allegedly contributed to the outbreak.


CBS News
4 hours ago
- CBS News
New poll in NYC mayor's race has Zohran Mamdani with commanding lead in just about every scenario
A new poll in the race for New York City mayor shows Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani with a commanding lead in just about every scenario in this year's unprecedented race. The AARP New York-Gotham Polling & Analytics poll surveyed 1,376 likely voters, and found Mamdani well ahead of his nearest challengers with 41.8% support. The same poll had: The poll also asked likely voters what would happen if some of the contenders were to drop out. In every scenario, Mamdani maintained his comfortable lead in the race. Mamdani is also ahead of all challengers in theoretical head-to-head matches, with Cuomo emerging as the closest contender but still behind - with an important caveat. In a theoretical head-to-head matchup with Mamdani and Cuomo, however, 27% of likely voters remain undecided - meaning they make up a key group that could decide the race in that scenario. In terms of favorability and unfavorability, The top issues among likely voters are cost of living, public safety and housing affordability, the poll found. A majority of likely voters - 52.7% - said the city was currently headed in the wrong direction. The general election is set for Nov. 4. Cuomo has previously called on candidates who are behind in the polls to exit the race ahead of Election Day in order to set up a one-to-one challenge to Mamdani. He told CBS News New York's Marcia Kramer he'd do it himself, saying "I don't want to be part of a suicide mission."