Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday launched his sprawling plan to repair the Massive Apple’s psychological well being disaster — ticking off most of the points rival Mayor Eric Adams has already been pushing for.
Cuomo, who’s vying to unseat Adams as New York Metropolis’s mayor, unveiled greater than a dozen proposals to assist get folks with extreme psychological sickness off the streets, together with increasing involuntary hospitalizations and growing psychiatric beds.
However most of the key parts bear hanging similarities to ones already rattled off by Hizzoner throughout his present stint in Metropolis Corridor.
“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” an Adams’ administration supply instructed The Submit after Cuomo’s plan dropped.
“Especially when it comes to cleaning up situations created by the imitator.”
One in all Cuomo’s foremost focuses can be eradicating those that are a hazard to themselves from the streets, based on his 36-page proposal.
As a part of the plan, Cuomo has vowed to increase the usage of court docket orders underneath Kendra’s Legislation — primarily by requiring “universal screening” when persons are discharged from public hospitals and from Rikers Island jail.
Adams, for his half, has lengthy referred to as for the state regulation to be strengthened so the town can commit folks affected by extreme psychological sickness for longer.
Cuomo has additionally referred to as for including between 100 to 200 new inpatient psychiatric beds throughout the metropolis’s Well being and Hospitals system in a bid to maintain mentally in poor health perps out of Rikers.
The extra inpatient beds are up from the 100-odd new beds Hizzoner touted throughout his State of the Metropolis speech earlier this yr to deal with the disaster.
The previous governor, too, floated boosting supportive housing models from 500 to 1,600 per yr — up from the 900 “Safe Haven” beds promised by Adams to accommodate the homeless and transition them to everlasting housing.
Cuomo additionally highlighted how the town must faucet into involuntarily eradicating homeless folks from the streets who can’t meet their primary wants — a coverage enlargement that was put in place almost three years in the past underneath the Adams admin following a spate of horrifying subway assaults.
