Wednesday, March 4, 2026, 10 a.m. (New York City time), 250 Broadway - 8th Floor - Hearing Room 2
Committee: Committee on Mental Health and Substance Use
The Committee on Mental Health and Substance Use, chaired by Council Member Tiffany L. Cabán, held an oversight hearing titled 'From Crisis to Care: How New York City Connects New Yorkers to Mental Health Services.' The hearing considered Intro 722, sponsored by Council Member Lynn C. Schulman, requiring quarterly reporting and publication of mental health emergency response data related to B-HEARD, and a pre-considered introduction sponsored by Council Members Cabán and Lee establishing a task force to study the 988 system and a public education campaign. The chair opened with remarks about the case of Jabez Chakraborty, a young man with schizophrenia shot by police during a mental health crisis, and testimony was heard from the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the Mayor's Office of Community Mental Health, the Independent Budget Office, and members of the public. No votes were taken. Discussion covered 988 operations, mobile crisis teams, SPOA/ACT/IMT services, B-HEARD data and staffing, and gaps between crisis stabilization and sustained care.
0:10 Let's go choir please good
0:10 morning and welcome to the New
0:14 York City hybrid hand and the
0:17 communion mint our material
0:19 substance use please sell and
0:21 all electronic devices at this
0:23 time
0:23 . You you have any questions
0:24 please use your hand one of us
0:26 is sergeant at arms repairing
0:28 assist you
0:29 to begin good morning everyone r
0:39 Tiffany aban chair of the New
0:40 York council's committee on
0:42 mental health and substance
0:43 use before we begin I'd like
0:45 to recognize that we are
0:46 joined by the following
0:48 council members council
0:49 members Schulman Lee all
0:51 divall arriola on zum Felder
0:54 and we are also joined by the
0:55 public advocate
0:56 . Today's oversight topic is
0:57 from crisis to care how New
1:00 York City connects New York
1:01 er's to mental health services g
1:05 two bills introduction 722
1:07 sponsored by council shulman
1:08 which would require the
1:09 quarterly reporting and
1:10 publication of mental health
1:13 emergency response data
1:13 relating to be heard and pre
1:16 considered introduction we
1:17 have a number from ok uh
1:21 sponsored by councilmember Lee
1:22 and myself which would would
1:23 establish a task force t
1:24 ostudy the current 908 system
1:26 and create a public education
1:28 campaign on mental health
1:29 awareness.
1:29 I want to begin today's
1:30 hearing by speaking briefly
1:32 about the case of jabez chuck
1:35 uh chuck robb ord e newyorker
1:38 from jamaica queens his story
1:40 reflects the broader systemic
1:42 challenges in how we respond
1:44 to and support individuals
1:45 living with a serious mental
1:47 illness.
1:47 Jabba's is 23 years old and
1:49 lives with schizophrenia and
1:50 receives treatment and
1:52 medication
1:52 . After a mental health crisis
1:53 in his family called 908 and
1:56 requested a mobile crisis team
1:59 and the team didn't arrive at
2:00 his home until two days later
2:02 . He wasn't taken to the
2:03 hospital and his family was
2:05 then advised to request
2:07 involuntary transport after
2:08 which jabez was discharged
2:09 after just three days.
2:10 His family attempted t
2:12 oenroll him in an intensive
2:13 daily treatment program but he
2:15 was placed on a wait list.
2:18 And I just want to point out
2:20 that a lot of what we end up
2:22 seeing and talking about and a
2:25 person life like this that
2:28 culminated in a police officer
2:30 shooting him while he was in a
2:32 mental health crisis.
2:34 People will watch the video
2:37 and say well I don't know this
2:38 is complicated it's justified
2:40 because this young man was
2:41 holding a knife but it does
2:42 not take into context every
2:45 single moment.
2:46 That him and his family was
2:48 failed that he could have had
2:50 access to a sustained
2:52 continuum of care that could
2:55 prevented the crisis and it
2:56 does not change the fact that
2:59 these officers were
3:01 fundamentally the wrong
3:03 responder period and it could
3:04 have had a fatal outcome and I
3:07 I mean we're lucky that he is
3:10 still alive today but also
3:11 that trauma is one that'
3:12 sgoing to last a lifetime for
3:14 him and his family and it is
3:16 an utter failure by our City
3:17 that that is how this
3:20 culminated
3:20 . I think this moment points
3:22 to one of the most persistent
3:23 gaps in our mental health
3:24 system and it's the space
3:26 between stabilization and
3:29 sustained care a hospital stay
3:30 or crisis intervention however
3:32 necessary is not a destination t
3:35 timely connection to programs
3:37 like intensive mobile
3:38 treatment assertive community
3:41 treatment long term community
3:42 based supports individuals
3:43 like jabez are left t
3:45 onavigate and often fragmented
3:46 system on their own and
3:48 families are left holding the
3:49 weight of that failure and on
3:51 the morning of January 26
3:53 jabba's experienced another
3:54 crisis his family once again
3:58 sought emergency assistance
3:59 and what followed was a tragic
4:02 encounter with law enforcement n
4:05 prevented
4:06 . And so this case illustrates
4:07 the profound consequences of
4:09 gaps in coordination and of a
4:10 system that too often treats
4:12 crisis response as the end of
4:14 care rather than the beginning
4:15 of it.
4:15 And when institutions are
4:17 under resourced families
4:18 cannot access timely support
4:19 and when weightless and red
4:21 tape block access to ongoing
4:22 treatment the burden falls
4:24 hardest on those who are the
4:27 most vulnerable.
4:27 And at its core connecting
4:28 New York er's to mental health
4:29 care is not just a public
4:30 safety issue it's a matter of
4:32 dignity people living with
4:33 mental illness are not
4:34 problems to be managed or
4:35 crises to be contained they
4:38 are our neighbors our family
4:39 members our colleagues they
4:42 deserve the same opportunity
4:43 as anyone else to live full
4:45 meaningful lives into the
4:47 active value value members of
4:49 their communities and when we
4:50 fail to provide timely
4:52 sustained and compassionate
4:53 care we are not just failing a
4:54 system metric we are telling a
4:56 person that they do not belong e
4:58 them other and that is a
5:00 message that no New yorker
5:02 should ever receive and we owe
5:03 it to jabez and to every New
5:05 yorker like him to do better
5:07 not only in how we respond t
5:10 ocrises but in how you ensure
5:11 that every person who needs
5:12 sustained mental health
5:14 support can actually access it
5:16 effective care means more than
5:18 stabilization it means
5:19 supporting people and building
5:20 lives that they find
5:22 meaningful maintaining housing d
5:24 participating fully in their
5:26 communities programs like
5:27 intensive mobile treatment and
5:28 a sort of community treatment
5:30 exists precisely to provide
5:31 that kind of holistic person
5:34 centered support and we must
5:35 ensure that they are funded
5:36 that there staffed and
5:38 accessible to all who need
5:39 them
5:39 . And I share this story t
5:41 ocenter the voices and
5:43 experiences of the New York
5:44 er's we serve
5:44 . Through this oversight
5:46 hearing we aim to strengthen
5:47 the very systems that connect
5:48 people to care from the first
5:49 call to 980 to the long term
5:52 treatment and community
5:53 connection that make a full
5:54 life possible.
5:55 That's what this hearing is
5:56 about so in closing I would
5:57 like to thank the
6:00 administration for being here
6:01 as well as the committee staff
6:02 who worked to prepare for this
6:04 hearing and my own staff and
6:06 I'm going to now pass the
6:08 microphone to council shulman
6:09 for a brief statement
6:10 . Thank you very much chair
6:12 and I just before I get into
6:14 my statement I want to echo
6:15 what the council members said
6:17 and also you know the we talk
6:19 about I used to work in the
6:21 health and hospital system
6:22 some years back and even that
6:25 bridge doesn't work because
6:26 folks come in and then they
6:29 because there's no money t
6:30 okeep them they don't keep themt
6:32 on the street so that's not
6:35 that's not a response that's
6:36 not an answer and the case
6:37 she's talking about there's
6:39 thousands of them like that so
6:42 I want to talk about good
6:45 morning everyone a two chair
6:46 cab on thank you for having me
6:48 here and members of the
6:49 committee on mental health and
6:51 substance use and council
6:52 shulman chair of the committee
6:53 on health I I appreciate the
6:56 opportunity to speak today
6:57 about this important
6:58 legislation that I have as
7:00 many of you know we are in the
7:01 midst of a mental health
7:02 crisis both locally and
7:05 nationally it's estimated that
7:06 about 23% of all u s adults
7:08 live with a mental illness
7:09 this is in line with the 25%
7:11 of adult New yorkers
7:12 experiencing a mental health
7:14 disorder in a given year.
7:15 Intro 7 22 is about
7:18 transparency and data which we
7:18 don't have interestingly
7:20 enough it would require the
7:22 office of community mental
7:22 health to report quarterly on
7:25 every 9 11 call identified as
7:27 involving a mental health
7:29 emergency including how those
7:30 assistance response division
7:35 be heard team responded and
7:37 submit that report to the
7:38 Mayor and City Council speaker s
7:42 legislation would require the
7:44 nypd and fdny to include the
7:46 unique identifiers generated
7:48 by their respective computer
7:50 aided dispatch systems and to
7:51 indicate whether be heard was
7:53 dispatched and able to respond e
7:56 we cannot improve what we do
7:57 not measure
7:58 . If we are serious about
7:59 building a public health
8:01 centered crisis response
8:03 system we need clear
8:05 accessible information about
8:06 where be heard is working
8:06 where it is not and why
8:07 . This data will also help
8:10 emergency responders better
8:11 prepare for emergency calls I
8:12 want to thank the committee on
8:13 mental health and substance
8:15 use staff for their work on
8:16 this legislation and I urge my
8:18 colleagues to support intro 7
8:19 22 thank you chair
8:21 . Thank you and now we hear
8:23 from public advocate jimani
8:25 Williams
8:25 . Thank you I always mention
8:26 my name is jemaine Williams
8:27 proper garrett for the City of
8:28 New York I'd like to thank
8:30 check oban and members of the
8:31 committee on mental health and
8:33 substitutes for holding this
8:34 very important hearing almost
8:35 one in four adult New York
8:36 er's experiencing mental
8:37 health disorder in a given
8:38 year mental illness affects
8:39 people across all communities
8:41 demographics wealthy and poor
8:42 young old black and white but
8:43 not everyone is able to access
8:44 treatment and not everyone who
8:46 accesses treatment gets the
8:47 kind of care they need there
8:49 are many reasons why New York
8:50 was who need mental health
8:51 care either do not or unable
8:52 to access it including cost
8:55 stigma language barriers and
8:56 logistics a report published
8:57 last year by do hm h found
8:59 that in 20 23 about 14% of New
9:02 York is almost a million
9:03 people reported that there was
9:04 a time in the past where they
9:06 did not get the mental health
9:07 treatment they needed as is
9:08 the case of course health care
9:10 broadly more broadly black
9:12 brown indigenous worse when it
9:13 comes to receiving effective
9:15 mental health treatment there
9:16 are few instances when the
9:18 police should respond to a
9:19 person in mental health crises.
9:21 More often the presence
9:22 presence of particularly
9:24 uniform only actually escalate
9:25 in already tense and
9:26 precarious situation most
9:27 recently we have seen this
9:28 play out in the shooting of
9:30 jeb shek party a young man
9:32 diagnosed with schizophrenia
9:33 experiencing a mental health
9:34 crisis
9:34 . According to his family who
9:36 called emergency services
9:38 requested ms not police miss
9:40 shock party was not a threat
9:42 until police arrived in the
9:44 presence escalated the
9:45 situation I am thankful that
9:46 tripod is alive and recovering
9:47 from being shot four times a
9:48 and I'm still decision t
9:51 ocriminally charge him at best
9:52 I've heard is to help him get
9:53 care but I'm not sure if that.
9:54 Was the best way I want t
9:57 oassociate myself with the
9:59 . Words of the chair about
10:00 very often we see the last
10:03 second that gets played out
10:04 without everything that
10:04 happened before what is
10:06 especially tragic about the
10:07 case of mr potty is the fact
10:08 that his family repeatedly
10:09 tried to connect him to crisis
10:10 care in the month leading up
10:12 to the shooting in of last
10:14 year mobile mobile crisis team
10:15 visited him and left without
10:17 transporting him to hospital
10:18 . Later that month police
10:20 transported truck party to a
10:21 hospital but he was discharged
10:23 after three days due t
10:24 ounderstaffing cycling through
10:26 hospitals without effective
10:27 connection to care is
10:29 Unfortunately common martial d
10:32 charlison go oh I'm sorry who
10:34 pushed melissa elissa gold in
10:35 front of a train in training
10:36 and 22 had the hospital at
10:38 least 20 times according to
10:39 his lawyer they either cycling
10:41 in our hospital and not of
10:43 rikers island mental health
10:44 care must go hand in hand with
10:45 housing a stable connection to
10:47 care is nearly impossible when
10:48 a person does not have a place
10:49 to live and the stress of
10:51 homelessness and effective
10:52 treatment.
10:52 As a part of of why 20 26
10:54 New York state budget going t
10:56 okathy hopeless insisted on
10:57 expanding the criteria t
10:59 oinvoluntary commit someone for
11:00 psychiatric treatment now the
11:01 interpretation that a person's
11:02 is unable to care for their
11:04 basic needs not just that they
11:05 present a danger to themselves
11:07 or others is enough t
11:08 oinvoluntarily ticket a person
11:10 for mental health evaluation
11:11 . A tool which while is
11:12 important should be a last
11:14 resort with this New law with
11:15 this law now place we need
11:16 forceful oversight to prevent
11:18 abuses to determine whether
11:19 people in the field can
11:20 accurately fairly equitably
11:22 assess individuals under the
11:23 New criteria and provide help
11:24 rather than perpetuate harm it
11:26 is also critical to ensure
11:28 that when someone is
11:29 hospitalized they are placed
11:29 on a continuum of care t
11:30 oensure that people are not
11:32 cycling through the hospitals
11:35 or homelessness as though it
11:36 can be a life saving tool is
11:39 important to also named the
11:40 limitations and potential
11:41 harms effective of immediate
11:45 insistence on involuntary
11:46 treatment hospitalization is
11:48 destabilizing and can cause a
11:49 portion to lose their job or
11:50 housing the goal of
11:51 hospitalization is not long
11:52 term care but short term
11:54 stabilization.
11:54 And a person who is
11:55 struggling with homelessness
11:56 or serious mental illness
11:58 prior to hospitalization is
11:59 less equipped to comply with
12:00 the longer term treatment plan t
12:04 additional community based
12:04 support.
12:05 Research shows that
12:06 involuntary commitment can
12:07 negatively affect a person's
12:09 earnings
12:09 . Which leads support outcomes.
12:12 Distrust with health care
12:13 which is problematic when a
12:14 person needs voluntary
12:15 continual care outside the
12:17 hospital
12:17 . Every person with a mental
12:18 health condition is different