Thursday, March 19, 2026, 9:30 a.m. (New York City time), Council Chambers - City Hall
Committee: Committee on Health
Joint preliminary budget hearing of the Committees on Health, Mental Health & Substance Use, and Disabilities covering the Office of Chief Medical Examiner (OCME), the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), and the Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities (MOPD) for fiscal year 2027. Chairs Schulman, Cabán, and Hanif questioned agency leaders on vacancies, federal funding uncertainty, response and autopsy turnaround times, HIV and TB trends, maternal health, early intervention, supportive housing, ACT/IMT teams, 988, clubhouses, and MOPD's small budget, followed by extensive public testimony from over a hundred sign-ups.
0:12 Think.
0:12 Good morning. Good morning.
0:13 Welcome to the New York City
0:14 council hearing on the
0:16 committees on health joint
0:17 with mental health and
0:19 substance use and disabilities
0:20 at this time, please. Sounds
0:22 all electronics and do not
0:23 approach the dais again.
0:24 Please refrain from
0:25 approaching the day is if
0:28 you're testifying today o
0:28 rhave any other questions or
0:30 concerns. Please contact us
0:30 sergeant at arms. Thank you
0:32 for your cooperation chairs
0:33 you begin
0:37 . Good morning, everyone. I am
0:39 Council Member Lynn Schulman
0:39 ,of the New York City Council's
0:41 committee on health. Thank you
0:43 all for joining us at the
0:44 fiscal 20 27 preliminar
0:46 ybudget hearing for the office
0:47 of the chief medical examiner
0:51 .I would like to thank chief
0:51 medical examiner jason graham,
0:52 his staff and everyone who is
0:53 with us today. I want to
0:55 and noisy is virtual. Oh,rs
1:05 seems fiscal 20 27 preliminary
1:06 budget is $121.6 million
1:10 ,which includes close to $91
1:14 million for personal services
1:14 and $30.7 million for other
1:16 than personal services budget
1:19 has increased by roughly
1:23 $916000, compared to las
1:24 tyear's fiscal 20 26 adopted
1:27 budget while there has been an
1:28 increase in overall funding
1:30 several areas within the
1:32 agency's operations raise
1:33 important questions about
1:34 whether current resources are
1:36 sufficient to maintain timely
1:38 service delivery and support
1:42 core mission. One area of
1:43 concern is the absence of
1:43 federal funding in the fiscal
1:47 20 27 preliminary plan has had
1:48 federal grants in the past,
1:49 but none are currently
1:51 reflected in this financial
1:53 plan. Historically, these
1:54 grants have supported
1:55 activities such as forensic
1:56 research and work related t
1:58 othe city's response to the
2:00 opioid crisis, although
2:01 federal funding is offered as
2:03 added during the fisca yealr
2:04 once grants are awarded the
2:05 absence of these funds in the
2:07 preliminary plan creates
2:10 uncertainty. We want to ensure
2:11 that has a contingency plan in
2:12 case the loss of federal
2:13 grants becomes permanent
2:16 performance trends reported in
2:17 the preliminary mayors
2:19 management report also
2:20 indicate that several key
2:21 operational metrics have
2:23 worsened the medium median
2:24 time to complete autopsy
2:26 reports has increased to 122.5
2:31 days, exceeding the agency's
2:32 90 day target the median time
2:35 for medical, legal and
2:36 investigators to arrive at a
2:37 scene has risen to two hours
2:39 and 36 minutes in the first
2:41 four months of fiscal year 2
2:45 20 26. In addition, the
2:45 forensic biology laboratory
2:47 has experienced longer turn
2:49 times the casework with median
2:51 completion times rising from
2:53 51 days to 79 days compared t
2:55 othe same period in fiscal 2
2:59 025. Staffing shortages appear
3:00 to be a key factor behind
3:02 these trends lcn me currently
3:03 has a vacancy rate of 15.1%
3:06 with 734 865 budgeted position
3:12 staffed loss of experienced
3:13 medical examiners do to
3:15 retirements recruitment by
3:15 other jurisdictions and a
3:18 nationwide shortage of
3:19 qualified forensic
3:20 professionals has placed
3:21 additional strain on the
3:23 agency's workforce and
3:24 contribute to delays in case
3:25 processing and report
3:29 completion in 20 24 I wrote t
3:29 oo. C. Urging the City t
3:32 oincrease medical examiner t
3:33 ohelp address the growing
3:35 vacancy rate and strengthe
3:36 nthe agency's ability to
3:37 recruit and retain qualified
3:41 professionals, these concerns
3:41 remain relevant today as the
3:43 agency continues to face
3:45 challenges filling highly
3:47 specialized roles. Qasemi doe
3:48 sexcellent work for the City
3:49 and as chair of the health
3:50 committee. I want to ensure
3:52 that has the resources it
3:53 needs to operate at the
3:56 highest level before we begin
3:57 .I would like to thank the
3:58 finance staff, malaria lazaro
4:00 rodriguez, florentine kabore
4:01 and asia right for their work
4:02 on this hearing and committee
4:04 staff Chris pepe, elizabeth
4:06 elizabeth thoughts and joshua
4:07 neuman for their support.
4:08 Finally, I would also like t
4:10 othank my staff, jonathan
4:11 boucher, Kevin mccleon sammy
4:13 knew and will now turn it over
4:14 to the committee counsel t
4:16 oadminister the oath to members
4:16 of the administration.
4:20 Thank you. Chair. Good
4:21 morning or please raise your
4:23 right hand. Do you swear t
4:24 otell the truth, the whole
4:25 truth and nothing but the
4:26 truth before this committee
4:27 and to respond honestly to
4:28 Council Member of questions
4:31 . I do. Thank you. You proceed
4:46 . I'm free to proceed. Good.
4:48 Good morning, everyone. Good
4:51 morning chair. Shulman chair
4:53 carbon and members of the
4:53 committee on health and the
4:54 committee on mental health and
4:58 substance use and committee on
4:58 disabilities on behalf of the
5:01 office of chief medical
5:03 examiner or see emme, thank
5:04 you for your ongoing supported
5:06 partnership across our 24
5:08 7mission to serve the
5:09 communities of New York City
5:12 and the times of most profound
5:13 need. I'm back to jason graha
5:14 m, the chief medical examiner
5:15 for the City of New York with
5:17 me today from osi c. M e. R.
5:19 First deputy commissioner
5:21 nicholas and deputy
5:22 commissioner for
5:23 administration and finance
5:26 yvonne Williams. We appreciate
5:27 this opportunity to provide an
5:27 update on our budget and
5:30 important current activities
5:31 and look forward to answering
5:33 your questions when we
5:34 testified last year, I
5:39 introduced me, which was our
5:39 then newly adopted set of core
5:42 values these abiding
5:44 principles of commitment,
5:47 accountability, resilience,
5:47 excellence and service inform
5:49 every aspect of our work and
5:51 guide our interactions with
5:55 all stakeholders this year,
5:55 the agencies particularly
5:56 focused on the core value of
5:58 excellence striving day in and
6:00 day out to achieve the highest
6:01 quality in all aspects of our
6:02 work at the intersection of
6:04 public health and justice
6:07 excellence raises the bar for
6:08 what? A medical examiner's
6:09 office can achieve for the
6:10 communities who rely on us
6:12 during the most challenging
6:15 moments. Our vision is t
6:16 odeliver innovative solutions
6:17 to the most pressing problems
6:18 in public health and forensic
6:21 science provided by caring
6:23 professionals and readily
6:24 available for all New yorkers
6:27 in need. I'd like to take this
6:28 time today to share more about
6:29 our planning and progress
6:30 toward this vision of
6:31 excellence accessible to all o
6:34 . C. M. E is home to world
6:36 class fully accredited
6:38 laboratories that support our
6:39 mission to deliver timely and
6:40 accurate answers for
6:44 stakeholders are molecular
6:44 genetics laboratory is the
6:45 only facility of its kind in
6:47 the country in a medical
6:48 examiner's office, which was a
6:50 trailblazing and a
6:52 trailblazing vision
6:53 established in 2013 2003, the
6:57 molecular genetics laboratory
6:58 examines the of dissidents who
7:00 often very young and otherwise
7:03 healthy die suddenly and
7:04 without a explanation to
7:06 determine whether there might
7:06 be a genetic reason for their
7:10 deaths until recently, our lab
7:11 could only deliver the news of
7:13 a genetic cause of death and
7:16 urge family members to see
7:16 ktesting for themselves
7:20 . But with our focus on
7:22 accessible excellence. We
7:22 recognize that we can and need
7:23 to do more for New yorkers we
7:27 serve now with the launch of
7:28 our genetic intervention,
7:29 family testing services
7:30 program known as gifts. Osi
7:33 emmy can screen living at risk
7:35 blood relatives at no cost
7:37 provide appropriate clinical
7:37 genetic counseling and connect
7:40 them to potentially life
7:43 saving care, closing a
7:44 critical gap in services, and
7:46 we expect to begin testing our
7:48 first family members very soon
7:51 working to prevent deaths
7:51 sound novel for a medical
7:53 examiner's office, but for o.
7:54 C. M e helping New yorkers
7:57 live longer and healthier
7:58 impartial data from ourf our
8:05 forensic investigation that
8:07 informs policy and through
8:08 many of our own ongoing
8:10 innovations specifically in
8:11 the effort to reduce deaths
8:12 from accidental drug overdose,
8:16 our drug intelligence and
8:17 intervention group known as
8:18 dig works with surviving loved
8:20 ones in close contacts in the
8:21 days and weeks following an
8:23 overdose death, offering them
8:25 support resources and often
8:26 simply an ear to listen,
8:29 staffed by social workers,
8:31 epidemiologists and program
8:33 specialists dig leverage is
8:33 the unique relationship of
8:35 trust between our office and
8:36 the communities we serve
8:39 reaching more than 4000 close
8:41 contacts to date nearly three
8:43 quarters of whom have accepted
8:45 direct services and referrals
8:46 to potentially life saving
8:50 interventions as we move
8:50 forward and deaths from
8:51 overdose, hopefully continue
8:53 to trend downward dig offers a
8:54 pioneering and proven model
8:56 for how and me can data driven
9:00 insights to help additional
9:00 populations in New York City
9:02 affected by a whole range of
9:04 public health challenges known
9:05 to have a social component. We
9:08 aim to make this excellence in
9:09 service with its life saving
9:11 potential cutting across all
9:12 walks of life available to all
9:15 the success of our mission
9:17 depends on strong
9:18 relationships with the
9:19 community.
9:19 And as we progress in
9:22 excellence. Our journey is
9:23 expanding the trust necessary
9:25 to advance our advance, our
9:28 work well over a year ago we
9:29 began to implement postmortem
9:31 scanning to elevate standards
9:33 in diagnostic service and I'm
9:34 pleased to report that this
9:36 technology has now been fully
9:37 integrated into the practice
9:38 of forensic medicine on the
9:39 part of our medical examiners
9:40 at a m e and is in daily use
9:43 in our pathology centers where
9:45 it's making a difference in
9:47 our partnerships with the
9:50 community scanning is one of
9:51 the many steps that we've
9:51 taken to improve the working
9:53 experience for our medical
9:54 examiners, the highly trained
9:56 forensic pathologists who
9:57 directly deliver answers t
9:58 ofamilies in the wake of a
10:01 tragedy. As you know, o c. M.
10:02 E has been grappling for
10:03 several years with a serious
10:05 shortage of medical examiners
10:06 a problem that's rooted in a
10:08 multi faceted national crisis
10:10 that will not be fully
10:11 resolved in the immediate
10:14 future. However, we're pleased
10:15 to report that our renowned
10:16 forensic pathology fellowship
10:18 training program remains a
10:19 beacon for training and
10:21 recruitment attracting
10:22 talented and caring physicians
10:23 who want to pursue their
10:24 specialty here at the most
10:27 comprehensive and complex
10:27 medical examiner's office in
10:30 the country
10:31 . Awesome is filled. All six
10:32 of our coveted fellowshi
10:33 pseats for the academic year 20
10:37 26 20 27 and we continue t
10:37 ohire medical examiners to
10:38 serve New yorkers from the
10:40 ranks of our graduates each
10:44 year are planning for the
10:44 science park and research
10:45 campus, where spark kips bay
10:47 project is also actively under
10:50 way this first of its kind
10:51 health and science campus will
10:52 become the New home of our
10:53 manhattan forensic pathology
10:54 center and supportin
10:56 gfacilities serving as a
10:57 training hub for the next
10:58 generation of leaders and
10:59 forensic science and medicin
11:02 eawesome has been part of the
11:03 part of the bustling public
11:04 health corridor and kips bay
11:06 neighborhood for more than a
11:07 century and we're excited to
11:09 be partners in this
11:10 transformative next step in
11:12 life sciences, innovation and
11:13 workforce development for our
11:17 City while raising the bar for
11:18 forensic science and medicine.
11:19 Oh, sciam me e also stays
11:21 grounded in our foundational
11:23 purpose to provide answers for
11:24 communities facing the most
11:26 challenging times, no matte
11:27 rhow long the mission takes few
11:30 instances show the depth of
11:31 this commitment more than are
11:32 ongoing efforts to solve the
11:34 coldest cases of missing in an
11:36 persons and return them t
11:37 otheir loved ones since 20 17 r
11:41 cross departmental cold case
11:42 team at his newly identified
11:44 more than 130 individuals
11:47 ,many from decades old cases
11:50 missing from as far back as
11:51 the early 1980s across all
11:53 boroughs of the City,
11:55 including 20 victims of
11:57 homicide leveraging our in
11:59 house expertise in
12:01 identification investigations,
12:02 forensic anthropology and
12:03 science while tapping into
12:05 partnerships with law
12:05 enforcement and other agencie
12:08 swe're bringing long sought
12:09 peace to families and justice
12:11 to those affected by crime
12:14 .our commitment to families I
12:15 snot limited to the office and
12:17 the laboratory. We're also
12:18 reaching into neighborhoods t
12:20 obring assistance to those in
12:20 need at no cost for more than
12:23 a decade are annual New York
12:25 City, missing person's day
12:26 event has made expert
12:28 resources and support services
12:29 available in person t
12:31 ofamilies and friends seeking
12:31 long term missing loved ones
12:35 credited with dozens of
12:36 identification since its start
12:37 . We brought New York City
12:39 missing persons data queens
12:40 for the first time last this
12:43 event connected more than a
12:44 dozen families with
12:45 confidential help bridging a
12:47 gap for those still in need of
12:50 closure, the cold case and
12:51 missing persons work of today
12:52 extends directly from the
12:54 lessons of our experience with
12:54 the world trade center
12:55 disaster of 2001 in th
12:59 eaftermath of the attacks, the
13:01 pressing urgency to identif
13:02 ythe 2753 victims pushed the
13:06 frontiers of science and
13:07 continues through the present
13:10 moment, an enduring testimony
13:13 to excellence. The scientific
13:14 legacy of the unprecedented
13:15 world trade center
13:17 identification effort informs
13:18 current active forensic case
13:20 work as well as our cold case