Mayor Adams unveils $650M plan to help mentally ill, homeless New Yorkers in State of the City speech

Mayor Eric Adams touted a $650 million plan to tackle homelessness and get mentally ill New Yorkers off the streets and out of subways during his State of the City speech Thursday – as he begged Albany for more help tackling the Big Apple’s ongoing crisis.

The ambitious, five-year proposal — which is set to include a special new facility to house and treat mentally ill New Yorkers — follows a spate of frightening underground attacks that have plagued the transit system of late.

The “innovative” new facility, which will be run by Health + Hospitals, will offer shelter, and psychiatric care and substance abuse treatment for homeless mentally ill New Yorkers — and help them secure permanent housing, Adams said. 

“Subways, serious mental illness, and shelters: that is how we make a renewed commitment to tackling street homelessness,” Hizzoner said during an annual address at Harlem’s historic Apollo Theater that was filled with all the pomp and circumstance of a campaign event.

He also again called on Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state Legislature to expand the city’s powers to remove mentally ill New Yorkers from public spaces.

“We can do this, New York City. But we need Albany’s help as well. We have seen the tragic consequences when severe mental illness on our streets and subways goes unchecked, which is why we must pass the Supportive Interventions Act,” Adams said.

“This crucial legislation will help us get those in need the care they deserve, provide assistance to those who can no longer care for themselves, and keep all New Yorkers safe.”

Adams’ plan — which City Hall claimed would be the largest investment ever to combat Gotham’s homelessness crisis — was trumpeted by the Democrat amid his looming federal corruption trial and as he braces for a crowded primary election come June.

The initiative would also add 900 “Safe Haven” beds, which will be spread across the city, to house the homeless and transition them to permanent housing — bringing the total to 4,900. Under the proposal, 100 beds will be added to serve runaway and homeless youth ages 21-24.

“This program is a really big deal,” Anne Williams-Isom, the deputy mayor for health and human services told The Post, noting it shows compassion for troubled homeless individuals and addresses the safety concerns of fearful straphangers.

“New Yorkers are concerned about people sleeping on the train. It makes people nervous,” Williams-Isom added. “We don’t think New Yorkers should be afraid to take the subway.”

Adams vowed, too, to try and keep families out of shelters altogether.

“Today, we are making a new commitment to our families: No child should ever be born into our shelter system,” he said.

“This year, we will launch a new program to connect soon-to-be parents applying for shelter with services that help people find permanent housing before their child is born. We must stop the cycle of poverty and housing instability before it ever begins and ensure mothers and babies do not go to a shelter after leaving the hospital.”

The move comes after the city was rocked by a slew of violent ordeals where mentally ill homeless individuals have committed random attacks on the subways against innocent victims, including others living on the streets.

Debrina Kawam, a 57-year-old Toms River, New Jersey resident who fell into homelessness, was torched to death on the F train in Coney Island last month — allegedly by an illegal Guatemalan migrant, Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, 33, who resided in a city shelter.

The mayor’s office said there are 109,500 adults and children living in city-run or -approved emergency shelters, including 50,900 migrants. The city estimates the three-year bill for migrant services will top $6.6 billion by June 30.

The advocacy group Coalition for the Homeless estimates there are 350,000 who are without homes in New York City when factoring in residents who are living doubled up or tripled up with relatives or friends.

A recent report published by the US Department of Housing of Urban Development found that New York state has the highest rate of homelessness per capita of anywhere in the country, much of it concentrated in the city — citing the lack of affordable housing supply, high rents and the tide of asylum seekers.

Migrants in emergency shelters “accounted for almost 88% of the increase in sheltered homelessness in New York City last year,” the report said.

The Adams administration has zeroed in on the 5% of street homeless individuals who are not in shelters.  

Since the start of the mayor’s subway safety plan in 2022, more than 8,000 New Yorkers have been connected to shelters with over 750 now in permanent, affordable housing, Williams-Isom said Adams said.

The mayor, in his address, also trumpeted a new plan to build 100,000 new housing units across Manhattan within the next decade – adding to the 900,000 homes already on the island.

Dubbed “The Manhattan Plan,” the proposal would be the equivalent of creating a brand new Upper West Side, which stretches from 59th to 96th streets, or nine more StuyTown neighborhoods.

The initiative, which piggybacks off the Big Apple’s current “City of Yes” plan, seeks to review and refresh zoning across Manhattan — unlocking potential housing sites for development stretching from Inwood to the Financial District, the mayor said.

Adams also promised to cough up $163 million over the next five years for programs targeted towards underserved youth and those at risk of falling into crime or gang activity. 

That investment will aim to give youngsters expanded career and college opportunities, as well as connect them to counseling in a bid to drive down crime, he said.

Adding more parks is also on the agenda – with 11 extra schoolyards set to open for use in the summer, after school and weekends in various nooks across the five boroughs, according to the mayor.

The expansion is set to increase the number of New Yorkers living within a 10-minute walk of a public space to 85% — or 20,000 residents.

“But we are not just giving families more parks; we are giving them cleaner ones too. Starting this year, we will add an extra afternoon cleaning shift to 100 more hot spots in our parks throughout the city to make them even cleaner and safer for our children,” Adams said.

“From public spaces to public safety, from health care to housing, these initiatives will uplift working-class families in the years ahead.”