Mayor Adams insists involuntarily hospitalizing homeless people is ‘humane thing to do’ amid backlash over new policy

Mayor Adams contended Thursday that hospitalizing mentally ill homeless people against their will is “the most humane thing to do” for the vulnerable population — as criticism continued to mount over the involuntary commitment policy.

The policy, which Adams rolled out during a press conference at City Hall Tuesday, directs cops and other first responders to haul in individuals for psychiatric treatment in a hospital setting if they’re deemed to be a danger to themselves, regardless of consent.

Local homeless advocates and Democratic lawmakers rapidly lambasted the initiative, arguing it’s a slippery slope to give police officers discretion to make such determinations while also raising concern about a lack of resources and staff to accommodate emergency hospitalizations.

But in a virtual press briefing Thursday morning, Adams argued critics of the new directive are pushing “untrue” talking points.

“When I read some of the stories that people were saying, ‘Well, okay, everybody’s going to be arrested’ —untrue. ‘Everyone that’s on the street is going to all of a sudden be forced into hospitals’ — untrue. All of this stuff is untrue,” Adams said from Greece, where he’s attending a conference on combating antisemitism as part of a five-day overseas trip.

“We were very clear, we took almost an hour discussing this,” he continued. “There’s a specific body of people who cannot take care of their basic needs to the extent that they are a danger to themselves that we are going to get care to. This is the most humane thing to do, and so the question that I ask to all those who disagree … Are they saying to us, ‘Leave these people alone?’”

The top four Democratic members of the City Council’s Progressive Caucus issued a statement Thursday saying they aren’t asking the mayor to ignore mentally ill homeless people, but that his current approach is “misguided and dangerous.”

“Unfortunately, this move is consistent with Mayor Adams’ actions thus far: Band-Aid solutions to chronic challenges. He is focused on superficial efforts to get issues out of sight, but is failing to invest in expanded inpatient and outpatient behavioral health care capacity and supportive housing,” said the four members, Lincoln Restler of Brooklyn, Shahana Hanif of Brooklyn, Carmen De La Rosa of Manhattan and Jennifer Gutiérrez of Brooklyn.

The city currently only has about 200 open psychiatric beds, and staff shortages are steep among city hospital staff, according to data compiled by the Council.

The four Democratic Council members said that without a boost to staff and bed capacity, Adams’ directive will only result in “relentless cycles of short term emergency hospitalization and then release, since negligible capacity and resources are being added to our already overstretched behavioral health systems.”

Asked in his briefing from Greece if he can do anything to address the lack of hospital staff and resources, Adams said his administration will “continue to evolve,” but didn’t offer any firm commitment.

He also urged critics questioning whether there’s enough staff to engage in “volunteerism.”

“You can’t be a spectator and sit on the sidelines knowing that people need help and you’re not coming in and participating,” he said. “We will meet the challenge, and we’re going to meet the challenge of giving people the needs that they deserve, that’s the humane thing to do.”

Adams’ new mental policy rollout comes on the heels of a series of grisly crimes committed by apparently mentally unstable individuals, including a case in which a woman allegedly stabbed her sons to death at a Bronx homeless shelter last month. The new policy also comes as the city homeless shelter population remains at an all-time high, with data from the Department of Social Services showing that more than 64,000 people slept in shelters Tuesday night.