Mayor Eric Adams has taken on a herculean task as his first year in office ends: getting the city’s sprawling mental health crisis under control.
That effort came in a the form of a directive to the city’s first responders – including NYPD, firefighters and EMS workers – and mental health workers that they have legal standing to forcibly hospitalize anyone who appears to be a danger to themselves due to an inability to meet their “basic needs,” even if they aren’t a threat to others. The term “basic needs” applies to necessities like food, shelter and health care.
