How would Hochul’s involuntary commitment power play potentially impact the way NYC handles severe mental illness in the subways?

By Barbara Russo-Lennon

Posted on March 31, 2025

A coalition of political and public stakeholders said they are in full support of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s extensive plan for mental health reform, which includes expanding powers to involuntary commit those who are in the most critical need for treatment in New York.

The group penned a letter on March 28 to New York’s Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie urging the state legislature to support Hochul’s proposed initiative of expanding laws around ordering those suffering from severe mental illness into treatment.