Bottcher’s Open Letter to Mayor Adams on West Side Humanitarian Crisis: Mental Illness, Homelessness, Drug Abuse, More

Dear Mayor Adams,

I am writing to urgently seek your assistance once more in addressing the humanitarian crisis unfolding on the streets and subways of New York City, including in Council District 3 on the West Side of Manhattan. New Yorkers suffering from serious mental illness, substance use disorder and street homelessness are in need of help that they are not currently receiving. This heartbreaking reality not only causes immense suffering for these individuals but also has an increasingly negative impact on residents and businesses as we enter the middle of summer.

Areas in which this situation is particularly dire include - but are not limited to - the blocks west of Washington Square Park and the streets surrounding the West 4th Street Subway Station in the West Village, Eighth Avenue in Chelsea and the Garment District, and the areas west of Times Square in Hell’s Kitchen. In these areas and others, significant numbers of individuals are engaging in a range of illegal and antisocial activities that are causing significant distress and fear among constituents, many of whom are seniors or families with young children. Despite being stretched thin, our NYPD precincts are responding to a large volume of calls regarding open narcotics sales and narcotics use, property destruction, physical and verbal intimidation, shoplifting, and other illegal activity. Police officers are not equipped to address the underlying problems that are the root causes of much of this behavior, nor is that their role or responsibility.

Every day, my team and I work closely with residents, our police precincts, city agencies, contracted social service providers, my fellow elected officials, community boards, block associations and other stakeholders to address these issues. More support is needed.

It is essential that the B-HEARD [the Behavioral Health Emergency Assistance Response Division] is expanded to precincts covering Council District 3 as soon as possible. Through this program that launched in 2021, teams of health professionals - including EMTs/paramedics from the NYC Fire Department and mental health professionals from NYC Health + Hospitals - respond to 911 mental health calls. At this moment, B-HEARD operates in 31 precincts that make up the pilot’s geographic area, but citywide expansion is still on hold. Manhattan’s West Side is in need of this program now.

I ask for your support of Intro. 862, legislation I recently introduced in partnership with Council Member Yusef Salaam and Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine that would require the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to place licensed social workers in NYPD precincts throughout New York City. In Council District 3, we’re seeing individuals experiencing street homelessness, serious mental illness, and substance use disorder repeatedly arrested, sometimes dozens of times, for low-level crimes, with minimal progress made towards addressing those underlying issues. When someone with these challenges is taken to a police precinct, fingerprinted and processed, issued a desk appearance ticket, and released without any meaningful intervention or connection to resources, that’s a missed opportunity. Social workers are uniquely equipped to help address these issues, connecting individuals with services and helping to break cycles of arrest and incarceration. Victims of crime would also greatly benefit from the presence of social workers in police precincts. I would like to discuss fast-tracking a pilot program that includes police precincts in Council District 3.

I am encouraged by the recent creation of the Midtown Community Improvement Coalition, in partnership with you and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., a new interagency quality of life improvement hub that brings together law enforcement, elected officials, and community and business leaders to address public safety and quality of life issues in Midtown Manhattan. This effort covers the geographic areas of 34th Street to 45th Street, between Seventh Avenue and Ninth Avenue, as well as 34th Street to 37th Street on 8th Avenue. We need this level of interagency coordination to help with these issues throughout Council District 3.

These are just some of the many actions that are needed to address the crisis at hand. I understand that this humanitarian crisis is being driven by “big picture” policy failures such as the historic housing shortage, shortfalls at every step of the mental health care continuum, the proliferation of illicit drug networks in New York, and more. We will not see large-scale improvement unless these structural problems are addressed. However, people need help right now. Our neighborhoods need help right now. The status quo cannot be allowed to continue.

There are certain things we must never grow accustomed to. When we grow accustomed to injustices, suffering, or cruelty, we risk becoming desensitized and losing our empathy. When these things no longer evoke shock or dismay, a part of humanity is lost.

As always, my team and I will do everything in our power to help address this crisis in partnership with you and your team. I am available to meet with you at any time.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Yours in service,

Erik Bottcher

New York City Council Member

District 3