Metropolis Council Speaker Adrienne Adams spoke at a Monday rally at Metropolis Corridor, calling on Mayor Eric Adams to prioritize the implementation of psychological well being funds and closure of Rikers Island.
Photograph by Lloyd Mitchell
Metropolis Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, joined by fellow councilmembers and psychological well being advocates, celebrated on Monday the $50 million funding in psychological well being and security initiatives made within the fiscal yr 2026 adopted New York Metropolis funds.
At a press occasion on the steps of Metropolis Corridor, Speaker Adams known as on Mayor Eric Adams to prioritize the implementation of the allotted funds and the legally-mandated closure of the Rikers Island jail advanced.
“The council is proud to have secured over $50 million in meaningful investments into mental health care programs and essential safety solutions in this year’s city budget that our communities have long needed,” Speaker Adams mentioned Monday. “These investments are critical to our goals of improving mental health issues in our city, safely reducing the inflated jail population, and, ultimately, closing Rikers for good.”
Jail reform advocates and native legislators have lengthy accused New York Metropolis of failing to adequately monitor situations at Rikers, which has to this point reported 9 inmate deaths in 2025. A choose dominated in Might to position Rikers underneath federal receivership, citing a failure on the metropolis stage to remediate “the ongoing violations of the constitutional rights of people in custody in the New York City jails.”
Photograph by Lloyd Mitchell
In June, two inmate deaths at Rikers inside 78 minutes prompted an investigation from the Division of Correction into situations on the facility
Some within the Metropolis Council, together with Speaker Adams, fear that Mayor Adams shouldn’t be transferring the method alongside as shortly as desired.
“For too long, the city’s failure to effectively address the mental health crisis and resistance to advancing proven solutions has allowed Rikers to become a de facto mental health facility, an injustice we must confront,” Speaker Adams mentioned. “The mayoral administration must take immediate action to urgently and appropriately implement these funds to expand programs, so all New Yorkers can be healthy and safe.”
The $50 million funding within the metropolis funds goals to cut back incarceration charges by specializing in psychological well being and root causes of crime. The investments embody funds for psychological well being response groups, disaster facilities, and anti-recidivism initiatives — methods that can, the Metropolis Council hopes, scale back jail populations and permit for a smoother transition away from Rikers.
“Instead of receiving the care they need, too many New Yorkers struggling with mental health challenges are inappropriately funneled into the justice system, where they get stuck in harmful cycles of trauma and violence,” Deputy Speaker Diana Ayala mentioned.
Over half of the inmates at present held at Rikers have been recognized with a psychological sickness, with one in 5 being recognized with a critical psychological well being situation.
“Rikers has become one of the largest providers of psychiatric care in the country, with half its population diagnosed with a mental illness,” mentioned Council Member Linda Lee, Chair of the Committee on Psychological Well being, Disabilities and Habit. “True rehabilitation requires equipping our city with the tools to deliver life-saving care, reduce recidivism, and expand supportive housing for those most in need.”
Photograph by Lloyd Mitchell
