Amid a slew of challengers, Cuomo’s potential entry into the race has become a topic of speculation. In the past few months, he’s switched his voter registration address to Manhattan, has spoken with a potential campaign manager and has been floating early February as a target date for a potential announcement, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Speaking Monday during his weekly City Hall briefing, Adams compared the new numbers on Cuomo to the early edge held by Andrew Yang in 2021, calling it “deja vu” and pulling out a print-out of a 2021 headline that read “Andrew Yang opens up huge lead in race to be next New York City mayor.”

“No one is going to outwork me,” Adams said. “I am so committed authentically to New Yorkers. They connect with me. I went through some difficult hurdles. It’s amazing I’m still in it with the number of things I had to go through, but I’m still here.”

Yang, an early leader in the race to replace former Mayor de Blasio, was ultimately the first candidate to concede and later finished fourth.

The new poll, commissioned by Progressives for Democracy in America, found Cuomo came in first in the ranked-choice-style poll at 32%, and Adams at 6%. It follows polling that have shown Adams likely facing an uphill battle to re-election: A December poll found Adams’ job approval rating is at an all-time low of 28% and an October survey revealed more than two-thirds of New Yorkers thought Adams should resign.

Cuomo, who resigned as governor amid a sexual harassment scandal in 2021, has for months been floated as a possible mayoral challenger to Adams.

In the poll, Scott Stringer landed second at 10%, with Brad Lander at 8%, State Sen. Jessica Ramos at 7% and state Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani at 6%. State Sen. Zellnor Myrie came in at 1% — with another 18% selecting “unsure.”

The poll was first reported by Politico and conducted on 800 voters between Dec. 16 and Dec. 22.

“We just wanted to know who might be competitive against Cuomo given obvious name recognition,” Alan Minsky, executive director of the group, said on why they commissioned the poll with Hart Research Associates.

With Chris Sommerfeldt

The Grammy winner is confirmed to sing “America the Beautiful” when Trump is sworn in for his second term as president on Jan. 20 in Washington.

Representatives for Trump confirmed Monday that the “Before He Cheats” singer will be joined by the Armed Forces Choir and United States Naval Academy Glee Club.

Underwood, 41, was the headliner of “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest” on Dec. 31. The Oklahoma native came to fame after winning “American Idol” in 2005, and has since earned six platinum albums, eight Grammy Awards and five Country Music Association Female Vocalist of the Year Awards. She’s thrice been named the Academy of Country Music Awards’ Entertainer of the Year, the most of any female artist.

The Village People are also onboard to perform at Trump’s inauguration celebrations next week. The disco-era band’s late 1970s hit “YMCA” — widely considered a gay anthem — was prominent on the 2024 presidential campaign trail. The song also spawned a signature dance by the president-elect.

The group’s longtime front man Victor Willis (who plays the cop character) confirmed on social media Monday that they would appear at several parties in Washington, despite their difference in political ideologies.

“Our song YMCA is a global anthem that hopefully helps bring the country together after a tumultuous and divided campaign where our preferred candidate lost,” the 73-year-old crooner wrote on Facebook. “Therefore, we believe it’s now time to bring the country together with music.”

Grammy-winning country singer/songwriter Lee Greenwood and opera singer Christopher Macchio have also been confirmed as inauguration ceremony performers.

“God Bless the U.S.A.,” which Greenwood released in 1984, has become a patriotic anthem and is frequently played at Trump rallies.

Speaking with a hoarse voice from the lower Manhattan courtroom, Arkan, 76, admitted to orchestrating straw donations to Adams’ mayoral campaign through workers of the construction company he partly owns, KSK, and then reimbursing them. Arkan indicated he planned to enter the plea last month — the first resulting from the ongoing probe of illicit foreign donations to the mayor’s campaign.

“When I wrote the checks, I knew the Eric Adams campaign would use the checks to apply for public matching funds,” Arkan said, referring to the system under which city political candidates get donations from local residents matched eightfold with city dollars.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Celia Cohen told the court that if Arkan had gone to trial, prosecutors would have provided testimony, photographs, video electronic records, and other evidence to establish he illegally colluded with a Turkish consular official to funnel money to the mayoral campaign that Adams personally solicited at a restaurant in April 2021. Manhattan Federal Court Judge Dale Ho accepted Arkan’s plea and set his sentencing for Aug. 15.

While it wasn’t stated that the plea deal requires Arkan to testify against the mayor, his cooperation in the feds’ ongoing corruption investigation is all but certain, with Cohen asking his sentencing to be scheduled after Adams’ April trial. It is common for federal defendants who take plea deals to agree to testify or cooperate with prosecutors in exchange for leniency at sentencing.

The plea comes as prosecutors with the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office recently said in a filing they’d uncovered “additional criminal conduct” the mayor and others engaged in and may bring more charges.

Were Arkan to testify, though, Adams’ defense team believes he would have nothing incriminating to say about the mayor.

“We know from the government’s own interviews that Mr. Arkan repeatedly said that Mayor Adams had no knowledge of his actions.” Adams’ attorney, Alex Spiro, said in a statement. “Mr. Arkan’s conduct will have no bearing on the mayor’s case whatsoever.”

Adams is accused of soliciting and accepting illegal straw donations from Arkan and others, as well as luxury travel upgrades and perks in exchange for doling out political favors for the Turkish government. He is expected to head to trial on the five counts of bribery, conspiracy and wire fraud in April — just two months before he’s up for reelection in the June primary.

He has pleaded not guilty.

Arkan appears in Adams’ indictment as “Businessman #5.” Per the indictment, he hosted a fundraiser for the soon-to-be mayor at his firm’s Brooklyn office in May 2021, a month after the dinner with the mayor mentioned in court Friday. On the day of the fundraiser, records show that Arkan and 10 employees of the firm donated nearly $14,000 cumulatively to Adams’ campaign, for which Arkan reimbursed them.

Records show that after submitting those contributions for public matching funds, the Adams campaign raked in an additional $22,000 in taxpayers’ cash off of them.

All of those donations were illegal straw contributions funded by Arkan and made “at the behest of” Reyhan Ozgur, Turkey’s consul general in New York, according to Adams’ indictment. Ozgur and Arkan allegedly agreed to make the illegal donations during the dinner with Adams in April 2021.

“We are supporting you,” Ozgur told Adams at that dinner, according to court papers.

As part of his plea, Arkan agreed to making $18,000 restitution payments and not to contest a sentence below six months. He also faces the risk of being denaturalized, deported, and denied entry to the U.S. in the future, Ho warned him.

The offense Arkan pleaded to could result in a maximum of up to five years in federal prison, three years supervised release and $250,000 in fines.

Arkan’s attorney, Jonathan Rosen, had no comment after Friday’s plea hearing.

Adams, who’s up for reelection this year, announced he’s looking to invest $650 million in new homelessness and mental health initiatives over the coming five years and is committed to building 100,000 new homes in Manhattan.

He also used the speech to tout what he views as some of the major accomplishments of his first term, such as driving down some crime categories and getting his “City of Yes” housing plan passed by the City Council.

The speech painted a broad picture of the mayor’s priorities, but did not go into detail on a number of the initiatives, some of which would likely require support from the Council.

That may present a challenge. Adams and the Council’s Democratic leaders have sparred of late over various policy disagreements, including over questions of how much say the Council should have over mayoral appointments.

The mayor is also heading into strong legal and political headwinds, with his trial on corruption charges slated to begin in April and a packed field of Democratic opponents taking him on for the party’s mayoral nomination in June.

Adams didn’t directly address his reelection prospects during his speech — although he did acknowledge he has faced calls to step down as mayor, but repeated that he will “step up” instead.

“Despite all we have accomplished, I won’t stand here and try to tell you our work is complete,” Adams said in the roughly hour-long speech at The Apollo in Harlem.

“Now is the time for renewed dedication and continued action, because no matter what challenges we face, I promise you this: No one will fight harder for your family than I will.”

Homelessness

Adams pointed to a rise in street homelessness and a dearth of housing as being among the most pressing issues facing the city. Adams promised the city would over the next five fiscal years put $650 million in city budget funds toward getting people off subways and into housing.

According to a City Hall press release, that money will go toward funding 900 new Safe Haven shelter beds — which are tailored for unhoused individuals suffering from drug addiction and mental illness — and building a new transitional housing facility designed to provide support for those experiencing chronic homelessness. City Hall did not immediately have details available about locations or timelines.

“We must do more to help people struggling with serious mental illness,” he said. “We can’t just walk past them and act like they can take care of themselves when they can’t. We know that too many New Yorkers cycle between the hospital and homelessness.”

A rash of high profile crimes in which the accused suffers from some sort of mental illness have left New Yorkers on edge.

The $650 million Adams is proposing would need sign-off from the Council, whose speaker, Adrienne Adams, issued a statement after his speech voicing frustration with how budget negotiations have fared with the mayor’s administration over the past four years.

“Far too often, we’ve faced resistance from the administration when it comes time to negotiate the budget,” said the speaker, whose later this month set to start talks with the mayor’s team on this year’s budget. “We will continue to work with all stakeholders to achieve these priorities for our city and will also hold the Administration accountable to delivering for New Yorkers.”

As a broader goal, the mayor vowed to work toward making sure no more children in New York City are born into the shelter system. To that end, he announced a pilot program to connect expecting parents with services to help find permanent housing before their child is born.

In 2017, the most recent year for which data is available, more than 1,000 kids in the city were born into shelters.

Housing, swimming, parks

The mayor also used his speech to announce a new plan, dubbed “City of Yes for Families,” intended to build more units specifically for families through zoning changes and expanding rent payment assistance programs.

“I promise you this: No one will fight harder for your family than I will,” he said.

As part of that, Adams said the city would build 100,000 new units in Manhattan — a massive 11% increase for the already densely-packed island where local residents often push back on new housing and zoning changes. City Hall did not have specific details on the plan.

The mayor also vowed to expand free swim lessons to 4,800 second graders living in underserved communities across the city each year. That’s on top of the roughly 13,000 kids who currently get free swim lessons from the Parks Department.

Adams also addressed the issue of cleanliness in the city’s parks, saying the city would add a second cleaning shift to spots at over 60 parks around the city. He also announced plans to open more schoolyards in underserved areas.

The parks push comes after Adams faced some heat last year for not reversing budget cuts to the city Parks Department that were first enacted to offset spending on the city’s migrant crisis.

In contrast to his State of the City address last year, Adams only touched briefly on the asylum seeker crisis that has cost the city billions of dollars since it started in spring 2022 shortly after he was first inaugurated as mayor.

“When Washington refused to take action on a broken immigration system; I stood up for our city and pushed back while still caring for hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers,” he said. “But we know we still have more work to do and more people to help. Too many families are still facing the same struggles my family did.”

Opponents, union criticize Adams

To kick off Thursday’s speech, Adams thanked his deputy mayors and other senior officials seated in the theater’s front row. The mayor has seen many of his top advisors resign in recent months after they were ensnared in various corruption investigations of their own.

“The hardest job in politics is working for Eric Adams,” he said, nodding to his aides.

Adams also used the speech to point to his record on public safety and the adoption of the “City of Yes” plan, which is estimated to create about 80,000 new units of housing over the coming 15 years. He touted crime numbers showing Brooklyn has seen the “lowest amount of gun violence” in its history and that overall index crime dropped citywide in 2024 as compared to 2023.

His political rivals — some of whom were sitting in the audience listening to the speech — slammed the speech.

“New Yorkers know that our city is neither safer nor more affordable,” Comptroller Brad Lander, who is running against him in June’s primary, said in a statement. “New Yorkers want honest, effective leadership, not pomp and circumstance and empty promises. They want a Mayor who is focused on their problems, not his own.”

While some categories of crime are down, others, like felony and misdemeanor assault, are up. Homelessness has also increased during Adams’ term and the city has experienced spikes in poverty.

Progressive mayoral challenger Zohran Mamdani sat in the gallery and live-tweeted reactions to the speech. “Just incredible to hear a Mayor who’s raised the rent year after year on more than two million stabilized tenants talking about the ‘hard choices’ families have to make just to get by,” the Queens Assembly member wrote on X.

Advocates also called attention to budget cuts Adams made to pre-K and 3-K.

“If New York City is the best place to raise a family, that’s news to the thousands of families moving out each day due to the cost of child care,” said Rebecca Bailin, executive director of New Yorkers United for Child Care, a prominent advocacy group that helped fight the early childhood cuts last year.

Ahead of the mayor’s speech, dozens of members of the NYPD sergeants union, known as SBA, gathered outside The Apollo to protest what they view as the Adams administration’s refusal to address pay disparities that leave them earning less than some of the officers they supervise.

In his speech, Adams addressed that request: “We are going to settle a contract with the SBA, trust me we will.”

Protesters from the “Close Rikers” coalition and Make the Road, an immigrant advocacy group, also rallied outside.

Adams, who is delivering the speech amid a federal corruption indictment to which he has pleaded not guilty, is likely to touch on an array of subjects that have been central themes in his 3-year-old administration suhc as crime and huiosng.

You can watch the speech live here.

Comptroller Brad Lander, who is challenging Adams in the 2025 mayoral race, issued the report over the Midtown consulate, which has come under scrutiny from federal investigators in their case against the mayor as it was allegedly fast-tracked to open ahead of a ribbon-cutting ceremony with the Turkish president.

According to the indictment, Adams pressured fire department officials to cut corners in their approval process to get the 35-story building up and running, allowing the building to open in September 2021 despite unresolved safety issues, including the FDNY’s rejection of a fire protection plan.

Prosecutors say the mayor received travel perks and illegal straw donations to his campaign in exchange for carrying out this favor and others at the behest of Turkish officials. The mayor has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

“By rushing to allow the opening of Turkish House in advance of a ribbon-cutting ceremony with President Erdoğan, DOB and FDNY cut serious corners that could have compromised the safety of the occupants and neighbors of the building,” Lander said in a statement.

The consulate was the only building of its category that was allowed to open without an approved fire plan, a “troubling breach of process,” Lander wrote in the report.

The building’s fire plan was ultimately approved three years after opening on Sept. 26, coincidentally the same day Adams’ indictment was unsealed.

But on the same day, the city’s Department of Buildings denied the consulate’s application for a new temporary certificate of occupancy, citing that the building didn’t submit complete paperwork. Since then, the building has been operating without a valid certificate of occupancy.

Previously, the Turkish Consulate had been operating with the temporary occupancy certificates despite a two-year limit on the use of such permits, the Daily News previously reported.

“This building has been inspected by our Bureau of Fire Prevention on multiple occasions. It has received violations that were remedied, and a reinspection was conducted prior to any approvals being issued. The location also has adequate fire safety staff for the commercial occupants,” a spokesman for the FDNY said in a statement.

The Turkish House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The consulate is not eligible to file for a permanent certificate of occupancy, because it has standing violations of the Building Code and Environmental Control Board code, including a May 2024 violation for a 16th-floor glass facade and others related to elevator testing.

“We treat the safety of our fellow New Yorkers as a top priority, and if any member of the public has safety concerns about a building, they are strongly encouraged to file an official 311 complaint, so that we can investigate the issue,” Andrew Rudansky, a spokesman for the DOB, said in a statement.

Lander said his audit also revealed a larger issue within the DOB: Over 3,500 buildings in the city are currently operating without occupancy approval, including over 600 office buildings that haven’t had the approval for an average of 3.5 years.

Sources at the DOB said that a lapse in TCO doesn’t necessarily mean the building is unsafe, and is viewed as an administrative mishap.

The suit was brought by the competitor, JRT Realty, which alleges Cushman & Wakefield executive Diana Boutross was picked at Hamilton’s “behest” in late 2023 to take over running Cushman & Wakefield’s brokering of commercial leases between the city government and private property owners.

The Manhattan Supreme Court action comes after investigators in September seized phones and other electronic devices from Hamilton, Boutross and Ingrid Lewis-Martin, then Adams’ chief adviser at City Hall, after they landed at JFK returning from a trip to Japan.

The seizures were part of a probe led by the Manhattan district attorney’s office scrutinizing possible corruption in the city’s commercial property leasing sector, according to sources. No charges have been filed, but Lewis-Martin was indicted by the Manhattan DA last month on bribery charges unrelated to the commercial property dealings; she has pleaded not guilty.

Both Cushman & Wakefield and JRT are on a contract with Hamilton’s agency, the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, under which both firms are supposed to share in the commissions that can come from locking in leases between the city and private property owners.

JRT, a woman-owned business, claims in its suit that Boutross, upon being tapped to take over Cushman & Wakefield’s account with the city, sought to “destroy the reputation” of JRT and collect that firm’s commissions. The suit only names Cushman & Wakefield as a defendant, accusing it of defamation and tortious interference in business relations.

Cushman & Wakefield rep Mike Boonshoft said Tuesday that “any change in our work” with the city would only have come from its amended rules around contracting with minority- and/or woman-owned businesses, or so called MWBEs, “as well as other legitimate commercial reasons.”

“Now that we have a copy of the complaint, we will review and respond accordingly,” he added.

Neither DCAS nor Hamilton returned requests for comment.

Adams, who has pleaded not guilty to federal corruption charges as part of an unrelated case related to Turkey’s government, did not offer comment via a spokeswoman.

According to JRT’s suit, Hamilton, whose DCAS post comes with overseeing the city government’s commercial leasing program, told Cushman & Wakefield in late December 2023 it would lose its commission deals with his agency unless Boutross, a personal friend to him and Lewis-Martin, was put in charge of the DCAS account.

Hamilton, a key political ally to the mayor who has known him for decades, allegedly issued that directive after Cushman & Wakefield’s previous manager on the account, Robert Giglio, announced his retirement.

Boutross was subsequently installed in the role, and once in it, she and Cushman & Wakefield “engaged in a premeditated campaign to block JRT from the DCAS account and destroy JRT’s reputation with DCAS, other city agencies, brokers, and landlords,” according to the suit.

That included Boutross writing an April 2024 email to DCAS officials in which she “falsely stated” JRT would no longer be involved in brokering leases due to “performance issues,” according to a copy of the email included with the lawsuit.

The lawsuit also points to a DCAS bidding process that remains ongoing for the renewal of the commission-based contract that JRT is part of along with Cushman & Wakefield.

The new contract released by DCAS for bids in March 2024 eliminated a previous provision requiring that a certain number of deals be brokered by women-owned enterprises, an “abrupt change” that could “effectively eliminate” JRT from doing business with the agency, according to the suit.

Ultimately, JRT charges that Cushman & Wakefield and Boutross undertook the alleged smear campaign to try to gobble up for themselves the 33.75% commissions that JRT gets on property deals, including for the Bronx Logistics Center, a warehouse in Hunts Point that the city government was in talks to buy for $750 million.

Although JRT was supposed to be roped into the Logistics Center deal, Boutross allegedly sought to cut out the firm around March 2024 by not looping them in on key communications, the lawsuit says.

Around this time, Hamilton repeatedly walked through DCAS’s offices and told employees there, “Remember that the Bronx Logistics Deal is only a C&W deal!” according to the suit.

Additionally, the suit notes Hamilton appeared in a promo video for the Logistics Center, which the Daily News first reported last year was produced by one of his DCAS aides and disseminated to city agencies.

In the video, which DCAS has said was “unauthorized,” Hamilton urged city agencies to formulate plans for leasing space at the center, which the city government ultimately never entered into a deal to buy after the unusual video emerged last year.

“If the Bronx Logistics Deal had closed, Boutross would have earned millions of dollars in commissions under the DCAS Contract,” JRT’s complaint reads.

The suit comes after Brooklyn Councilman Lincoln Restler questioned DCAS Commissioner Louis Molina in October about why JRT had gotten “slashed” out of brokering deals after Boutross landed the account. Molina replied at the time he had been “informed by my team that that was not the case.”

In response to Monday’s lawsuit, Restler told The News that DCAS needs to be overhauled.

“This lawsuit further underscores the corruption involving the Adams administration and Diana Boutross and the need for a comprehensive investigation into the city’s shady real estate division,” Restler said.

Nocella will replace Breon Peace, who announced last month he’ll step down from the job as top federal prosecutor covering Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and Long Island on Jan. 10 — just days before Trump’s inauguration. President Biden appointed Peace for the spot in 2021.

“Judge Nocella has a strong record of bringing Law and Order to the incredible people of New York, serving as a Nassau County District Court Judge, and Family Court Judge,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Monday night, announcing the pick.

Nocella earned his bachelor’s degree from Fordham University, where Trump also studied before transferring to the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and later graduated from Columbia Law School, Newsday has reported.

He began his legal career in private practice working in litigation in both New York and Los Angeles. From 1991 to 1995, he served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Eastern District’s criminal division.

Returning to local government after his federal tenure, Nocella worked in various legal roles in Nassau County, serving as the Hempstead town attorney from 2021 to 2022, and as chief of staff to the Hempstead town supervisor from 2020 to 2022, according to Newsday.

He was also the Oyster Bay town attorney from 2017 to 2020, according to Newsday. In addition, he held positions as counsel to Nassau County’s Office of Housing and Community Development and as a counsel to the county executive and legislature.

His most recent post was as a Nassau County District Court judge in November 2022.

According to the city’s estimates, the redevelopment is expected to create over 3,000 construction jobs and 360 permanent jobs and generate nearly $2.6 billion in economic impact over the next 30 years.

The developer, 8th Regiment Partners LLC, won the competitive solicitation process for proposals that kicked off in summer 2023.

“There have been many efforts in the past to get a project that really delivers for the community,” said Andrew Kimball, the CEO of the Economic Development Corporation, which is working with the city on the project and oversaw the solicitation process.

“They’ve got a real track record in terms of both residential and commercial,” Kimball said, listing the quality of their design, programs and financial feasibility as reasons the developer, an LLC made up of real estate partners Maddd Equities and Joy Construction.

The 5-acre site has been mostly vacant for two decades as proposals for the massive structure flopped for years. The most recent plan, abandoned in 2021, was to make the space into the world’s largest ice skating center.

In selecting 8th Regiment Partners, the city and EDC passed on the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, a nonprofit group whose executive director, Sandra Lobo, helped lead a nine-month community outreach process and created a comprehensive plan for the space. The Coalition submitted its own application for the Armory, which included space for local vendors and performance space, in addition to adjacent affordable housing.

“I’m cautiously optimistic,” Lobo said. “I know that a lot of work has been put into this process, with the 4,000 residents, and the business owners and vision document. We were really clear about the role of the community in this project, and we’re confident in the community stewards.”

A source familiar with the application process for the project said the Coalition was passed on because EDC received applications that were financially stronger.

“We are excited for this opportunity to work with all of our government partners to transform this incredible, landmarked space into a thriving center of economic activity for the community, the borough, and the City of New York,” Gabriella Madruga, principal of Maddd Equities, said in a statement.

“This is a wonderful example of a public-private partnership that will revitalize one of the most unique and historical buildings in New York.”

Adams and Gov. Hochul are each investing $100 million in city and state funds for project, with additional allocations coming through Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson, Councilmember Pierina Sanchez and federal grant money secured by Rep. Adriano Espilliat.

“At the Kingsbridge Armory, our administration saw a historic yet underutilized site as an opportunity to dream and deliver a bold, forward-looking vision for the Bronx,” Mayor Adams said in a statement. “In just one location, we’re delivering affordable housing for our neighbors, sports fields for our children, community spaces for our families, and so much more.”

The development team partners includes Adams’ campaign contributors. Madruga gave $2,000 to Adams’ 2021 bid for mayor. Another Maddd employee, development consultant William Bollinger, gave Adams’ first campaign $400, and firm founder Jorge Madruga donated $3,850 to Adams’ Brooklyn borough president campaign in 2015.

Joy Construction’s principal, Eli Weiss, gave Adams’ 2021 campaign $400, the max allowed, given he has been in the city’s Doing Business database at least since 2019. Weiss also gave the maximum donation — $3,850 to Adams’ borough president campaign, in 2015.

With Chris Sommerfeldt

A spate of shocking crimes — including the woman fatally set on fire aboard a Brooklyn F train and the man thrown in front of a 1 train, many allegedly done by those with serious mental illness — have brought the issue of public safety on the city’s transit system front and center.

“We can’t fully address this problem without changes to state law. That’s why I will be including legislation in my executive budget to finally change New York’s involuntary commitment standards,” Hochul said in a statement announcing the proposed changes.

Hochul spokesman Avi Small wouldn’t elaborate on how exactly the governor wants to expand the involuntary commitment laws, saying, “Those details will be in the executive budget.” 

Currently, hospitals in the state are able to take in people who are a risk to themselves or others. This new legislation would “expand that definition” to allow for more involuntary removals, according to a release.

The move comes after Mayor Adams has for months pushed Albany to enact legislation broadening the grounds for involuntary removal. 

“With today’s announcement, we are exceptionally grateful to Governor Hochul for listening to our calls and to the calls of everyday New Yorkers, and we look forward to working with her to develop next steps to finally codify these changes into law,” Adams said in a statement.

“There is no dignity in withering away on the streets without the ability to help yourself, and there is no moral superiority in just walking by those individuals and doing nothing.”

The mayor’s own involuntary commitment initiative, under which NYPD officers and outreach teams took in individuals who appeared to pose a threat, has touched off controversy since its start in 2022. 

The governor’s legislation is likewise likely to set off a fight with some left-leaning elected officials. 

Some progressives and mental health advocates have warned that expanding the policy could imperil people who aren’t actually in need of hospitalization and that simply removing people from subways does not provide any long-term solutions.  

Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said the new law is unnecessary, ineffective and will criminalize those with mental illness.

“The current system already fails those subject to involuntary commitment,” Lieberman said in a statement. “They are bounced from one under-resourced facility after another before returning to the street. With no supportive housing or care manager who can help access scarce mental health and housing services, the cycle repeats. Today’s announcement proposes only to widen that spiral.”

Glenn Liebman, CEO of the Mental Health Association in New York State, was doubtful that Hochul’s legislation would make a meaningful change on the ground.

“I honestly don’t think that will have a major effect,” he said, adding that people continue to fall through the cracks after being released from hospitals and prison because they struggle to get their medication or get meetings with a provider.  

The governor also said she will introduce legislation to change Kendra’s Law, which allows people to petition a judge to force someone with mental illness into treatment.

Councilmember Bob Holden slammed Hochul for this, arguing that the city and state simply need to enforce existing laws instead of changing them.

“Governor Hochul is gaslighting the public by punting the mental health crisis to the State Legislature under the guise of needing changes to Kendra’s Law,” Holden said in a statement. “The truth is that Kendra’s Law works when properly enforced, but city and state agencies have failed to follow through, and the Governor has failed to allocate the necessary resources to make it effective.”

With Chris Sommerfeldt