Mayor Eric Adams acknowledged Tuesday that the city is responsible for a deranged man’s stabbing rampage that left three New Yorkers dead — but said the failings of the mental health and justice systems run even deeper.
A measured Adams called on Washington, Albany and the City Council to take action Fix the “broken” mental health system It didn’t help that mentally ill Ramon Rivera, 51, died before he allegedly stabbed three people to death last week.
“If we don’t do something about it, we could see events like this happening again,” Adams said during his weekly off-topic briefing at City Hall.
“Can the city do more? You’re absolutely right we can,” he said. “But our federal government can do more, our state government can do more, our (city council) partners across the hall can do more, we can all do more.”
The mayor also gently shrugged off outrage over the early release of Rivera — a homeless man with a long wrap sheet – Exactly one month before the incident of 18 November. He said Rivera was released “in good time” due to a technicality despite the attack on a corrections officer.
As Adams spoke, City Hall distributed timelines of Rivera’s months-long stint in New York City jails, leading to his eventual release in October.
Rivera, who has a lengthy criminal history, was arrested in February on theft charges. In May, he attacked a corrections officer in the psychiatric ward of Bellevue Hospital — an incident first reported by The Post.
Adams said that since the attack occurred before Rivera was sentenced to 364 days in jail for theft, it could not actually be used against him when authorities released him on October 17 on good behavior grounds. Deductions calculated for release.
He also noted that prosecutors in the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg had requested – and a judge accepted – that Rivera’s 90-day sentence for attacking the guard be served at the same time as the burglary sentence. He was punished for.
City Hall officials said they are still reviewing whether the good times loophole is a policy issue or a law — and whether it can be changed.
Some law-enforcement sources argued that Adams’ description of the unavoidable technicalities responsible for Rivera’s release was not as clear as he presented.
Prosecutors from Bragg’s office combined Rivera’s felony theft charges into a single case, keeping him in prison instead of state prison. Sources argued that a judge did not look at Rivera’s lengthy criminal record, which also included out-of-state charges, when considering a lenient sentence.
But Adams argued that no matter how long Rivera served, he would still pose a threat.
“She needed help, you know,” he said. “If he had come out 90 days later and stabbed three people, it would have been just as bad.”
Even though Rivera came out of the prison system “stable” after receiving mental health help, the safety net of care broke down during his brief months of freedom, Adams said.
Brian Stattin, the mayor’s senior advisor for serious mental illness, said Rivera arrived at the Bellevue Men’s Shelter, a mass homeless facility in Manhattan, an ideal setting for the care, medication and monitoring of potential drug use for mentally ill people. is very far.
Stattin said, “There is a need for a strong housing option that we are working diligently to create, and I hope the mayor will have more to say on this in the future.”
The signal of support for more residential care for the mentally ill could signal a change from the mayor — who has repeatedly pushed for more powers to remove troubled individuals from the streets against their will.
A City Council source said lawmakers have advocated for more funding for supportive housing, or post-release care, but City Hall has blocked it. According to the source, there are currently only 180 such beds in the city, and requests for another 320 are pending.
“This is the first time (the mayor) has talked about this. I want him to talk about more than involuntary commitment with the state. We need to add more beds,” the source said.
Here’s how Adams’ comments about Rivera and mental health came to light Potential gubernatorial – or mayor – hopeful Rep. Richie Torres He held a press conference to reiterate his stance that the jailbird’s early release is a “failure that is entirely on the part of the city.”
Torres described Rivera’s release as an act of cruelty against both a mentally ill individual and the general public.
“The city should have a policy prohibiting early release of people with serious mental illness and those who pose a threat not only to themselves but to the general public,” he said. “If Ramon Rivera had never been granted early release, and if he had served his full 12-month sentence, the three New Yorkers he murdered would still be alive.”
But Torres, the Democratic congressman who represents a Bronx district, also placed blame on the federal government. He called on the federal government to rescind a policy preventing Medicaid funds from going to institutions for mental illness.
“The federal government should unlock federal funding for inpatient psychiatric care,” he said.
Adams said she contacted Torres about the congressman’s letter accusing the mayor and Governor Kathy Hochul of being “complicit” in the stabbing, but the representative did not return her message.
Torres said he received a message from an unknown number — and was asked to call him, signed “Eric.”
“I know a lot about Erics,” he said.
Later Tuesday, Torres Posted on x He had a “meaningful” conversation with Adams on Rivera’s case.
“I had a productive conversation with Mayor Eric Adams, who assured me that the city is re-examining the ‘good behavior’ policy that led to Ramon Rivera’s early release,” the post said.
“I fully support the Mayor’s efforts to create a mental health institute in the city. The shortage of inpatient psychiatric care has become too severe to ignore.”
(Tags to translate)Metro(T)US News(T)Crime(T)Criminal Justice System(T)Eric Adams(T)Manhattan(T)Mental Illness(T)Richie Torres
