Staff Reports
For years, New York was the poster child for progressive “reforms” gone wrong, as the political left gutted the public psychiatric system and slashed over 90% of the beds that once existed to serve vulnerable patients. Officials sold this policy as a transformation, touting supposed savings and superior care through their community-based alternatives. But the consequences have been glaring: more mentally ill left on the streets, overwhelmed homeless shelters, emergency rooms stretched thin, and public safety compromised. Liberal ideology, out of sync with reality, prioritized platitudes over solutions, leaving everyday citizens to pay the price.
Now, faced with the undeniable crisis these failed policies created, Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams have reversed course, rolling out long-overdue measures to restore psychiatric care and invest in new beds. Hochul’s administration started adding back inpatient beds—hundreds in the last two years—loosened civil commitment standards, and signed a $196 million funding package for mental health care, including millions for forensic inpatient capacity. Meanwhile, Adams ramped up investments in “street beds” and announced programs like “Bridge to Home” to provide meaningful, comprehensive care and transitional housing for those struggling with severe mental illness. They’ve realized that compassion and common sense must trump ideology.
New York abandoned the seriously mentally ill — now we’re starting to save them https://t.co/umqGvOH9PW pic.twitter.com/qCydzTPO8R
— NY Post Opinion (@NYPostOpinion) September 19, 2025
The results have begun to show. Reforms are slowly chipping away at the chaos, bringing much-needed relief to the city and restoring some dignity to the mentally ill who have been left behind. More beds are online, new programs offer support and treatment, and public safety is seeing the first glimmers of recovery. Of course, it’s critical to remember that these fixes should have happened long ago; the damage from years of negligence can’t be erased overnight, and real leadership means anticipating problems—not racing to fix the ones already spiraling out of control.
These disastrous progressive policies didn’t just harm the mentally ill—they burdened police, transit, and criminal justice systems, and even triggered lawsuits over the inability to restore individuals to legal competency. The left ignored the looming crisis until tabloid headlines and public outrage forced action. Instead of taking responsibility, liberal politicians now seek applause for doing the bare minimum to undo their own legacy of neglect. Their globalist agenda consistently puts ideology before the well-being of American citizens, with results everyone can see: rising homelessness, crime, and suffering among those least able to fend for themselves.
It’s time to hold public officials accountable for their years of failed experiments. Restoring psychiatric care shouldn’t be a headline-grabbing act of heroism—it should be a matter of common sense and moral duty. As the city tries to rebuild what was recklessly dismantled, New Yorkers must demand honest leadership that puts practical solutions ahead of empty rhetoric and self-serving politics. How many more lives will be derailed before politicians abandon ideological fantasies and finally govern with genuine compassion and foresight?
