New York
Lander Vows to End Street Homelessness for Mentally Ill People as Mayor
Brad Lander, the New York City comptroller who is running for mayor, will unveil his signature campaign issue on Monday: trying to end homelessness on the streets and subways for people with severe mental illness.
The problem has vexed leaders in many large cities, but perhaps none more so than in New York, where a recent series of violent attacks on the subway has rekindled safety concerns and heightened calls for law enforcement and the courts to do more to keep troubled people off the streets.
Mr. Lander’s 75-page-plus plan calls for expanding subway outreach teams and embracing a “housing first” model that has been successful in other cities, including Houston and Denver. Mr. Lander would focus on roughly 2,000 homeless people with serious mental illness and place them in vacant apartments known as single-room-occupancy units, or S.R.O.s.
“New Yorkers are stressed out about lack of safety on the subway and our streets, and a huge amount of that is mentally ill homeless folks who, in some cases, become a real danger, as we’ve seen in recent weeks,” he said. “We dug in and realized this is a solvable problem.”
Mr. Lander said he believed he could get most or all homeless people with serious mental illness off the streets and into some form of supportive housing in his first two years as mayor. The plan would cost about $100 million in the first year, and roughly $30 million per year thereafter, with about half going toward renovating vacant single-occupancy apartments that would provide an array of on-site services.
The number of people living in the streets and subways of New York City was estimated at 4,140 last year — the highest level in nearly two decades. Rents have soared, and roughly one in eight public school students is homeless.
Those factors have helped make mental health and homelessness major issues in the mayoral race — with more attention focused on the problems after a woman was lit on fire and killed on a train, and subway riders have been pushed onto the tracks by people with mental illness.
Moving some of the city’s most fragile and least stable residents into permanent housing and having them stay requires a herculean level of coordination among multiple stakeholders. They include hospitals; jails; the criminal justice system; nonprofits that offer street medical services and provide housing; and city and state social service agencies and health authorities.
That has not stopped city leaders from trying to navigate that patchwork of bureaucracies.
Last week, during his fourth State of the City speech, Mayor Eric Adams announced a $650 million plan to address street homelessness that includes building new housing for people with serious mental illness and adding 900 “safe haven” beds, which are temporary housing options that offer more privacy and fewer restrictions than typical shelters.
Kayla Mamelak Altus, a spokeswoman for Mr. Adams, said in a statement that the mayor had “rejected the notion that leaving people to sleep on the street was acceptable” and helped move 8,000 New Yorkers from the subways into shelters, among other efforts. She said there was “still more work to be done,” pointing to the plan that the mayor just unveiled.
“It’s hard to imagine a fraction of this being achieved under Brad Lander, who would prefer to see our streets littered with encampments and our most vulnerable rotting away in filth,” she said.
Other mayoral candidates have pledged to address homelessness, including Jessica Ramos, a state senator from Queens who released a mental health plan last week. Ms. Ramos proposed building 20 community centers that offer therapy and filling vacant supportive housing units.
“As mayor, I will declare a mental health emergency on Day 1 of my administration so we can deliver services to suffering New Yorkers swiftly and effectively,” Ms. Ramos said.
Scott Stringer, a former comptroller, said in a statement that he would remove people who pose a danger to themselves or others and would expand mental health outreach teams. He said that New Yorkers felt “abandoned by city government.”
Zellnor Myrie, a state senator from Brooklyn, said the Adams administration was “letting too many people who are demonstrating behavioral disturbance fall through the cracks because of a byzantine network of programs and systems.” He said he would expand outreach teams and housing.
The issue has long bedeviled mayors. Bill de Blasio announced a $100 million plan to “end long-term street homelessness” in five years. After eight years as mayor, Mr. de Blasio acknowledged that the issue was his greatest disappointment.
Mr. Lander wants to rely on the “housing first” model that has allowed Houston to move more than 25,000 homeless people into apartments and houses. The approach moves the most vulnerable people straight from the streets into apartments, not into shelters, and does not require them to first wean themselves off drugs, complete a 12-step program or get a job. Evidence shows that the strategy keeps people housed, but it is unclear if it saves money or leads to better health outcomes.
New York City has about 40,000 supportive housing units, and most of their occupants moved there from shelters or other temporary housing. Mr. Adams’s administration started a “housing first” pilot program in 2022 that planned to reach 80 adults living on the street. Mr. Lander wants to significantly expand the program.
Mr. Lander’s plan would also create a centralized database for all mental health crisis responses to help prevent people from falling through the cracks.
Steven Banks, the city’s social services commissioner under Mr. de Blasio, said that Mr. Lander’s plan was “on the right track” based on his experience in city government and his decades at the Legal Aid Society, the main legal provider for poor New Yorkers.
The plan argues that Mr. Adams has failed to adequately address the city’s mental health crisis. It found that the mayor’s broad sweeps of homeless encampments had connected only three people with permanent housing during a period in 2022, and that his administration had not made enough progress on promises to create 360 therapeutic beds for people in jails and to create 15,000 units of supportive housing that include social services.
It also cited a lack of coordination among the various city agencies responsible for caring for those with mental health issues, including hospitals, outpatient treatment teams and homeless shelters — failures highlighted in a 2023 investigation by The New York Times.
Mr. Lander also seeks changes in the rules regarding involuntary hospitalization of people in psychiatric crisis, which are set by the state. Gov. Kathy Hochul said recently that she would push to loosen the standards for involuntary commitment.
Mr. Lander wants hospitals to consider a patient’s history when deciding whether to admit them and to allow nurses to be able to evaluate individuals for involuntary hospitalization, among other changes.
Mr. Adams, a former police officer who ran for mayor on a public safety platform, has taken a tough stance on clearing the streets of homeless people, but data shows that the population has grown. In January 2022, just after Mr. Adams took office, the city estimated that there were about 3,400 people living in streets and subways.
Another measure of street and subway homelessness is the number of unsheltered people on the caseload of outreach workers. That, too, has gone up under Mr. Adams, to about 3,250 in June 2024, from about 2,050 in June 2021.
Mr. Lander, when asked how he could fix the problem when so many other elected officials have struggled, cited his experience leading a housing nonprofit and his singular focus on the issue. He said he would ask his staff for weekly updates on the city’s “by name list” of people who are homeless to make sure they were on a path to housing.
“I’m making this my No. 1 promise to New Yorkers, and it will be my No. 1 focus when I become mayor,” he said.
Jan Ransom and Amy Julia Harris contributed reporting.
Estimated spending on
broadcast ads that have aired
$1.1 million
$4.3 million
The Democrats running for mayor in New York City and a super PAC supporting Andrew M. Cuomo are spending millions to reach potential voters, with much of the spending going toward commercials on broadcast television. A New York Times analysis of the broadcast ads that have aired so far, using data from AdImpact, explored the major themes highlighted by the candidates: crime and safety, President Trump, affordable housing and corruption.
Among the ads aired,
seven mention crime and safety
3 ads
Mr. Cuomo, the former governor, has been framing himself as a law-and-order candidate who will crack down on crime and improve public safety. Ads run by Fix the City, the super PAC backing Mr. Cuomo, have depicted New York as a city in chaos. One of its ads opens with images of police sirens, caution tape and subway riders fleeing a smoke-filled train.
“Crime is rampant,” says a voiceover in another pro-Cuomo ad, also paid for by Fix the City. That ad also references Mr. Cuomo’s “five-borough crime and affordability plan,” which would add “5,000 more cops” to the streets.
Other candidates took a subtler approach. Scott Stringer, a former city comptroller, said in his only broadcast ad to air so far that he would “put a cop on every train” and “hire more mental health workers.” An ad for Brad Lander, the current city comptroller, tied the idea of safety to Mr. Lander’s plan to “end street homelessness for the mentally ill.” An ad for Zohran Mamdani, the state assemblyman, simply said he would make New York a “safer city.”
Among the ads aired,
five mention President Trump
2 ads
Taking jabs at Mr. Trump and his administration could almost be considered a requirement for candidates running in a Democratic primary in a city where former Vice President Kamala Harris won about 70 percent of votes in the 2024 presidential election. Still, some of the ads that mention the president are more direct than others.
An ad for Mr. Stringer was among the most explicit: “We deserve a mayor who can get our city back on track and keep this schmuck out of our business,” Mr. Stringer says over a clip of Mr. Trump dancing at a rally, adding that he will “tell Trump where to stick it.”
Mr. Lander drives a large forklift around a junkyard in his broadcast ad and places cars into a crushing machine. One of the cars has the words “Trump & Musk” in large black letters across the side.
Other candidates made only passing swipes at the president. Some of the ads supporting Mr. Cuomo mentioned that he took on Mr. Trump as governor and will again as mayor, and an ad for Mr. Mamdani said he would stand up to Mr. Trump. Mr. Myrie’s broadcast ad did not mention Mr. Trump.
All ads mention affordable housing
3 ads
Every broadcast ad reviewed in the analysis mentioned housing at least once. In one ad, Mr. Mamdani likened Mr. Cuomo to the current mayor, Eric Adams, whose housing policies have been similar to the former governor’s, and whose popularity declined after he was indicted on fraud and corruption charges in 2024. The Trump administration later dropped the charges.
“Cuomo is running for Adams’s second term,” Mr. Mamdani said in the ad, adding that he will “take on bad landlords and greedy corporations.”
Mr. Adams and Mr. Cuomo are both moderates who have many of the same donors, including powerful real estate leaders, and both have supported housing policies that are in stark contrast to Mr. Mamdani’s. The mayor and former governor both oppose freezing increases for rent-stabilized apartments, for example, while one of Mr. Mamdani’s ads is devoted solely to his plan to freeze rent prices.
In ads for other candidates, housing is mentioned only briefly. An ad by Fix the City for Mr. Cuomo said he will “cut red tape for affordable housing and build 500,000 new units.” In Mr. Stringer’s ad, he said he will “turn vacant lots into affordable apartments.” Mr. Myrie’s ad says he has “the boldest plan to build affordable housing.”
Among the ads aired,
three mention corruption
0 ads
Several of the candidates mentioned corruption in their ads. In Mr. Lander’s ad, a second car is brought out to be crushed, this one symbolizing “corruption,” specifically as it relates to Mr. Cuomo.
“Andrew Cuomo spent $60 million of your money to defend himself in court. That’s corrupt,” a voiceover says as the car is brought to the crushing machine. “But Brad Lander fights corruption.”
In the ad in which Mr. Mamdani compares Mr. Cuomo to Mr. Adams, the candidate paints the former governor and mayor as the corrupt establishment, responsible for making the city unaffordable.
“Working people are being pushed out of the city they built, and it’s because corrupt politicians like Eric Adams and Andrew Cuomo have sold us out to billionaires and corporations, rigging the economy against us,” Mr. Mamdani says over a series of images that combine Mr. Cuomo’s face and quotes about the former governor from news articles.
Mr. Stringer defines corruption less precisely, mentioning that he “fought corruption” as comptroller. The three pro-Cuomo broadcast ads by Fix the City did not mention corruption, nor did the ad for Mr. Myrie.
Total spending on advertising,
including future broadcast spots
| Total spent | Broadcast share | |
|---|---|---|
|
Fix the City (pro-Cuomo super PAC) |
$8.1 million | 91% |
 Mamdani |
$3.0 million | 41% |
 Lander |
$2.3 million | 72% |
 Stringer |
$1.9 million | 83% |
 Myrie |
$1.7 million | 27% |
Spending on ads that have already aired on broadcast television, which this analysis focused on, is one slice of candidates’ overall ad spending. They have also purchased broadcast spots to air more ads in the future, as well as ads on other platforms like streaming television, satellite and internet. Broadcast was, however, a major focus for the candidates.
Fix the City, the pro-Cuomo super PAC, has spent the most on advertising by far, with 91 percent of its spending devoted to commercials on broadcast networks. (Mr. Cuomo’s campaign has not yet aired any of its own ads on broadcast television, according to AdImpact.)
By contrast, the campaign for Mr. Mamdani, which has become known for its savvy approach to social media, has spent just 41 percent of its advertising budget on broadcast, according to the AdImpact data. (Mr. Mamdani’s campaign has, however, spent more on broadcast than any other individual platform.)
One of the leading Democrats in the mayor’s race, Adrienne Adams, the speaker of the New York City Council, has not yet aired an ad on broadcast television. The candidate struggled to raise funds early in her campaign, but recently got an infusion of $2 million from the city’s fund-matching program, which the campaign said it would use for an aggressive ad blitz in the coming weeks before the June 24 primary.
Over the course of one week, some of the richest people in the world descended on New York’s auction houses to purchase over $1 billion of art. It might have played out a little differently than you would have expected.
Can you guess which of these works sold for more?
Note: Listed sale prices include auction fees.
Image credits: “Untitled,” via Phillips; “Baby Boom,” via Christie’s Images LTD; “Hazy Sun,” With permission of the Renate, Hans & Maria Hofmann Trust/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; via Christie’s Images LTD; “Petit Matin,” via Christie’s Images LTD; “Concetto spaziale, La fine di Dio,” Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/SIAE, Rome; via Sotheby’s; “Baroque Egg with Bow (Orange/Magenta),” via Sotheby’s; “The Last Supper,” The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc./Licensed by Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; via Christie’s Images LTD; “Campbell’s Soup I,” The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc./Licensed by Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; via Christie’s Images LTD; “Miss January,” via Christie’s Images LTD; “Fingermalerei – Akt,” via Sotheby’s; “Grande tête mince (Grande tête de Diego),” Succession Alberto Giacometti/Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY; via Sotheby’s; “Tête au long cou,” Succession Alberto Giacometti/ARS, NY/Photos: ADAGP Images/Paris 2025; via Christie’s Images LTD; “Revelacion,” Remedios Varo, Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VEGAP, Madrid; via Christie’s Images LTD; “Le jardin nocturne,” Foundation Paul Delvaux, Sint-Idesbald – ARS/SABAM Belgium; via Christie’s Images LTD.
Produced by Daniel Simmons-Ritchie.
On Saturday, a Mexican Navy ship on a good will tour left a New York City pier bound for Iceland. Four minutes later, it crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge. [Spanish] “It’s falling!” [English] “No way!” Here’s what happened. The Cuauhtémoc had been docked on the Lower East Side of Manhattan for four days, open to visitors looking for a cultural experience. As the ship prepared to leave on Saturday night, a tugboat arrived to escort it out of its pier at 8:20 p.m. The ship’s bow, the front of the vessel, faced Manhattan, meaning it would need to back out of its berth into the East River. As the Cuauhtémoc pulled away from shore, the tugboat appeared to push the side of the ship, helping to pivot the bow south toward its intended route. The river was flowing northeast toward the Brooklyn Bridge and the wind was blowing in roughly the same direction, potentially pushing the ship toward a collision. Photos and videos suggest the tugboat was not tied to the ship, limiting its ability to pull the ship away from the bridge. The Cuauhtémoc began to drift north, back first, up the river. Dr. Salvatore Mercogliano, who’s an adjunct professor at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, told The Times that the ship appeared to be giving off a wake. This suggests its propellers may have been running in reverse, pushing it faster toward the bridge. The tugboat sped alongside the ship as it headed north, possibly trying to get in front of it and help the ship maneuver the other way. But it was unable to cut the ship off or reverse its course. All three masts crashed into the underside of the Brooklyn Bridge at approximately 8:24 p.m., four minutes after the ship had left the pier, causing the top sails to collapse. Crew members standing on the masts during the collision were thrown off entirely. Others remained hanging from their harnesses. A New York City patrol boat arrived about eight minutes after the collision, followed quickly by a fire department boat. Additional law enforcement and emergency medical services removed the wounded for treatment. According to the Mexican Navy, two of the 227 people aboard the ship were killed and 22 others were injured.
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