Councilman warns of ‘disaster’ for NYC after beds for mentally ill slashed in half at new Brooklyn jail
An NYC lawmaker Monday warned of a “disaster” for the city after the number of proposed beds for mentally ill inmates was slashed in half for the jail under construction on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn.
Councilman Lincoln Restler grilled city Health and Hospital brass on how the city is prepared to treat mentally disturbed suspects at the jails across the boroughs once Rikers Island is shut down.
He noted that 55% of inmates at Rikers require mental health treatment and that the Brooklyn detention center is only slated to have 22% of beds for mentally ill patients — down from initial funding for 44% of beds.
“To go from 55% of total people to having mental health designation to only 22% of the beds actually being designed to meet their needs is a recipe for disaster,” Restler, a Democrat who represents downtown Brooklyn, said.
The questions came after a series of shocking crimes allegedly committed by serial offenders with a history of mental illness — including by Cyril Destin, 62, who is charged with stabbing a tourist near Times Square on Saturday in a totally unprovoked attack.
On Friday, Shaquan Cummings — another mentally ill man — allegedly slashed an 11-year-old in the head in Harlem with no warning.
Senior Vice President for H&H, Dr. Patsy Yang said “Correctional Health Services will provide what it needs to provide in the setting that it does.”
“It does that now, in the facilities on Rikers, and we’ll do that, certainly, in the new jails,” Yang added.
“But we’re designing a jail where 22% of the beds actually are going to meet their needs,” Restler shot back.
“That’s a disconnect that is so vast, that it’s hard for me to persuade my constituents that we’re actually going to do better and I hope that we can come up with an operational solution together that will inspire that confidence.”
In 2019, the City Council signed off on closing Rikers by 2027 — with the backing of former Mayor Bill de Blasio.
The $8.7 billion project would replace the central jail with smaller detention centers in each borough except Staten Island.
Advocates have said this will make it easier for family members to visit inmates.
But since Adams took office, he has repeatedly raised concerns about hitting the deadline.
Some are also calling for a new Rikers psychiatric hospital to relieve pressure on the jail system have also been made.
It comes as retired NYPD detective and John Jay College adjunct professor Michael Alcazar described the system as “broken.”
He noted how a repeat offender nicknamed “Ice Pick Nick” — who was featured Sunday in The Post — was repeatedly arrested and taken to hospital for treatment only to be let go.
It wasn’t until The Post began making inquiries that prosecutors hit him with charges hefty enough to require a bail — and keep him behind bars.
