Lander seeks 'housing first' plan to resolve street homeless, mental health and subway safety crises; gets rebuke from M
There is a way to end street homelessness in New York City and restore safety in the subways, City Comptroller Brad Lander said on Monday.
Lander, a contender in the 2025 race for NYC mayor, unveiled his blueprint on Jan. 13 for making subways and streets safer for New Yorkers called Safer for All: A Plan to End Street Homelessness for People with Serious Mental Illness in NYC.
Taking a housing first approach, the comptrollers plan aims to provide supportive housing, as well as much-needed services and treatment, to New Yorkers living on the streets who suffer from severe mental illness.
The report follows a series of high-profile, violent crimes that plagued the city over the previous month, including the death of 57-year-old Debrina Kawam, who was burned alive on a Coney Island F train on Dec. 22, 2024. The suspect, Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, 33, was remanded on first-degree murder charges.
https://www.amny.com/nyc-transit/lander-plan-mentally-ill-homeless-new-yorkers/