TO: Governor Kathy Hochul; Speaker Carl Heastie; Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon; Assemblymember Rebecca Seawright; Assemblymember Alex Bores; Assemblymember Tony Simone; Assemblymember Micah Lasher; Assemblymember John T. McDonald III; Speaker Julie Menin; Council Member Tiffany Cabán.

The Petition Objective
We, the undersigned citizens of New York City, demand immediate legislative and executive action to end bureaucratic delays in applying Kendra’s Law and Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT). We call for the mandatory, immediate intervention of mental health treatment for any mentally ill individual who commits a single act of violence. Citizens have a fundamental constitutional right to walk public streets safely, and violent, mentally ill individuals have the right to be treated immediately, not after a broken system of bureaucracy deems it the appropriate time.

The Grievances & Current Crisis

·         Subway & Street Violence: Innocent New Yorkers are facing a crisis of unprovoked assaults, stabbings, and being shoved into subways by individuals with severe, untreated mental illnesses.

·         The Cycle of Recidivism: The exact same individuals continue to perpetrate these violent crimes over and over again because the city fails to mandate continuous care after the first offense.

·         Bureaucratic Inertia: The current process for applying Kendra’s Law and securing AOT orders is slow and reactive, waiting for a long track record of multiple tragedies before taking decisive action.

·         Constitutional Breakdown: Regular citizens are losing their constitutional right to basic public safety while violent individuals are denied their right to immediate, lifesaving clinical intervention.

Our Demands

·         Mandate AOT After a Single Violent Offense: Amend New York State law to trigger immediate, mandatory evaluations and AOT enrollment under Kendra’s Law for any individual diagnosed with a severe mental illness who commits a one-time unprovoked assault or violent act.

·         Eliminate the Bureaucratic Pipeline: Streamline court and clinical pipelines to bypass months of administrative backlog, ensuring rapid stabilization and continuous, monitored care immediately following an arrest or incident.

·         Prioritize Immediate Treatment Over Jail or Release: End the "revolving door" system by ensuring violent, mentally ill offenders are placed into secure, therapeutic medical oversight rather than being released back onto the streets to offend again or harm themselves. This ensures compassionate care while keeping our neighborhoods safe.

Sign this petition to demand safe streets and mandate mental health treatment for any mentally ill individual who commits an unprovoked assault in NYC, ending the cycle before a pattern of violence can form. Please feel free to forward this to other friends, family members, and acquaintances who live in NYC.