The Mamdani administration has reversed an Adams administration plan for the B-Heard mental health program. The B-Heard program was established as an alternative way to respond to non-violent 911 calls related to mental health crises. The previous mayoral administration had planned to pull the program out of the control of the New York City Fire Department (FDNY). However, it has since been revoked and is planned to go back into the joint hands of the FDNY and NYC Health + Hospitals.
The Mamdani administration aims to implement structural changes to improve response times by B-Heard teams. According to NYC Health + Hospitals, between 2021 and 2025, around 35,000 mental health 911 calls were responded to by three-person teams consisting of two EMTs and one mental health worker. That said, criticism from the public, with many citizens alleging 911 calls were ignored.
The administration announced that focus would be put on training new workers to fill existing vacancies. Additionally, the program is set to expand to areas like South Brooklyn and Staten Island. Overall, the B-Heard program operates in 31 precincts within parts of the Bronx, Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens.
To keep this program up to code, the NYC City Council announced a bill, introduced by Democratic Councilmember Lyn Schulman, that would require B-Heard and other city agencies to share data every six months, reporting on the response to mental health 911 calls and B-Heard-related dispatches. This bill is set to go into effect next summer, June 1, 2027.
