The New York City Council passed legislation on April 17, 2026, requiring Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration to publish regular performance data on B-HEARD, the city’s non-police mental-health response program, after audits and oversight hearings exposed gaps in how — and whether — the teams answer calls.

The bill, introduced by Council Member Lynn Schulman, who chairs the Council’s health committee, mandates recurring reports on the Behavioral Health Emergency Assistance Response Division. The first report is due June 1, 2027, with updates every six months thereafter, according to Gothamist. “Data informs policy,” Schulman said.

What B-HEARD is — and what it isn’t

B-HEARD launched as a pilot in 2021 under Mayor Bill de Blasio with a straightforward premise: route certain mental-health 911 calls to teams of mental-health professionals and EMTs rather than to armed police officers. Nearly five years later, the program operates in a portion of the city but has never scaled citywide.

Its track record is the sticking point. A city comptroller audit released the prior year found that more than a third of eligible mental-health calls did not get a B-HEARD team response, for reasons the city did not track. Critics — and some supporters — say the program cannot be responsibly expanded without first understanding why so many calls fall through.

Mamdani’s bet on non-police response

The reporting bill lands as Mamdani makes B-HEARD a centerpiece of his public-safety agenda. The mayor, who took office Jan. 1, 2026, campaigned on reducing the NYPD’s role in mental-health crises and shifting responses toward civilian teams.

In practice, that ambition has been trimmed. Mamdani created a Mayor’s Office of Community Safety funded at roughly $260 million — far below the $1 billion standalone public-safety agency he had floated — and named Renita Francois deputy mayor for community safety to oversee it, with B-HEARD a central focus. The mayor’s office said he supports Schulman’s transparency legislation.

The civil-commitment backdrop

The B-HEARD debate runs parallel to a thornier fight over involuntary commitment. Mamdani has said he views forced hospitalization as a “last resort” and remains skeptical of its effectiveness — but that stance carries less weight than it might, because New York State already rewrote the rules.

In the FY2026 budget signed May 9, 2025, Gov. Kathy Hochul broadened the legal standard for involuntary commitment, expanding the definition of someone “likely to result in serious harm” to include people whose mental illness prevents them from meeting basic needs such as food, shelter or medical care. The state also funded Assisted Outpatient Treatment under Kendra’s Law and is standing up “Connection Centers” with outreach teams at subway stations. Those state powers and programs constrain how far a city mayor can move on his own.

What changes now

The bill does not expand or cut B-HEARD. It forces sunlight: regular, public accounting of call volumes, response rates and outcomes. For a program that has long drawn criticism for thin data, that may prove consequential — both as a check on the Mamdani administration’s expansion plans and as evidence in the larger argument over whether New York can shift mental-health crises away from police without leaving people unanswered.

Verification

Frequently Asked Questions

What is B-HEARD?
The Behavioral Health Emergency Assistance Response Division is a nearly five-year-old NYC program that sends mental-health professionals and EMTs — instead of police — to certain mental-health 911 calls. It launched as a pilot under Mayor de Blasio in 2021.
What did the City Council pass?
Legislation introduced by Council Member Lynn Schulman requiring the administration to submit regular performance reports on B-HEARD, with the first due June 1, 2027, and updates every six months. The Council vote was April 17, 2026.
Why the push for data?
A city comptroller audit found that more than a third of eligible mental-health calls did not receive a B-HEARD response, for reasons that were not tracked. Council members say better data is needed before expanding the program.
Where does Mayor Mamdani stand?
Mamdani supports the bill. He has pledged to reduce police involvement in mental-health crises and created a scaled-back Mayor's Office of Community Safety, funded at about $260 million, led by Deputy Mayor Renita Francois, with B-HEARD a central focus.