A recent knife attack in Times Square, described as a tragedy, underscores a recurring issue of unprovoked violence perpetrated by individuals with serious mental illness, according to an opinion piece in the New York Post. The author contends that without adequate funding for the New York City Police Department (NYPD), such attacks are likely to continue.
The piece draws parallels to earlier incidents in the city, including a machete attack in Grand Central Terminal in April and the stabbing of seven people in Penn Station in June, all involving perpetrators with untreated mental illness. The author suggests that the city's tendency to quickly move past horrific events means that the latest tragedy might also be forgotten.
The executive budget for fiscal year 2027, published in May, proposed no new funding for serious mental illness, and the mayor's executive order creating the Office of Community Safety did not mention the issue. In June, the city adopted its budget with flat funding for the NYPD, preventing Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch from hiring an additional 550 officers as planned.
The author argues that the NYPD is effective in responding to individuals experiencing emotional distress, handling over 170,000 such calls annually with 99% resolved without force. When force is necessary, it is overwhelmingly non-lethal, and lethal force is typically used only when unavoidable. The NYPD also plays a crucial role in initiating involuntary transports of individuals who pose a danger to themselves or others, directing them to hospitals for treatment rather than jail. Since January, officers have initiated over 2,600 such transports, a rate five times higher than that of clinicians.
Despite these efforts, the NYPD faces a staffing crisis, with approximately 33,832 uniformed officers as of late 2025 and an average monthly loss of 316 officers due to retirements and resignations. The opinion piece suggests that Mayor Mamdani has acknowledged the limitations of relying solely on mental health workers, thanking NYPD officers for their intervention in the recent Times Square attack. The author calls on the mayor and City Council to remember this observation when considering future budgets, though expresses doubt that lessons will be learned given the city's past responses to similar incidents.