MAYOR ADAMS MISSES MARK ON DISABLED IN STATE OF CITY ADDRESS

MAYOR ADAMS MISS MARK ON DISABLED IN STATE OF CITY

By: Derek Varsalona

Mayor Eric Adams has dyslexia. It is a great accomplishment to have a person with a disability achieve the position of Mayor of NYC, the second hardest job in the United States behind President. But instead of advocating for people with disabilities, Mayor Eric Adams missed the mark in his State of the City Address.

It is great that a man with dyslexia has overcome his disability and achieved the rank of Mayor of NYC.  But that is where the accomplishments fall short.  Mayor Eric Adams in his State of the City address fell short of helping the disabled.  He promised a better life for all New Yorkers.  From what I see there is anything but a better life for Manhattanites.  The streets are riddled with crime, mentally ill people roam the streets without any help and some people are taking up their right to bear arms on public transportation.  It has gotten so bad that Curtis Sliwa and The Guardian Angels need to roam the subways and the subway platforms to back up the understaffed and underfunded New York City police department.

I am not an advocate of institutionalizing the disabled or the mentally ill.  The problem with crime is that there are many mentally ill people committing these crimes of survival making the streets of New York City unsafe.  Most times they do not even know what they are doing since they do not have the mental capacity to understand.  

Mayor Eric Adams thanked the police commissioner for making the city safe.  I beg to differ on the safety of the New York City.  The problem is our mental health system is so understaffed and underfunded that the mentally ill have nowhere to turn but to resort to a life of violence for survival.  Some if not all of these people with mental challenges are not even sure what they are doing.  

It is the city that falls short of helping the disabled and mentally ill.  If there were better services for the mentally ill the streets would be safer in NYC.  The problem with funding falls on the hands of Mayor Eric Adams and the people connected with him at New York City City Hall.  I applaud Mayor Adams for overcoming dyslexia and rising to the rank of Mayor.  But being a Mayor with a disability he should have a better personal understanding of taking care of the mentally ill population in New York City.  That started with better funding for mental health services.  As always comments accepted.

Mayor Adams Not Helping Disabled

Source: Mayor Eric Adams. "Transcript: Mayor Adams Lays Out Ambitious Agenda to Make New York City Best Place to Raise a Family in Fourth State of City Address." City Hall. New York City: January 9, 2025.