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Executive Budget Adds Mental‑health and Reentry Investments but Officials Say Gaps Remain for Rikers Closure Plans
Summary
OMB said the executive budget includes funding for mental‑health programs, reentry services and alternatives to incarceration tied to the Rikers closure plan, but council members and providers said additional capacity — including residential treatment beds and justice‑involved supportive housing — remains underfunded.
The finance hearing included extended discussion of the fiscal elements needed to close Rikers and expand community‑based mental health services.
Jacques Shishaha, director of the Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget, listed investments included in the executive budget that the administration says support jail‑reduction and reentry goals. He cited a baseline extension of the intensive case management pilot ($9.1 million), mobile treatment funding in the executive plan ("like $45,000,000"), baseline funding for Project Reset and Rapid Release, and baseline dollars for alternatives to incarceration services. He said the budget also included funding for supervised release and reentry planning services to stabilize individuals recently released from incarceration.
Council members and advocates pressed for further detail, arguing that residential treatment beds, justice‑involved supportive housing and expanded supervised release services remain underfunded or unproven at the scale needed. When asked whether the mayor’s office planned to use newly available state housing funds tied to the “City for All” agreement to open additional justice‑involved supportive housing units, OMB deferred and said it would follow up after coordinating with state officials and NYCHA.
Council members said investments in mental‑health mobile response teams, supervised release intensive case management, and reentry housing are cost‑effective alternatives that can reduce jail costs and recidivism. OMB said it agrees with the principle and pointed to specific pilots and baselined programs in the executive plan, but acknowledged outstanding gaps and promised additional follow‑up information.
