Ten days ago, 30-year-old Jordan Neely boarded an F train car in New York, New York. After boarding the train, he began shouting about being tired and hungry. As Neely continued to yell and shout, video footage appears to show 24-year-old ex-Marine Daniel Penny putting Neely in a chokehold and killing him. Video of Neely’s death has been shared vigorously throughout social media platforms and garnered the attention of everyday New Yorkers, public figures and politicians. On May 10, New York Mayor Eric Adams spoke about the matter in a 15-minute speech.
“One of our own is dead,” Adams said.
“A Black man, Black like me — a man named Jordan, the name I gave my son, a New Yorker who struggled with tragedy, trauma and mental illness, a man whose last words were to cry for help, a man named Jordan Neely.”
Adams not only spoke about Neely’s death, but he also doubled down on his push for the involuntary hospitalization of those suffering from mental or physical ailments.
“It is time to build a new consensus around what can and must be done for those living with serious mental illness and to take meaningful action despite resistance and pushback from those who misconstrue our intentions,” Adams said.
“I want to say upfront that there were many people who tried to help Jordan get the support he needed…But the tragic reality of severe mental illness is that some who suffer from it are at times unaware of their own need for care.”
Adams’ comments regarding involuntary hospitalizations remain divisive among social workers and nonprofit organizations looking to support those in need of support.
“In the name of Jordan Neely, Mayor Adams is again responding to homelessness and unmet mental health need with the failed approaches of force and coercion,” NYCLU Director Donna Lieberman said.
“The mayor’s insistence on controlling those in need, instead of taking on the city’s housing crisis or lack of access to health care only fuels stigma against homeless New Yorkers and those living with mental illness.”
