The Midtown BID Coalition is a partnership of seven Manhattan BIDs, including the East Midtown Partnership, Fifth Avenue Association, Garment District Alliance, Grand Central Partnership, Hudson Yards Hell's Kitchen Alliance, Madison Avenue BID and the Times Square Alliance. We see first-hand how failing public policies challenge our ability to keep our districts clean, safe, and welcoming for all who visit. Together we advocate to enhance public safety and provide effective services and support for the unhoused and those who have severe mental illness.

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Protect Victims of Crime:

The current discovery laws fail to protect victims. All too often cases are dismissed for technicalities further harming the victims of crimes. When cases are dismissed for technicalities, a broken system denies victims justice and the safety of an order of protection. In 2023 the overall NYC case dismissal rate was 62%, compared to 42% in 2019 pre-reform meaning 20,538 were denied justice. In 2023 the misdemeanor case dismissal rate in New York City was 74%, compared to 49% in 2019, pre-reform.  We need to balance the protection of the victim with the protection of the accused. 

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During this year’s legislative session, lawmakers should adopt the Governor’s amendments that represent common-sense changes to the discovery statute in order to protect victims and communities while safeguarding the rights of the accused. These changes include ensuring proof of prejudice to dismiss a case, to ensure victims are not being denied justice for minor errors, clearly defining what materials prosecutors must turn over to the defense and when, and requiring defense attorneys to challenge any discovery violations in a timely manner.  Even with these changes in places, New York will still be the state with the most open and transparent discovery laws in the nation.

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Mental Health Crisis:

The current methods for assisting unhoused persons who are suffering from severe mental illness are not working. We observe this on a daily basis in our respective neighborhoods. We also know that a very select few are too sick to accept the housing and health services they have repeatedly been offered. Despite multiple offers of medical care, shelter, or supportive housing placements, these individuals resist assistance, and we see them decline and decompensate on the street. Any system that fails to address the needs of these few individuals is not compassionate.

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The Governor’s proposed budget is about advancing a more comprehensive and compassionate understanding of the challenges related to severe mental illness that reflects the reality of what we see on our streets every day. Unclear and sometimes inconsistently interpreted standards for involuntary commitment and Assisted Outpatient Treatment are barriers to connecting these individuals with the care they desperately need. These proposed changes in the law provide outreach teams, who work tirelessly to connect the most vulnerable New Yorkers suffering from severe mental illness, with critical tools to help them succeed in their mission to reduce suffering and place these neighbors on the path towards stability.

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Click here for the full FY2026 NYS Executive Budget.

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The Midtown BID Coalition stands with Governor Kathy Hochul and key provisions in her FY2026 Budget- we support her vision for a safe city, one where we provide services to those in crisis.