City Hall, NY – Ahead of the City Council’s Executive Budget hearing by its Committee on Hospitals and the Committee on Finance on Thursday at 10AM, the Council identified missing or insufficient funding in the Mayor’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Executive Budget for services provided by NYC Health and Hospitals (H+H) that support physical and mental health services for New Yorkers, including those with the least access to health care.

The FY 2026 Executive Budget includes $1.7 billion for H+H, down $579.2 million from the Preliminary Budget and $1.45 billion less than the FY 2025 adopted budget. This includes a reduction of $538.7 million in City and State funding for asylum seeker services. Additionally, in the Executive Budget, $819.5 million is transferred back to the Department of Homeless Services (DHS), based on the Administration’s updated projections on which agencies will be involved in response efforts next fiscal year.

In its Fiscal 2026 Preliminary Budget Response, the Council identified several areas of concern relating to H+H, proposing the Administration add $22.1 million in expense funding and $65 million in capital funding for programs related to hospital infrastructure upgrades, residential treatment beds, and mental health support.

The following investments were outlined in the Council’s Preliminary Budget Response, but were omitted or underfunded in the Mayor’s FY 2026 Executive Budget:

Metropolitan Hospital Emergency Room

NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan is a full-service community hospital located in East Harlem. Its current emergency room has a maximum capacity of 25 patients, though demand often reaches more than double the capacity. In addition to traditional emergency services, Metropolitan Hospital also serves victims of sexual assault. An expansion of the emergency room is necessary to meet the growing demands of the surrounding community, and particularly  the needs of sexual assault victims. The Council proposed the Administration allocate $65 million in capital funding in FY 2026 for a new emergency room at Metropolitan Hospital to meet these needs. The Executive Capital plan did not include new funding for the creation of an additional emergency room.

Residential Treatment Beds

It is estimated that at any time, half of the population at Rikers Island has a mental health diagnosis. To address the City’s mental health crisis, lower the population of Rikers and close it, the City must increase its investments in programs that provide treatment for people with mental illness. There is currently only one residential program in New York City specializing in treating people with serious mental illness and co-occurring addictions, and as a result, the wait list to enter the program is extensive. To provide services for this population and reduce their chances of ending up in correctional facilities, the Council proposed the Administration allocate $6.3 million in FY 2026 to create 250 new residential treatment beds. The Executive Budget did not include funding for these needed treatment beds.

Bellevue Hospital Equipment

NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue, located in Manhattan, is the oldest hospital in the country. Bellevue provides comprehensive inpatient and outpatient care and is one of the busiest public hospitals in the city. For FY 2026, Bellevue Hospital has requested additional capital funding for the acquisition of two CT scanners to replace existing machines that are outdated and no longer functional, and for an Interventional Radiology Angio single plane imaging system. These upgrades are necessary for Bellevue to continue delivering high-level medical care to New Yorkers. The Council proposed the Administration allocate $5.3 million in FY 2026 to fund these essential capital projects upgrades at Bellevue Hospital. The Executive Budget did not include any funding for these necessary equipment upgrades.

Maternal Mental Health Support at Each H+H Hospital

Mental health issues are among the leading factors of maternal mortality. Mental health care that supports emotional wellness for mothers during and after pregnancy plays a critical role in helping to achieve positive maternal and family health outcomes. This includes providing education and improving awareness for pregnant people about symptoms of postpartum depression and making resources available to them during and after pregnancy. To support this goal, the Council proposed the Administration allocate $5 million in FY 2026 for H+H to provide at least one maternal health-focused psychologist within each of its maternity departments. The Executive Budget did not include any funding for this support service.

Mental Health Continuum

In FY 2025, 16 new school-based mental health clinics were opened with funding allocated for the Mental Health Continuum. The Council proposed the Administration baseline $5 million starting in FY 2026 to continue supporting these clinics and other services provided as part of the inter-agency partnership between the Department of Education, H+H, and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to provide mental health support to all students, both in person and via video. The Executive Budget includes only one-time funding for FY 2026 only.  

Peer Specialists Staffing

A mental health peer specialist is a provider with their own experiences of mental health struggles and is trained to support others facing similar issues. Peer specialists are particularly valuable in mental health care, because their lived experience gives them a nuanced understanding of how to care for people with mental health issues.  The Council proposed the Administration allocate $4.5 million in FY 2026 to hire 60 fairly compensated peer specialists to staff the City’s multi-agency mental health and crisis response teams. The Executive Budget failed to include any funding for these specialists.

EMS Wellness and Peer Support Pilot

First responders, as well as mental health and crisis response workers, deal with trauma on a daily basis. These essential City employees must be provided with adequate resources to support their own mental health and wellness. It is challenging for these professionals to keep a healthy state of mind when they are constantly dealing with crisis situations. The City must make sure these workers have the mental health support they need, given the traumatic nature of their jobs. Therefore, the Council proposed the Administration allocate and baseline $1 million starting in FY 2026 for the creation of a pilot program that provides peer support and wellness programming for the City’s EMS workers. This program would provide a crisis hotline, dedicated social workers, EMS peer support staff, and monthly debriefing and support groups. The Executive Budget neglected to allocate any funding for this proposed pilot program.

Women’s Concussion Clinic

Concussion care is often focused solely on the neurological and physical manifestations of the injury, with little focus on the patient’s mental health. However, many concussion patients are domestic abuse survivors who require trauma-informed care, in addition to the health care services they receive. The Council proposed the Administration allocate $300,000 in FY 2026 to pilot a Women’s Concussion Clinic that provides trauma-informed care within the H+H network. The Executive Budget did not provide any funding for this clinic.

Lincoln Hospital Outpatient Building

NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln is a full-service acute care hospital in the South Bronx providing primary, secondary, preventative, and specialty care services. The hospital has been recognized for having one of the best trauma centers in the country, with the highest demand in the northeast region. During the FY 2026 Preliminary Budget hearing, H+H mentioned that Lincoln Hospital requires a new outpatient building. To ensure that the hospital continues to provide adequate and critical care to the residents and communities of the South Bronx and surrounding neighborhoods who rely on these services, the Council proposed the Administration allocate capital funding for a new outpatient building for Lincoln Hospital in the FY 2026 budget. The Executive Capital plan did not allocate any funding for the creation of this new outpatient building.

Council-Funded Initiatives for Hospitals

The Council’s funding initiatives address gaps in public health services that offer vital programs and support New Yorkers across the city. The approximately $24.7 million in funding for various citywide heath programs includes those that supports initiatives at H+H that advance children’s health and HIV prevention. It is critical that this funding, left out of the Mayor’s Executive Budget, is included in the final budget through a continued full commitment towards Council discretionary funding.     

“As Chair of the Committee on Hospitals, I believe it is absolutely essential that our healthcare system receives the funding it needs to maintain and enhance its infrastructure in order to grow with our city,” said Council Member Mercedes Narcisse, Chair of the Committee on Hospitals. “The Executive Budget fails to address key capital projects that are crucial for ensuring that our hospitals can meet the demands of our communities. Investments in emergency room expansions, vital equipment, and necessary capital improvements are critical to maintaining high-quality care and patient safety. Additionally, we must fund initiatives to support maternal mental health, peer specialists staffing, and wellness programs for healthcare workers. I look forward to working with Speaker Adams and my colleagues on passing a budget which puts health first to ensure our healthcare system is prepared to serve every New Yorker.”

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