NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) -- Mayor Eric Adams offered his strongest words yet Wednesday about last week's subway chokehold killing of Jordan Neely, who he said was one of many New Yorkers with severe mental illness who "disappear into the shadows" despite efforts to help them.
"One thing we can say for sure, Jordan Neely did not deserve to die," the mayor said during live-streamed remarks from City Hall that were not attended by the press.
"We need to be honest," he said. "There are more Jordans out there. People who are loved. People in need of compassion, treatment and protection."
Adams acknowledged "a week of strong emotions in our city," though he didn't weigh in on potential charges in the case or speak about the killing of Neely, who was placed in a chokehold by a Marine veteran after acting erratically aboard an F train in SoHo on May 1.
"One of our own is dead," the mayor said. "A Black man, Black like me. A man named Jordan, a name I gave my son. A New Yorker who struggled with tragedy, trauma and mental illness. A man whose last words were a cry for help."
The mayor highlighted city efforts to help people who are living on the streets with mental illness, including a mental health task force that meets weekly to find solutions for unsheltered people who refuse support.
But Adams also acknowledged more needed to be done and called for "investigation and accountability."
He said he'll hold a summit next week with the five major organizations the city contracts for homeless outreach services in an effort to improve "the outcomes of people with serious mental illness." He'll also meet with faith leaders later Wednesday to seek their input on how to address the issue.
The mayor called on Gov. Kathy Hochul to invest more money in mental health services, as she did in her latest budget, and he pushed for Albany lawmakers to pass his Supportive Interventions Act, which he said would address "serious flaws and gaps" in New York law that make it harder to keep people in need of treatment hospitalized.
Adams said people with severe mental illness may be "caught up in a cycle of violence, sometimes as the perpetrator, but more often as the victim." He said the city would respond with "care, compassion and action."
"This is the kind of care Jordan needed and that so many were trying to get for him," Adams said. "It wasn't always successful. Over the last several years, Jordan interacted with many city agencies and community-based organizations and providers. He had various encounters with the criminal justice system and was provided services to help him live safely within the community. But those efforts were not enough, and we must find ways to strengthen our system."
It's unclear if Adams has spoken with Neely's family, who has publicly criticized his reaction to Neely's death. On Monday he told a reporter from The City that he had tried multiple times to reach them but was unsuccessful.
"My heart goes out to Jordan's family, who's suffering great pain and uncertainty about the circumstances of his death," Adams said in his address.
No charges have been filed against Daniel Penny, the 24-year-old Marine vet who allegedly choked Neely, 30, on the train. Neely was acting in a "hostile and erratic manner" towards passengers before Penny put him in a chokehold for several minutes, maybe longer. Part of the chokehold was caught on video at the Broadway-Lafayette station before police arrived. The medical examiner ruled Neely's death a homicide by compression of the neck.
NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig told 1010 WINS on Wednesday that "numerous" people have come forward with info on the case and that investigators have obtained video after the confrontation. However, no further video has been obtained of the incident itself or of what led up to it, he said.
A grand jury could convene as early as this week in the case, which is being investigated by the Manhattan D.A.
The killing has divided New Yorkers and gained national attention, touching on topics like mental health, public safety, homelessness and race, as Neely was Black and Penny is white. Dozens have been arrested at protests over the past week.
While some New York elected leaders have called for Penny's arrest and referred to the killing of Neely as a murder or lynching, the mayor has urged New Yorkers to let the investigative "process follow its course" and said there are "many layers to this."
On Wednesday morning, city Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and city Comptroller Brad Lander joined mental health advocates at the Broadway-Lafayette station to call for charges and accountability.
"We have had many people who have gotten involved, who have held people down for law enforcement and for others, who've intervened," Williams said. "I won't say it's common. but it's not abnormal. This is not about that—this is about someone who choked someone to death."
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