![\"Broadway](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/W42ST-Broadway_detainee_1.jpg\")
9:55am Wednesday November 19: A man is detained on Broadway as a police vehicle arrives. Photo: Phil O\u2019Brien<\/p>\nIt started as an ordinary Wednesday morning on Broadway. By noon, one man\u2019s two-hour wait on the pavement \u2014 surrounded by five NYPD officers and no ambulance \u2014 had exposed the limits of a city that has spent years promising new hubs and crisis-response fixes. We asked the people in charge for an explanation.<\/p>\n
I was on my way to a 10am doctor\u2019s appointment on Broadway between W38th and 39th Streets last Wednesday when I first heard the sound \u2014 a police car racing down the bike lane. Moments later, I saw officers struggling with a man as he foamed at the mouth and shouted incoherently. It was 9:55am. I sent the video I took of the incident to my Deputy Editor, with a note about this is what happens east of 8th Avenue (where W42ST\u2019s news coverage typically ends) and headed to my appointment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
9:55am Wednesday November 19: A man is detained on Broadway as a police vehicle arrives. Photo: Phil O\u2019Brien<\/p>\n
When I came back out of the doctor\u2019s office at 10:48am, I was shocked that not much had changed \u2014 except the police car had gone. Five NYPD officers were still standing around with the man now lying on the sidewalk, temperatures in the low 40s, waiting for help that wasn\u2019t coming. One officer told me: \u201cHe\u2019s not under arrest. We\u2019ve been waiting since 9:51. Exactly an hour. He can\u2019t take care of himself. We sent for an ambulance.\u201d<\/p>\n
I watched from the warmth of a nearby coffee shop as the officers \u2014 patient, calm and increasingly resigned \u2014 continued to wait. The man continued to struggle and thrash around on the ground.\u00a0 At 11:24am, they helped the man sit up. By 11:51am, two full hours after the initial call, there were still five officers on scene. Finally, at 12:11pm, a Midtown North Precinct patrol car arrived, and the man was bundled into the back. One of the officers told me the wait was \u201cnot uncommon.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
For a problem area of New York City with a Midtown Hub, B-HEARD teams, task forces, working groups, and press conferences promising coordinated, humane alternatives<\/a> to police-led intervention, the reality on Broadway offered none of it. One troubled New Yorker in crisis. Five police officers immobilized for two hours. No ambulance.<\/p>\n New Yorkers see scenes like this every day. Most of us have learned to shrug. This time, I wanted to know who the man was \u2014 and what actually happens to people like him when the system designed to help doesn\u2019t show up.<\/p>\n In our investigation, we learned the man on the sidewalk is a former New York City foster youth whose life began in unimaginable trauma: sold into domestic slavery in Tunisia as a child, later brought to the United States, and at age nine severely beaten by the adults caring for him in Queens \u2014 an assault that left him hospitalized and led authorities to place him in the city\u2019s foster care system. He aged out without family support, drifting through supportive housing and sporadic work. Friends knew him for an upbeat smile that hid instability. His social media showed glimpses of making music and time with his young son before falling silent in 2021. More recently, he had been a client of BRC\u2019s subway outreach program \u2014 a system intended to keep people like him off the streets and out of crisis. BRC did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n What happened on Broadway suggested something different. Not a failure of compassion, but a failure of coordination.\u00a0<\/p>\n We wrote to City agencies, elected officials and Midtown Hub leaders to get questions answered and try to understand what had gone on. They responded to W42ST\u2019s questions about the two-hour wait \u2014 and what should have happened instead. Here\u2019s what they told us:<\/p>\n Times Square Alliance President \/ Midtown Hub co-chair Tom Harris<\/strong><\/p>\n Tom Harris, president of the Times Square Alliance and co-chair of the Midtown Community Improvement Coalition (the Midtown Hub), said that while the incident unfolded just outside the Hub\u2019s formal boundaries, the partners still see it as part of their scope:<\/p>\n \u201cThe Midtown Hub was formed to coordinate city services to address perennial conditions in the neighborhood. The catchment area is from 7th Avenue to 9th Avenue from 35th to 59th Street. Though not directly in the catchment area, we feel that not responding would not be the right thing to do given that the issue is so important.\u201d<\/p>\n Harris said the Hub\u2019s work is largely proactive, focused on \u201cidentifying individuals, building trust, and providing them with services and support,\u201d and that the man on Broadway was \u201cnot known to us.\u201d In cases like this, he said, emergent issues are handled by NYPD, which coordinates ambulance response.<\/p>\n He added that the episode shows \u201cwe have more work to do,\u201d praising the officers on scene and sketching a vision of a more accountable, data-driven model:<\/p>\n \u201cThe NYPD showed extreme compassion by remaining and ultimately taking the individual to the hospital. Our vision is for there to be a system in place where data is shared amongst the partners, we focus on the individual in need, agencies and providers are held accountable for results, and we relentlessly follow up on care plans for the individuals. We look forward to working with the new administration to build on our successes and create a better outcome for those suffering on our streets.\u201d<\/p>\n In a phone conversation, Harris shared a memory from his time leading operations at the Times Square Alliance \u2014 one that still shapes how he sees the city\u2019s response today:<\/p>\n \u201cI remember waiting six hours for help for a woman who was biting the heads off pigeons. Another time, we waited four hours for an ambulance to come. A high-ranking member of the NYPD and a rep from the Mayor\u2019s Office were out with us, trying to call it in, but it wasn\u2019t considered a priority. So nothing happened. We have people out on the street because they\u2019re not a priority, and it\u2019s time we make them a priority.\u201d<\/p>\n Harris said he is hopeful that the incoming administration will treat those moments differently:<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re hopeful that Mayor-elect Mamdani will give people dignity \u2014 and prioritize their getting service and support.\u201d<\/p>\n NYPD (DCPI)<\/strong><\/p>\n In a short statement, NYPD\u2019s Deputy Commissioner of Public Information confirmed their response:<\/p>\n \u201cOn Wednesday, November 19, 2025, at approximately 0950 hours, officers from the Midtown South Precinct had a pick-up of an aided male. The male was transported by police vehicle to NYC Health and Hospitals\/Bellevue for an evaluation.\u201d<\/p>\n Councilmember Erik Bottcher<\/strong><\/p>\n Councilmember Erik Bottcher responded by sending a formal letter to Mayor Eric Adams<\/a>, calling the Broadway incident evidence of a \u201csystem in gridlock\u201d and demanding a full accounting from the administration.<\/p>\n Bottcher noted that five NYPD officers waited for more than two hours with a man in clear mental distress, despite the individual not being under arrest and simply needing transport to a hospital. He described the outcome \u2014 a police vehicle eventually used instead of an ambulance \u2014 as both \u201cheartbreaking\u201d for the individual and a \u201cprofound misuse of public safety resources.\u201d<\/p>\n In his letter, Bottcher pressed the Mayor for answers, including:<\/p>\n Bottcher reiterated his long-standing call for immediate expansion of the B-HEARD program into District 3 and warned that the status quo is \u201cdangerously inadequate\u201d:<\/p>\n \u201cWe must not grow accustomed to this dysfunction. When we become numb to suffering, we lose both our empathy and our responsibility to act.\u201d<\/p>\n He requested a prompt response, outlining what went wrong and what corrective steps will be taken to prevent a repeat.<\/p>\n FDNY<\/strong><\/p>\n FDNY called the episode \u201can unusual situation,\u201d emphasizing that police ultimately ensured the man got to the hospital:<\/p>\n \u201cWe will always work to keep every New Yorker safe and responding to all medical emergencies quickly and with care is our top priority. This was an unusual situation, and our partners at the NYPD ensured this patient was appropriately transported.\u201d<\/p>\n Further inquiries explained that the city\u2019s B-HEARD teams are not dispatched when 911 calls mention that a patient is combative, violent or behaving erratically.<\/p>\n Garment District Alliance \/ Midtown Hub co-chair Barbara Blair<\/strong><\/p>\n Barbara Blair, president of the Garment District Alliance and a Midtown Hub co-chair, called the incident \u201ctroublesome under any circumstances, and regrettable,\u201d and said she could not speak as to why EMS never arrived.<\/p>\n \u201cFor my part, I am amazed that the NYPD stayed with the individual, in the cold, for two hours and then finally resorted to remedying the situation themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n Blair strongly defended the Midtown Hub\u2019s record in her district:<\/p>\n \u201cThe Garment District is perhaps one of the most stressed districts in NYC and certainly the most stressed in Manhattan below 96th Street by a long shot. The improvements that we have seen over the last 18 months are dramatic \u2014 but more importantly, the collaboration that I am experiencing between NYC agencies, social service outreach workers and others has had tangible results.\u201d<\/p>\n She said ongoing \u201canti-social conditions\u201d stem from broader policy failures, not the Hub\u2019s work, and concluded:<\/p>\n \u201cI can only say that the activities of the HUB have had a profound and positive impact on the Garment District, and we hope that this collaboration continues.\u201d<\/p>\n Assemblymember Tony Simone<\/strong><\/p>\n Assemblymember Tony Simone framed the two-hour wait on Broadway as evidence of issues within the city\u2019s mental health system:<\/p>\n \u201cThis incident is yet another example of the glaring gaps in our mental healthcare system. When a person in crisis needs immediate assistance, systemic weak points are often revealed. In this specific case, NYPD officers responded but were not aided by mental health professionals and faced an overloaded medical response time.\u201d<\/p>\n He added: \u201cThis is why I support Mayor-elect Mamdani\u2019s proposed Department of Community Safety to scale up city responses to these situations, fully integrated into the 911 response system.\u201d<\/p>\n He also pointed to his own push to fund licensed psychiatric professionals on street outreach teams, and to address the workforce crisis in EMS:<\/p>\n \u201cLow pay and high turnover has led to a shortage of EMTs and ambulance drivers\u2026 They deserve to be paid at a level that reflects the critical work they provide, and New Yorkers deserve to feel they can rely on ambulances to respond promptly to their emergencies.\u201d<\/p>\n On behalf of the Midtown Community Improvement Coalition, led out of the Manhattan District Attorney\u2019s Office, a spokesperson emphasized the coalition\u2019s collaborative model and praised the officers on scene:<\/p>\n \u201cWe commend the responding officers for demonstrating compassion and care. The Coalition\u2019s collaborative and proactive approach means our members \u2013 from the NYPD to city agencies and community-based organizations \u2013 are constantly sharing real-time information to identify people in need.\u201d<\/p>\n The coalition highlighted its track record:<\/p>\n \u201cOutreach workers then engage, build trust and refer them for services, such as stable housing or mental health treatment. The Coalition has successfully referred nearly 250 people for supportive housing and shelter placements or hospitalization. As this is a collaborative model, we continue to fine-tune our approach and build on this success.\u201d<\/p>\n State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal \u2014 Manhattan Borough President-elect<\/strong><\/p>\n State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal, who will soon become Manhattan Borough President, tied the incident to the need for a true \u201cclinical\u201d response system:<\/p>\n \u201cAs Manhattan Borough President-elect, I look forward to working closely with Mayor-elect Mamdani in implementing his proposed Department of Community Safety, which promises to put clinicians \u2014 not just an already overextended police force \u2014 in charge of behavioral health crises and help reform New York City\u2019s disjointed mental health system.\u201d<\/p>\n He argued that under current dispatch rules, most mental-health 911 calls are treated as either medical transports or police matters, and end up in an overburdened EMS queue \u2014 with NYPD as default transport when ambulances don\u2019t arrive on time:<\/p>\n \u201cIn cases where an ambulance does not timely arrive, NYPD becomes the default transport option under the mental hygiene law, despite not being designed or trained to provide clinical crisis care.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoylman-Sigal pointed to efforts like the Midtown Community Improvement Coalition, the Midtown Community Justice Center<\/a> and the Daniel\u2019s Law Task Force<\/a> as early steps toward a \u201chealth-led, standardized crisis response model,\u201d but said much more investment is needed.<\/p>\n \u201cNew Yorkers have been begging for coordinated reforms across our mental health system so that incidents like this one, where an individual is left in crisis for hours and our officers are immobilized, can be left in the past. I am committed to making this a reality.\u201d<\/p>\n Gloria Gong, Government Performance Lab at Harvard Kennedy School<\/strong><\/p>\n While the offices of Mayor Eric Adams and Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani did not respond before publication, W42ST spoke with Gloria Gong, executive director of the Government Performance Lab at Harvard University\u2019s Kennedy School of Government, whose recent Vital City op-ed on Mamdani\u2019s proposed Department of Community Safety<\/a> resonated with the Broadway incident.<\/p>\n Gong warned that without ownership across systems, people with severe mental illness will not receive the help they need:<\/p>\n \u201cPeople with severe mental illness are falling through the cracks between the health, criminal justice and homelessness systems. Mayor-elect Mamdani has proposed expanding alternative response, mobile health care and voluntary peer-led services, but what we\u2019ve seen from working with cities across the country on these types of programs is that it\u2019s not enough to create new seats in services. Someone has to be accountable for supporting these folks through their full journey to treatment and housing, otherwise each part of the system accidentally drops them at the handoffs and they just end up cycling back through.\u201d<\/p>\n In her op-ed, Gong argues that community responder teams are vital, but they are only the \u201cfront door\u201d of care \u2014 not the long-term support needed to keep people from returning again and again to the streets and subways.<\/p>\n What unfolded on Broadway wasn\u2019t about bad actors \u2014 it was about a system that still can\u2019t carry people past the crisis point. As Gloria Gong wrote in her Vital City op-ed, \u201ccommunity responder teams do not provide long-term treatment for mental health and homelessness any more than EMTs provide ongoing care for cardiac health after responding to a heart attack.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"Broadway](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/W42ST-Broadway_detainee_5.jpg\")
10:48am Wednesday November 19: The same man is on the Broadway sidewalk as police wait for an EMS vehicle to arrive. Photo: Phil O\u2019Brien<\/p>\n![\"Elected](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Public-Safety-Press-Conference_0928.jpg\")
Elected officials and community stakeholders at a public safety press conference in Times Square in December 2024 \u2014 (from left) Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal, Assemblymember Tony Simone, DA Alvin Bragg, Times Square Alliance President Tom Harris, Councilmember Erik Bottcher and NYC Mayor Eric Adams. Photo: Phil O\u2019Brien<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/W42ST-Broadway_detainee_3.jpg\")
11:16am Wednesday November 19: The man continues to writhe and thrash out on the Broadway sidewalk as five cops wait for an EMS vehicle to arrive. Photo: Phil O\u2019Brien<\/p>\n\n
![\"Councilmember](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_0960-Erik-Bottcher.jpg\")
Councilmember Erik Bottcher sent a letter to Mayor Adams about the incident. Photo: Phil O\u2019Brien<\/p>\n![\"Broadway](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/W42ST-Broadway_detainee_6.jpg\")
11:24am Wednesday November 19: The detained man is allowed to sit up on the Broadway sidewalk as the wait continues. Photo: Phil O\u2019Brien<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/W42ST-Broadway_detainee_4.jpg\")
12:11pm Wednesday November 19: The man is finally taken from the scene to hospital in an NYPD vehicle. Photo: Phil O\u2019Brien<\/p>\n