Mental Hospitals New York City

New York City has implemented a new policy to transfer psychiatric patients from city hospitals directly to homeless shelters to relieve overcrowding in psychiatric wards, officials said. "We are going to try it on a small scale," said First Deputy Mayor Stanley Brezenoff. "If it doesn't work, we won't continue it." Dr. Luis Marcos, vice president for mental hygiene at the city's Health and Hospitals Corp.

When New York City began seizing and involuntarily hospitalizing its most seriously mentally ill street people 32 months ago, civil liberties organizations objected vigorously. Today, the controversy has died down, legal challenges by patients are rare and physicians say some major lessons have been learned from the closely watched experiment.

When New York City began seizing and involuntarily hospitalizing its most seriously mentally ill street people 32 months ago, civil liberties organizations objected vigorously. Today, the controversy has died down, legal challenges by patients are rare and physicians say some major lessons have been learned from the closely watched experiment.

New York City has implemented a new policy to transfer psychiatric patients from city hospitals directly to homeless shelters to relieve overcrowding in psychiatric wards, officials said. "We are going to try it on a small scale," said First Deputy Mayor Stanley Brezenoff. "If it doesn't work, we won't continue it." Dr. Luis Marcos, vice president for mental hygiene at the city's Health and Hospitals Corp.