Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced the opening of two mental health clinics for Big Apple youths Thursday at an event where he rubbed elbows with Democratic Party rivals.
The clinics — which are being supported through a $4 million donation from MetroPlusHealth — will provide behavioral and reproductive care to teens and young adults aged 16-25.
“We are speaking about the health of young New Yorkers who are often reluctant to seek care or who don’t have the health resources specifically tailored to their needs,” Mamdani claimed.
“And we know that as New Yorkers transition into adulthood, their lives, their priorities, they change,” he explained at a press conference held in the new site of one of the clinics–Woodhull Hospital in Brooklyn.
Mayor Mamdani announced the opening of two new health clinics for young people in Brooklyn and Queens. Gabriella Bass for NY Post
The clinics are a response to data that found that 90% of youth stop seeing their mental health provider after they reach the age of 21. Olga Fedorova/EPA/Shutterstock
The clinics, dubbed “Elevate You,” were formed in response to a statistic that found 90% of youths stop seeing their mental health provider after they reach 21, Mamdani’s team noted in a press release.
Hizzoner was joined by a slew of politicos at Thursday’s ribbon cutting on the Woodhull clinic — including City Council member Chi Ossé (D-36) and Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso — both of whom he has had scuffles with since the November election.
Underlying tension between Mamdani and some of his one-time lefty allies appeared to be squashed at the event in Brooklyn Thursday. Olga Fedorova/EPA/Shutterstock
Mamdani raised eyebrows last week when he endorsed Democratic Socialists of America candidate Assembly Member Claire Valdez (D-37) to replace retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-12) despite Reynoso’s bid for the coveted district 12 seat.
The mayor and Ossé also had a reported tiff when he declined to back the lefty council member for a primary run against moderate House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-8).
Mamdani noted the new facilities will provide young people with vocational assistance along with health care to assist with college and career planning. Additionally, students will begin working with a care team at age 16 that will stay with them until they are 25.
The new Elevate You clinics will be located at NYC Health + Hospitals Woodhull and Queens locations.