Crisis teams to use emergency green lights

Some situations may require quicker response

Westchester County Executive George Latimer and state Sen. Pete Harckham, D-Peekskill, announced earlier this month that county Mobile Crisis Response Teams will be using green lights to respond to behavioral health emergencies starting in June.

Harckham introduced the “Green Light Law” in March, citing the successful use of emergency green lights in other areas to help first responders de-escalate behavioral health crises when they occur.

Latimer said Harckham and his staff drafted the legislation as a statewide bill in the hopes of creating crisis response teams across New York state. The bill (S.5397/A.5604) was sponsored in the Assembly by Transportation Committee Chair William Magnarelli, D-Syracuse.

Magnarelli said that unlike the flashing red lights, which require drivers to yield the right of way to emergency vehicles displaying them, flashing green lights request drivers to yield the right of way so they can arrive at the scene more quickly and safely.

“New York state is preparing to implement more crisis centers with trained mobile crisis response staff members to respond to various mental, emotional, physical and behavioral distress calls in order to prevent critical incidents,” the Assemblyman said in a news release.

“Green lights are an effective tool used by some emergency personnel to alert drivers to pull over to allow for emergency vehicles to pass en route to emergency calls.”

Westchester County’s “Project Alliance” deploys MCRTs throughout the county, connected to law enforcement and a “Crisis Network” phone line that serves to divert people in behavioral health crisis to the de-escalation and services they need.

“The goal of Project Alliance is really to help first responders across Westchester to be better prepared, and able to meet the needs of the communities we all serve,” Latimer said. “This measure, shepherded to adoption by our own Senator Harckham, and Assemblyman Bill Magnarelli, will serve to help us get to people in crisis faster and more safely.”

Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the law on Dec. 11. It becomes effective as of June 8.