Save Kendra’s Law

Kendra’s Law is set to expire this June — putting New Yorkers in danger.

Back in 1999, Andrew Goldstein, a schizophrenic off his meds, pushed Kendra Webdale, 32, to her death in front of an oncoming N train. That horror inspired the Legislature to face facts about serious mental illness and pass Kendra’s Law.

The statute allows courts to order assisted outpatient treatment, or AOT, for a person who suffers from serious mental illness but can live in the community under supervision.

As the Manhattan Institute’s Stephen Eide notes, the law has helped reduce rates of violence, incarceration and homelessness among those it targets.

AOT is far more kind than institutionalizing someone, yet protects society by requiring patients to take their medications if they’re to retain other freedoms.

Peter Rivera, the former head of the Assembly Mental Health Committee, tells us, “Kendra’s Law has been a success and should be made permanent.”

State Sen. Cathy Young has offered a bill to do just that. It would also strengthen the system by mandating screening of all mentally ill persons about to be discharged from jails or involuntary commitment.

Some in the Assembly and a few mentalhealth trade groups want only a 5-year extension of the existing Kendra’s Law.

That would be foolhardy. It clearly works, with no threat to civil liberties, as lawmakers once feared. That’s why it’s already been extended twice.

Kendra’s Law may have seemed an experiment two decades ago, but the experiment has proved an overwhelming success for public health and public safety.