NYC mayoral candidate Andrew Yang doubles down on comments about mentally ill people in New York City

• NYC mayoral candidate Andrew Yang doubled down on his comments on mentally ill people on Monday.
• Yang said those who were mentally ill were affecting tourism during an appearance on billionaire John Catsimatidis's radio show.
• Yang echoed remarks he made on mental illness and homelessness at last week's NYC mayoral debate.

In the final hours of the New York City mayoral campaign, candidate Andrew Yang doubled down on his comments on the mentally ill and homeless.

Phoning into a radio show with billionaire John Catsimatidis on Monday, Yang complained that mentally ill people affect the city's tourism.

Yang was responding to Catsimatidis's statement that too many mentally ill people live on the streets instead of in hospitals. He agreed with Catsimatidis that money is better spent on building facilities to treat people.

"We need to get them the care that they need, but that will also supercharge our economic recovery because we all see these mentally ill people on our streets and subways, and you know who else sees them? Tourists. And then they don't come back, and they tell their friends, 'Don't go to New York City,'" Yang said.

"We're never going to get our jobs back and our economy back if we don't get the mentally ill people who are on our streets in a better environment," Yang added.

The comments Yang made on Monday were similar to those he made at the NYC mayoral debate last Wednesday, for which he received backlash on social media.

"Yes, mentally ill people have rights, but you know who else have rights? We do! The people and families of the city," Yang said last week during the debate."We have the right to walk the street and not fear for our safety because a mentally ill person is going to lash out at us."

According to a New York Times report, Yang said at an event later on Monday with fellow candidate Kathryn Garcia that he stood by the comments he made to Catsimatidis. Yang also emphasized the need for "public safety."

"There will not be an economic recovery until people feel safe walking our streets and walking our subways," said Yang to the New York Times.

Other candidates campaigning against Yang for the mayoral seat denounced Yang's comments on mentally ill New Yorkers.

Zack Fink from Spectrum News NY1 interviewed mayoral candidate Maya Wiley, who said that Yang and Garcia asked her to campaign with them on Monday. But Wiley told NY1 that she turned the duo down because she thought Yang's statements during Wednesday's debate were "highly insensitive."

Meanwhile, the Times quoted candidate Eric Adams, who said he was "really disturbed" by Yang's remarks.

According to a 2019 study by advocacy group the Coalition for the Homeless, around 40% of the homeless population in New York City were women and children fleeing domestic violence situations. The coalition estimates that as of April 2021, there are 53,199 homeless people in the city's municipal shelter system, of which 16,390 are children.