Council member Farrah Lewis introduces bill to require annual suicide data reporting

Council member Farrah Lewis told the council that New York City is confronting a mental‑health crisis and that gaps in data limit the city’s ability to prevent suicide. "Introduction 291 addresses that failure directly," she said, describing a requirement for the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to publish an annual report disaggregated by age, race, ethnicity, gender, occupation, method and borough of residence.

Lewis argued that fragments of data exist in broader mortality reporting but are insufficient for targeted prevention, saying better data determines where crisis response teams are deployed and how prevention programs are designed. She thanked advocates who helped shape the bill and called the legislation "a critical step towards saving lives, supporting families, and building a mental health system that responds before tragedy occurs."

The session recorded the bill’s introduction and supporting remarks; no departmental response or vote on Intro 291 was recorded in the meeting.