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Mamdani orders probe of Bellevue over man's release hours before Chelsea killing
By
Charles Lane
Published May 8, 2026
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GHI/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
By
Charles Lane
Published May 8, 2026
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Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Friday ordered an investigation into why Bellevue Hospital discharged a man who, about five hours later, allegedly shoved a 76-year-old he apparently did not know down a Chelsea subway staircase, killing him.
The mayor directed NYC Health and Hospitals, which runs Bellevue, to conduct a “root cause analysis” of its psychiatric evaluation and discharge protocols. He also asked the state Department of Health to launch its own review, and the agency agreed to send officials on-site immediately.
"New Yorkers deserve answers," Mamdani said in a statement. "I've directed NYC Health + Hospitals to conduct both an immediate investigation on what steps should have been taken to prevent this tragedy and a comprehensive review of their psychiatric evaluation and discharge protocols."
Christopher Miller, a spokesperson for NYC Health and Hospitals, said in a statement that the hospital welcomes the review.
“We expect that it will find our care was appropriate,” he said. “NYC Health and Hospitals/Bellevue is justly nationally recognized for its services for complex patients and all New Yorkers without exception.”
The announcement of an investigation marks an early test for Mamdani, who campaigned on overhauling the city's public safety and mental health care systems.
Police say Rhamell Burke, 32, ran up behind Ross Falzone at the West 18th Street and Seventh Avenue subway station around 9:30 p.m. Thursday and pushed him down the stairs. Falzone, who lived alone on the Upper West Side, suffered a fractured spine and a traumatic brain injury, authorities said. He was taken to Bellevue in critical condition and died several hours later.
Burke had been brought to Bellevue’s psychiatric hospital earlier that same afternoon. According to police, officers took him into custody around 3:30 p.m. Thursday after he acted erratically outside the NYPD's 17th Precinct stationhouse near East 51st Street and Third Avenue, at one point grabbing a stick from a garbage can and holding it at his side as officers told him to drop it.
Officers took him to Bellevue's emergency room for a psychiatric evaluation. He was discharged about an hour later, around 4:30 p.m., according to the mayor's office and police.
Burke was arrested Friday afternoon on the uptown C and E platform at Penn Station by two NYPD detectives who had his picture on their phones, officials said. Later Friday evening, the NYPD said Burke had been charged with murder. Attorney information for Burke was not immediately available.
Mamdani said that state health officials will remain on-site at Bellevue throughout the investigation and work with hospital leadership on any corrective actions.
This story has been updated with comment from NYC Health and Hospitals.
Tagged
Chelsea
crime
nypd
Charles Lane
Charles is a Day-of reporter focused on breaking news and enterprise. He’s very friendly and can be reached at [email protected], or more securely on whatsapp/signal 631-295-6715
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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