Story perspectives

Psych Evaluation Release Leads to Elderly Death, Mayor Investigates

5/9/2026

Summary

Story summary

Rhamell Burke, 32, pushed 76-year-old Ross Falzone down the 18th Street subway stairs in Chelsea, killing him.
Police encountered Burke acting erratically outside the 17th Precinct at about 3:30 p.m.
He was taken to Bellevue Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation and released that afternoon, only hours before the fatal shove.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani ordered an immediate investigation of Bellevue’s psychiatric discharge procedures and a broader review of NYC Health + Hospitals protocols.

History

Historical Context

The 1975 Supreme Court ruling in O'Connor v. Donaldson prompted New York’s 1978 Mental Hygiene Law, which cut Bellevue’s psychiatric beds by about 30 % and forced the discharge of over 1,200 patients each year. Decades later, the Rhamell Burke killing on 18th Street revived Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s call for tighter discharge protocols, echoing the systemic gaps highlighted in the 1987-88 Joyce Brown case.

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Story summary

Rhamell Burke, 32, pushed 76-year-old Ross Falzone down the 18th Street subway stairs in Chelsea, killing him.
Police encountered Burke acting erratically outside the 17th Precinct at about 3:30 p.m.
He was taken to Bellevue Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation and released that afternoon, only hours before the fatal shove.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani ordered an immediate investigation of Bellevue’s psychiatric discharge procedures and a broader review of NYC Health + Hospitals protocols.

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