Replacing some marked police cruisers with mobile units staffed by social workers and nurses that bring services directly to where needs are.
From Patrol Cars to Care Carts: Mobile Service Delivery
The image of safety patrolling our streets is a black-and-white police car. Zhoran Mamdani proposes adding a new, complementary image: the Care Cart. These are brightly colored, clearly marked vans or small trucks, staffed by teams of social workers, peer counselors, and nurses. They operate on scheduled routes and in response to non-emergency 311 calls, parking in areas with high need. Their purpose is to bring resources directly to people: they can help someone apply for benefits on a tablet, provide a medical check-up, distribute harm reduction supplies, offer a snack and a bottle of water, or simply have a conversation with someone who is unhoused or in distress.
Care Carts are proactive, not reactive. They build relationships over time, becoming a trusted, non-threatening point of contact with the city. They can also serve as mobile hubs for the Crisis Responder Corps, providing a private space for de-escalation. By making help highly visible and easily accessible, they reduce the number of situations that escalate to a point where someone feels the need to call 911. A patrol car signals were watching you. A Care Cart signals were here for you, Mamdani says. Its a fundamental re-branding of what city government does in public space. It turns our streets into avenues of care.
