The Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens is a state-run psychiatric hospital that often sees some of the city's most complex cases.

At the center, New Yorkers with serious mental illnesses are locked in for treatment — getting some fresh air and time outside once a day.

"They can't leave on their own, but around here they can walk,”  Martha Sullivan, the executive director of the facility, said.

NY1 received an exclusive tour with the center's executive director and the state mental health commissioner, getting a firsthand look at a new unit — 25 new beds for seriously mentally ill New Yorkers who also have substance use disorder.

"This is a very special unit for those patients," Sullivan said.

Gone are the days, these officials say, where state institutions are the subject of controversy — which is where patients were mistreated.

"With improvements, with medications outpatient care, mental health treatment really has come a very long way,” Sullivan said.

The state’s mental health commissioner, Dr. Ann Sullivan, added.

"And if you just even look at the physical plant, it’s like any hospital you walk in to,” she said. “It’s very similar in some ways to if you go into a medical unit. It's not scary. Individuals have their own rooms. We have a little more room for people to gather and do activities and do therapy and group therapy."

That argument comes as city and state leaders are looking to make it easier to involuntarily commit people for psychiatric treatment, potentially putting them on a path to Creedmoor.

In her budget proposal, Gov. Kathy Hochul is pitching a change in the state involuntary commitment law, going beyond the standard of being a danger to oneself or others.

The new language says someone can be held involuntarily if they are at substantial risk for physical harm because they cannot provide for their own essential needs, like food or shelter.

Mayor Eric Adams is also pushing for the change.

It's directly aimed at those with mental illness experiencing homelessness.

"It’s really extremely vulnerable individual who are not able to take care of their own physical needs that put them at significant risk, and you do not want those individuals to not have the opportunity to get better to have treatment and make the right decision," Dr. Sullivan said.

That does not mean everyone is on board. Some advocates say the change would violate the civil liberties of people experiencing mental illness.

"We do feel like there is a false choice here: you have to reduce people’s rights to have public safety,” Harvey Rosenthal of the Alliance for Rights and Recovery said. “We believe we can respect people’s rights by honoring their rights to get the best treatment we can provide and we're not."

For years, under Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the number of beds in state psychiatric facilities had gone down.

Hochul has reversed course.

She is adding 400 beds to state institutions. And 100 of them will be at Creedmoor.

On the fifth floor, the patients spend most of their day in group sessions.

Much of the facility is sparsely furnished — for patient safety.

Inspirational quotes dot the walls.

Officials told NY1 about 60% of the patients at Creedmoor are there involuntarily. Also, the average stay is about two years, which is an improvement.

"Long ago, people went into the hospital and that's pretty much where they were going to be for the rest of their life,” Creedmoor’s executive director said. “That's so different now. Everybody is working towards recovery. I would say recover is the ability to have a stable life and a meaningful life in the community."