NYC mayoral candidate Eric Adams accuses rivals of remaining silent on shootings, details gun proposals
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams accused opponents in the New York City mayoral race of keeping quiet on rising gun violence, as he rolled out a buffet of proposals on Tuesday to stop the barrage of bullets.
“Why is there silence among the other individuals who want to be leaders of the city?” asked Adams, flanked by anti-violence activists outside the Bronx Supreme Court. “The prerequisite to prosperity is public safety.”
On a sunny afternoon in the Bronx, the former NYPD captain added: “It may be a beautiful day out here, but it’s an ugly day of violence in our city.”
While spring has seemed to herald the rebirth of the pandemic-scarred city, warmer weather has long been associated with rising levels of violent crime.
Shootings have surged in the city during the coronavirus crisis, possibly a result of unemployment, and a 21-year-old man was killed in a wild Bronx shooting on Saturday night in Concourse Village, blocks from the borough’s supreme court.
On Sunday night, a 37-year-old man was fatally shot outside a Bronx deli, cops said. And on Monday night, a 39-year-old woman was shot dead in drive-by gunfire while sitting in an auto outside the Highbridge Gardens housing development in the Bronx, according to authorities.
As of Monday night, the city had seen its homicide rate jump by almost a quarter from this time last year, authorities said.
Adams, who was serving in the NYPD when the city’s murder rate peaked three decades ago, said that the time has come for a “comprehensive plan” from City Hall to crack down on the concerning recent trend.
He suggested turning the Police Department’s recently disbanded anti-crime units into a narrowly focused “anti-gun unit.” He urged spot checks for guns at the Port Authority and city entrance points. And he called for further funding for the Crisis Management System, along with improved communication between the network and the NYPD.
“I don’t want to remain on the sidelines,” Adams, 60, declared. “Our city deserves to be safe.”
Hopefuls in the race have treaded carefully around the polarizing issue of police reform, which has taken on particular urgency nationwide after brutal, highly publicized police killings last year.
Adams has floated NYPD budget cuts and proposed allowing community groups to help select police precinct commanders and other personnel.
“Yes, I’m a big believer in police reform, but I also believe in public safety,” Adams said Tuesday. “You can’t have a one-sided conversation.”
And he claimed his competitors are attempting to whistle past the violence menacing some areas of the city.
“I am alarmed at the deafening silence,” Adams said. “We’ve normalized hearing these reports.”
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