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Mayor Adams unveils gun violence policy
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | FEB. 4 - FEB. 10, 2022 15
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
A resolution requiring the
state Education Commissioner
to conduct a study of New
York’s over 700 school districts
and submit a report assessing
the effectiveness of Holocaust
teachings will be introduced
to the City Council, state Assemblywoman
Nily Rozic announced
on Thursday, Jan. 27.
Bill A472A was introduced
by Rozic, who thanked Council
members Eric Dinowitz
(D-Bronx) and Marjorie Velázquez
(D-Bronx) for highlighting
the issues at the city
level to make it clear that hate
has no place in New York —
past, present or future.
“It is imperative that we
teach our students the dangers
of antisemitic attitudes
and actions, and that we teach
them how to combat Holocaust
distortion and trivialization,”
Rozic said.
The lawmakers’ announcement
comes on International
Holocaust Remembrance Day,
which commemorates the
victims of the Holocaust that
resulted in the murder of 6
million Jewish people, along
with countless members of
other minorities by Nazi Germany
between 1933 and 1945.
In 2005, the United Nations
General Assembly established
Jan. 27 as International Holocaust
Remembrance Day commemorating
the anniversary
of the liberation of Auschwitz-
Birkenau, the largest Nazi
death camp.
According to Velázquez, the
increase in antisemitic attacks
across the globe, and specifically
in New York City, are a reminder
that the bigotry of the
past still exists in the present.
“This Holocaust Remembrance
Day is not only about
reflecting on the horrors of
history, but understanding
the continued need to educate
those who are ill informed
of the past. Knowledge and
compassion are our greatest
tool in combating hate, which
is why I fully support legislation
to ensure our children
are taught these moments of
history,” Velázquez said.
Dinowitz, chair of the City
Council’s Jewish Caucus, said
they’re in a period of time
when there is disturbing increase
in antisemitic hate
crimes and a troubling rise
in the number of people who
believe the Holocaust did not
even happen.
“This bill will help ensure
our children are learning
about this terrible period in
our history, and taking those
lessons to ensure the horrors
of the past are not repeated,”
Dinowitz said.
BY MORGAN C. MULLINGS
Mayor Eric Adams is proposing
more arrests, stricter
sentences, more outreach
and a rollback to some criminal
justice reforms and bail
laws to stem gun violence in
New York City.
During a Jan. 24 press
conference, Adams addressed
the “iron pipeline,”
and rising incidents in gun
violence that took the life of a
22-year-old cop and wounded
another.
After hearing criticism
on holding the presser with
no Q&A, the Adams administration
rescheduled the event
to focus on the court of public
opinion.
“Gun violence is a public
health crisis. There is no
time to wait. We must act.
The sea of violence comes
from many rivers. We must
dam every river that feeds
this greater crisis,” Adams
said. He claims that the effects
of his “Blueprint to End
Gun Violence” will be seen
and felt very quickly.
In the 30 precincts where
most of the gun violence occurs,
Adams’ office will deploy
more officers and neighborhood
safety teams in the
next three weeks.
“In doing this, we will
avoid mistakes of the past.
These officers will be identifiable
as NYPD. They will
have body cameras, and they
will have enhanced training
and oversight,” he said.
The city will also collect
and report evidence of gun
sales to support the state’s
Interstate Gun Tracing Consortium,
including using
facial recognition and spot
checks at major ports.
“Gun violence is not only
a law enforcement issue. It is
a social issue, a community
issue, and we will be taking
a citywide approach to meeting
this challenge. New Yorkers
have heard me say many
times that any effective plan
to reduce gun violence must
include intervention AND
prevention,” Adams said, pivoting
to his plans to address
the root causes of violence.
The mayor plans to expand
intervention programs
and youth-centered programs,
and create a Quality
of Life Task Force, which includes
members of the NYPD
and Department of Homeless
Services (DHS), to make sure
that law enforcement and
mental health professionals
are working together to stop
violence among the homeless
and mentally ill.
In the briefing and the
question-and-answer portion
afterward in the City Hall
Rotunda, the mayor focused
on his recommendations to
change laws and court processes
to make sure threats
are minimized.
“We must allow judges to
take dangerousness into account.
New York is the only
state in the country that does
not allow a judge to detain a
defendant who poses a threat
to the community,” Adams
said.
“We must also look at
‘Raise the Age’ legislation,
which is being used as a loophole
for gang members to
demand young people under
18 take the fall for guns that
are not theirs,” he continued.
Though he clarified that he
does not want to target the
youth, he wants to take some
of the prosecutions out of
family court and make sure
they are tried in criminal
court.
These are his two most
controversial recommendations,
and the third is his
suggestion to take a second
look at reforms.
“We must also re-examine
the 2019 reforms to the
discovery process. We must
allow district attorneys to
move forward earlier with
gun charges, removing disclosure
requirements that
jam up the process, and we
urge the state to pass legislation
to that effect,” he said.
Mayor Eric Adams attends a vigil for the two NYPD officers who
were shot outside the 32nd Precinct in Harlem
Photo by Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Offi ce
Assemblywoman Nily Rozic QNS fi le photo
Queens lawmaker announces Council’s resolution in
support of state Holocaust education legislation
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