Eric Adams pushes anti-crime plan as shootings skyrocket in NYC
BY JASON COHEN
Bullets have been fl ying
throughout the city
lately. In just the past
few days a drive-by left
a woman dead in the
Bronx and a 5-year-old
girl was shot in Brooklyn.
On Tuesday, Brooklyn
Borough President and
mayoral candidate Eric
Adams held a press conference
with activist
groups Save Our Streets
(SOS) and Guns Down
Life Up outside the Bronx
Supreme Court building
where he pleaded for
change and laid out his
plans to try to make the
city safer.
“I’m a big believer in
police reform, but I also
believe in public safety,”
he said. “It may be a beautiful
day out here, but it’s
an ugly day of violence in
our city.”
His press conference
followed a bloody week in
which shooting incidents
were up 257% from the
same time last year, and a
month of March where the
city saw a 73% increase
in shooting victims from
March 2020. Overall,
there has been an approximately
Mayoral candidate and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams during a press conference
about gun violence outside of the Bronx Supreme Court. (Photo by Jason Cohen)
50% increase in
the number of shooting
incidents and victims in
New York this year so far
compared to last year.
Why aren’t the other
mayoral candidates addressing
the ongoing
shootings and deaths in
the Bronx, Adams questioned
in the press conference.
Are they meeting
with SOS and other
groups, he asked.
He said he felt that if
this violence took place
in wealthy areas, it would
have been handled already.
Unfortunately,
trauma has become normal
and that is a problem,
he said.
“You can’t be safe in
certain parts of the city
and ignore the violence in
other parts of the city,” he
said.
Football is often referred
to as a game
of inches, but Adams
pointed out that life as a
New Yorker is also. That 5
year-old girl in Brooklyn
who had a bullet graze
her head is alive because
of inches.
The borough president
said he’s worried things
will only get worse with
summer around the corner.
“The crisis is outpacing
the manpower on the
ground,” he said. “We
cannot allow crime to suffocate
our family members
and friends.”
Recognizing that
things must change, Adams
said he wants to reinvent
the Anti-Crime Unit
and turn it into an antigun
unit. He said he also
understands that many
turn to guns and gangs
because they don’t see another
option.
Leaders in the community,
nonprofi ts and
schools must show young
adults and kids that there
are more paths in life
than guns and gangs, he
said. Furthermore, the
city must create more job
training centers and employment
opportunities
in low-income areas.
“Fighting gun violence
isn’t a midtown
nine-to-fi ve job. It’s a 24
hour seven day a week
job,” he said.
Adams said he understands
that most of the
guns come to New York
City through the Iron
Pipeline and are illegal.
Because of this he is advocating
for the Port Authority
to check for guns
like they do for bombs,
he said. Additionally, he
wants the NYPD to work
with activist organizations
to prevent gun violence
and form a tri-state
commission that helps
stop the illegal fl ow of
guns.
As a cop for 22 years,
he said he knows what it
is like to knock on a door
and tell a family their
loved one died. But this
should not be happening
every day.
“I don’t want to remain
on the sideline as
other babies and family
members are being devastated,”
he said. “It’s time
for the Mayor and the
Police Commissioner to
show how we are going to
deal with the issue of gun
violence.”
NYC’s #1 Source for Political & Election News
Endorsements Update
BY CLARISSA SOSIN
In a big year for local politics, Bronx Times
is dedicated to keeping you informed on where
candidates stand with endorsements:
Weprin Endorsed by Italian American PAC
Assemblymember David Weprin, a candidate
for New York City Comptroller, announced that
he was endorsed by the Italian American Political
Action Committee (I AM PAC).James Lisa,
President of I AM PAC, said that Weprin earned
their support because he has always been a
friend to New York’s Italian American community.
He’s shown a commitment to seniors and
retirees by safeguarding pensions, he said. “We
are honored to put our faith in David to be the
kind of Comptroller who will look out not only
for our community, but for all communities in
New York,” Lisa said.
Bronx BP Diaz Endorses Sanchez in Manhattan’s
District 7
Ray Sanchez, Democratic candidate for City
Council in Manhattan’s District 7, announced
that Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.
endorsed him in June’s Democratic primary.
Diaz announced his endorsement at a press
conference at NYCHA’s Grant Houses. Sanchez
served as counsel and director of policy for Diaz
from 2011-2018.“I have seen Ray Sanchez in action
fi rsthand, and I know he has the temerity,
knowledge and passion to fi ght for transformative
change for our city,” said Diaz. Sanchez said
that Dias has been a mentor, friend, brother and
advocate for him.“I deeply appreciate our relationship
and could not be more grateful,” he
said.
AOC endorses Brad Lander as comptroller
PoliticsNY.com PoliticsNYnews PoliticsNYnews PoliticsNYnews
BTR BRONX TIMES REPORTER, APR. 9-15, 2021 21
BY JACOB KAYE
Progressive superstar U.S
Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
(D-NY) has made her voice
heard in New York City’s Comptroller
race by endorsing candidate
and City Councilmember
Brad Lander (D-Brooklyn) today,
Wednesday, March 31. It marks
the fi rst time Ocasio-Cortez has
exerted her infl uence in a competitive
citywide race.
“Brad understands that, for
government to be able to deliver
the bold transformative change
we need, it has to work for and
with the people,” Ocasio-Cortez
said in a statement. “Brad has a
powerful vision for how to lead
New York City towards a just recovery,
embracing investments
in good green jobs and truly affordable
housing, and building
on his track record of working
in deep partnership with communities
to ensure no one is left
behind. That’s the kind of leadership
our city needs to face the
challenges of the future.”
Lander, who has represented
Brooklyn’s 39th District in the
council since 2009, has long
been seen as a leading progressive
voice in the city’s legislative
body, co-founding it’s Progressive
Caucus during his fi rst term
in offi ce.
“Alexandria models, better
than anyone else in politics, the
transformative potential in making
government more transparent,
accessible, and accountable
to the goals of making life better
for working families and securing
a better future for all our
communities,” Lander said. “I’m
so honored to have her support,
and excited about the work ahead
together to put government to
work for the people.”
AOC introduces bill to provide burial
costs for COVID-19 victims
REUTERS/Monica Almeida
/PoliticsNY.com
