New mayor on the move
Adams talks gun violence in Harlem, visits St. John the Divine
BY DEAN MOSES
On Mayor Eric Adams’
second day on the job
Sunday, he wasn’t showing
any signs of slowing down.
After taking the subway
to work at City Hall on his
fi rst day, he opted for two
wheels on his second day, and
took the CitiBike to work.
The new top city offi cial had
quite the itinerary, commencing
with two television interviews.
In order to make
the appointment, Adams left
Gracie Mansion and hopped
on a Citi Bike and pedaled
through Manhattan.
Next, he was back on the subway,
traveling to the Cathedral
Church of St. John the Divine
on 1047 Amsterdam Avenue
where he looked to pay respects
to former mayor David Dinkins,
whose remains rest within the
house of worship.
Adams casually walked into
the grounds, meeting with those
waiting on a food distribution
line. He was congratulated
and even quizzed for employment
aid, after which he was
greeted by Father Patrick Malloy
the Sub-Dean of St. John
the Divine.
After a brief tour, he reached
LOCAL NEWS
Mayor Eric Adams discussed tackling gun violence with families who’ve lost their children
to violent crimes.
the fi nal resting place of David
Dinkins. With his head bowed,
Adams laid a hand on the mausoleum
and remained silent for
several minutes before joining
Father Malloy in a prayer.
The visit concluded with Adams
lighting a candle and placing
the fl ickering fl ame at the
foot of the memorial.
After visiting the Cathedral
of St. John the Divine on 110th
Street and Amsterdam Avenue,
he walked to 125th Street
where he hosted a roundtable on
gun violence at Our Children’s
Foundation— a non-profi t after
school educational and recreational
organization for children
in Harlem.
At the round table press conference,
a group of mothers stood
beside Adams holding photos of
their children who they’ve lost
PHOTO BY DEAN MOSES
to shootings. Somberly, Adams
acknowledged their plight, and
assured them he can hear the
cries of the voiceless and is dedicated
to putting forth preventive
measures that involve both the
NYPD and community through
intervention and collaboration.
“I don’t subscribe to the belief
of some that we can only have
justice and not public safety. We
will have them both. Our police
offi cers will be responsible and
they will understand how to
properly police our city. But we
will also send a loud and clear
message. You will not bring violence
to this city. That is not going
to continue to happen in the
city of New York,” Adams said.
Adams averred that his stance
on public safety should come at
no surprise. He shared his plans
on fostering a relationship between
Brooklyn’s Man Up with
Andre T. Mitchell and 696 Build
Queensbridge with K Bain,
and continuing that coalition
throughout the city.
He spoke on stopping crime at
its earliest stage through education,
identifying learning disabilities,
helping with foster care, and
other preventive measures. In doing
so, he also added that he will
roll out with full transparency a
plain-clothes anti-gun police division
that will focus on taking
down gangs and stop the fl ow of
guns into the city. It is through
this unit that he says will bring
back the surprise element of policing
to help better target gun
violence.
Police Commissioner
Keechant Sewell reiterated Adams’
stance on their effort to
remove illegal guns off of New
York City’s streets.
“We will not tolerate gun violence
in this city that cannot be
overstated. We are tackling this
head on my focus and intentions
are clear. Seize the guns, stop the
violence, stop the shooting and
save lives. And together we can
do that,” Sewell said.
Another hit to restaurant industry
BY ISABEL SONG BEER
As the Omicron variant
continues to rapidly
spread throughout New
York City, restaurants, bars
and other service establishments
are once again feeling
the strain caused by the COVID
19 pandemic.
In a report released Jan. 4 by
state Comptroller Thomas Di-
Napoli, NYC restaurants, retail
and recreation (RRR) continue
to suffer during this wave of COVID.
Currently, New York City’s
economic recovery and growth
is trailing behind many other cities
across the nation. NYC lost
more jobs between the second
quarters of 2019 and 2021’s calendar
years than the fi ve most
populous counties in the nation.
“While communities across
the nation felt the impacts of the
pandemic on their restaurant,
retail and recreation sectors,
New York City was hit especially
hard,” said DiNapoli. “The
governor and the mayor need
to work together to help these
businesses stay open.”
Following the time between
the second quarters of 2019
and 2021, the restaurant sector
in Manhattan employed 30
percent less workers than it did
before. There is a need during
this pandemic to ensure safety
for both workers and customers,
but in order to continue to
stay open and generate income,
there is also a need to balance
complex risks in order to
serve individuals.
Executive Dorector of the
New York City Hospitality Alliance
Andrew Rigie said with the
continuing surge of the pandemic,
many of these businesses are
at the risk of permanent closure
unless there is immediate federal
aid.
“It has been absolutely devastating,”
said Rigie. “We were
hoping we were headed on a
road to recovery and then Omicron
hit. It’s clear we are going
to need ongoing support from
all levels of government which
have yet provided the necessary
support the industry has needed
over the past nearly two years.”
“We need to continue our
life,” added Rigie. “We can’t just
shut down the economy, stop
eating and drinking and socializing.
But we need to be smart
and we need to ensure that small
businesses and workers get the
support they need to make it to
the other side of this pandemic.”
Patio outside Jing Fong restaurant on March 3, 2021.
With New York City seeing
an average of 39,132 cases per
day being reported, many businesses
in the hospitality industry
are reporting short staffi ng,
at-work COVID infections and
employees quitting entirely.
Rigie said these obstacles
FILE PHOTO/DEAN MOSES
could be remedied if the federal
government replenished
the Restaurant Revitalization
Fund – a $28.6 fund organized
and distributed by the U.S Small
Business Administration.
“The situation is very very
tough,” said Rigie.
8 January 6, 2022 Schneps Media