Mayor Eric Adams on Monday took a major step toward fulfilling his vow to rein in the city’s soaring violence.
The plan he rolled out to “end gun violence” offers several measures — including many The Post has called for — that can stem the bleeding. Crucially, he’s starting with what’s in his power, even as he calls on other politicians to do their part.
On that front, he again called for changes to the state’s disastrous “bail reform” laws, which force judges to spring free dangerous defendants with no chance of jail. Specifically, he’ll push legislators to let courts take “dangerousness” into account in deciding whether to detain them, just as every other state and the federal government now do.
He’ll also:
- Fight to fix to the “Raise the Age” law by forcing kids used as “pawns” to carry guns to identify the real owners or face tougher charges in criminal court.
- Restore plainclothes units that targeted illegal guns until their disbanding under then-Mayor Bill de Blasio (though they’ll have to wear something to identify them as cops).
- Redirect funds from de Blasio’s worthless Thrive NYC mental-health program to address homelessness and mental illness on the streets and push for more psychiatric beds for those who need them.
- Work with the state to set up spot checks to stop illegal guns from entering the city.
- Get more cops on the streets by reducing NYPD desk jobs.
- Use facial-recognition technology and other “new tools that can spot those carrying weapons.”
Other measures — beefing up “violence interrupters,” addressing “root causes,” etc. — are likely necessary to guard his left flank, not that progressives won’t fight him tooth and nail on much of his agenda.
Adams is breaking decisively from the de Blasio approach, which was to do nothing but blame COVID, the courts and Washington. The new mayor’s background as a former cop has certainly informed his thinking in ways that could make a real difference.
Monday’s blueprint, of course, was just a start: Convincing state lawmakers to do the right thing won’t be easy. Pressure is on Gov. Kathy Hochul to back him to the hilt. Adams must also deal with prosecutors, like Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, who actively oppose locking up bad guys.
The mayor also left out some steps that can help, like strong-arming City Council members to remove some of the handcuffs they’ve placed on cops and to re-criminalize low-level offenses so he can restore Broken Windows policing.
Adams himself warns his plan won’t “end our crisis of gun violence overnight.” Yet his message was nonetheless promising.
“I’m ready for the battle,” he assured the city. Amid shocking bloodshed almost daily now, New Yorkers will be pinning their hopes on him.
