Accused soft-on-crime Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg conceded Tuesday that even his own Harlem neighborhood is in “crisis” amid a surge in street violence.
The beleaguered district attorney recounted how he attended two anti-gun rallies in Upper Manhattan over the weekend — and that there were shootings apparently around the same time or shortly after each.
“I still live in Harlem, in the upper part of the borough, which is really in the middle of a crisis,” Bragg said during a virtual talk with the nonprofit Coro New York Leadership Center in Lower Manhattan.
“I was at an anti-gun rally on Saturday [in Harlem], and then I left and found out that a few blocks away at almost the exact time, there was another shooting,” said the prosecutor, who has drawn widespread outrage over his aggressively progressive policies.
“And then I was at an anti-gun rally [in Washington Heights] on Sunday, and then … I learned that on my way to church after that rally, there was another shooting. So we’re really in crisis,” Bragg said.
His admission comes the day after The Post reported on local outrage over the Manhattan neighborhood’s recent series of high-profile crimes, which have included the shooting deaths of NYPD cops Jason Rivera and Wilbert Mora.
Alvin Bragg recounted how he attended two anti-gun rallies over the weekend, only to find out shootings happened during or directly after each rally. ZoomOver the weekend, an off-duty cop also was shot and wounded at a local housing project — and Harlem residents said they are terrified and furious at the violence.
Crime is up nearly 30 percent in Harlem’s five police precincts so far this year compared to the same period last year. But even that spike in crime lags behind the citywide figure of 41 percent over last year — and the 39 percent jump in the Bronx under the watch of tough-on-crime DA Darcel Clark.
Bragg said Tuesday that, despite the controversy dogging his office, he has made it “my No. 1 priority” to get more guns off the streets.
A bullet hole in an MTA bus window following a shooting in Harlem. Gabriella Bass
A member of the Broad Day Shooters street gang was reportedly shot in the chest. Citizen
A man was brutally beaten by three people at 116th Street and First Avenue.
Last month, Bragg tapped a top prosecutor to serve as a gun violence prevention czar, the first time that post has existed at the Manhattan DA’s Office.
“So, that’s really at the top of our list, are guns, meeting the moment, and I think that’s a core law enforcement issue,” he said. “But also, the reason I was out at those rallies is that’s also our civic-minded groups.
“So, a number of groups out there on the ground that are helping us and so we can work in partnership with that,” Bragg added. “Not just law enforcement and the DA and the NYPD, but also the civic groups really stepping up.”
Police at the scene where off-duty cop Robert Manley was shot.
An officer investigates the scene where Officer Jason Rivera and Officer Wilbert Mora were shot. Yuki Iwamura/AP
Police flood the streets during the funeral for Officer Wilbert Mora. Paul MartinkaShortly after taking office in January, Bragg issued a memo to his prosecutors ordering them to stop seeking prison time for scores of criminals and to downgrade felony charges in cases including many armed robberies and drug dealing.
He ended up reversing several of his most controversial stances amid outcry.






