Source: Anadolu Agency / Getty
New York’s new mayor Eric Adams is stuck on bringing back a version of broken windows policing. Less than a month into his administration, Adams continues to draw ire for his tough-on-crime approach and homage to a system of policing that failed under past mayors. Under Mayors Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg, the tough-on-crime act drew city-wide objections and protests.
Speaking with Anderson Cooper regarding the call for defunding police and police reforms and Adams keep insisting that people attempting to improve policing aren’t concerned with public safety when the opposite is true. Journalists like Cooper need to ask the mayor for the evidence that shows police effectively combatting gun violence and keeping communities safe.
We need to tweak some of the legislation that we have witnessed to take into account the public safety aspect of it. And then we can’t have cities Anderson where people are walking into stores taking off the shelves whatever they want without paying and then selling it on on on the Internet because of organized crime methods.
Reporting by The Guardian indicated that the smash and grab incidents in California were possibly overstated.
“But despite their high profile nature, experts say there is little evidence to suggest the robberies point to a wider retail theft crisis, and that some law enforcement and industry groups are overstating the problem,” read the article.
The outlet also found that claims of “organized crime” being behind the thefts were hard to verify because authorities used different definitions of the phrase.
Previously a Republican, the former police captain previously served as a New York state senator and Brooklyn Borough President. Civil rights attorney Scott Hechinger was among the many people challenging the distressing clip from the new mayor.
“Erosion of American cities.” NYC Mayor Eric Adams *is* Donald Trump,” Hechinger tweeted. “Perhaps more dangerous bc he claims to be “Progressive,” & “Liberals” love him. He’s doing so much immense harm to do many people & will do so much more unless his fascism is called out. Repeatedly. Shut down.”
“Erosion of American cities.” NYC Mayor Eric Adams *is* Donald Trump. Perhaps more dangerous bc he claims to be “Progressive,” & “Liberals” love him. He’s doing so much immense harm to do many people & will do so much more unless his fascism is called out. Repeatedly. Shut down. https://t.co/EqiMNwkUap
— Scott Hechinger (@ScottHech) February 5, 2022
In his remarks, Adams continues to target homeless people or have mental health illnesses as a problem to get rid of versus community members in need. The issues Adams names need holistic responses to address the needs of all New Yorkers and not just the comfort of a select few.
In December, the New York Times reported that the city had a 9.4 percent unemployment rate that dropped because people left the labor force. Coupled with a high cost of living, New York should be putting resources into helping residents thrive, not further criminalizing their existence.
Reporting by “The City” revealed an estimated 4,000 residents sleep on the street on a given night. An eviction moratorium also just expired in the city last month.
As much as people complain about misinformation and disinformation, Adams’s rhetoric and governance approach fall within the same context. Being Black doesn’t make Adams less dangerous than his predecessors or even the former president. In some ways, his proximity to our communities and civil rights organizations like the National Action Network (NAN) makes him more dangerous.
The latest remarks come weeks after Adams announced he was reinstating a controversial NYPD unit that had been previously disbanded.
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