Adams Announces Policies to Stem Gun Violence

Mayor Eric Adams released a series of policy proposals Monday, aimed at easing the surge of gun violence in New York City.

“Gun violence is a public health crisis that continues to threaten every corner of our city,” Adams said at a press conference. “Public safety is my administration’s highest priority, which is why we will remove guns from our streets, protect our communities, and create a safe, prosperous and just city for all New Yorkers.”

The Blueprint to End Gun Violence would fund violence prevention and intervention programs such as mental health resources, aid for the homeless, and expand programs that would give young people vulnerable to gangs access to employment, education, and social programing.

A dedicated anti-gun violence coordinator would be placed in every city agency to act as a liaison between the agencies, the NYPD, the Crisis Management teams, and City Hall.

Police public safety units would be expanded to include new neighborhood safety teams to combat gun violence, and would be dispatched more often to the most vulnerable neighborhoods.

“We will have boots on the ground on every block,” Adams vowed.

The Gun Violence Suppression Division, a specialized unit within the Detectives Bureau, will be expanded and will work with state and federal authorities to stem the flow of illegal guns smuggled into the city.

Adams also called for changing state bail reforms enacted in 2019 that have been blamed by police officials and others for surging crime.

“We will not surrender our city to the violent few. We are not going to go back to the bad old days,” Adams said.  “We are going to get trigger pullers off the streets and guns out of their hands.”

The announcement came days after a man with an illegal gun killed one police officer and severely wounded another during a call for a domestic dispute in Harlem.

Officer Jason Rivera, 22, was killed, and his partner, Officer Wilbert Mora, 27, was critically injured. A rookie officer with them managed to shoot back and injure Lashawn McNeil, 47. Family members said McNeil, who had a criminal record, suffered from mental illness.

McNeil succumbed to his injuries on Monday afternoon.