NEW YORK (PIX11) — Mayor Eric Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul have worked side by side on issues ranging from subway safety to pandemic recovery. However, the two Democrats currently have differing views on bail reform, and their differences on the issue have been in the public spotlight.
Adams recently said the State Legislature should hold a special session to tighten New York’s bail laws for repeat offenders. During a press briefing at 1 Police Plaza this week, the mayor said, “The numbers continue to trend in the wrong direction, continue to show that these repeated offenders are coming out.”
On Wednesday, Hochul pushed back against calls to change the state’s bail laws. “It’s hard to put a correlation between crime and the bail law when crime is up all over the country,” Hochul said.
Changes to New York’s bail laws were passed in April and implemented in May.
“We added more crimes back into consideration that had been removed, particularly gun crimes, repeat offenders, major thefts, hate crimes,” Hochul said. “Let’s see whether or not the system can start functioning the way we intended when we passed these laws.”
