NEW YORK — New York City mayoral candidate and current Brooklyn Borough President spoke once again with the PIX11 Morning News on Monday, addressing some of the biggest issues the city is facing as the pandemic continues.
Ongoing surge in gun violence
After a bloody weekend in city saw at least 26 people shot, Adams said he believes The NYPD can do more to curb shootings.
“I’m a little disappointed that my fellow candidates are ignoring this increase in gun violence,” Adams told Dan Mannarino.
Adams said he thinks there needs to be an increase in plainclothes officers in areas where gun violence is consistently a problem.
He also believes more should be done to stop the flow of guns into the communities, like more bag checks at places like the Port Authority.
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Police reform and tensions
“The magic word is ‘trust,” said Adams, who previously spent over two decades with the transit police and NYPD.
The local leader believes trust needs to be rebuilt between communities and the police in a multitude of ways, including diversifying the police force.
Additionally, Adams said local community leaders should be able to interview their precinct commanders and review their records.
Transit crime
Adams agrees with calls for more police to be sent down into the subway system amid a rise in crime.
He said they should look at how officers are deployed and spread them out more, which could help riders feel safer.
Plans to win over undecided voters
“We believe we are in the right place,” Adams said with a smile, after explaining he plans to keep his message consistent, while getting it out to a wider audience in new ways in the coming days.
He also believes the media coverage of front-runner Andrew Yang is a bit unfair.
“If we could just get the media to stop treating Andrew Yang like a celebrity,” Adams said, comparing Yang’s presence in the media to that of former President Donald Trump’s before his win in 2016.
