For yet another time in his short mayoralty, Mayor Eric Adams had to address crime in the city last weekend.
“And as we do the intervention of public safety, we need to do the prevention,” Adams said on Saturday.
Compared to the same weekend last year, shooting incidents went from 11 to 14, and shooting victims went from 14 to 19.
Adding to that gun violence, a teenager died after being stabbed at a Harlem subway station on Saturday afternoon.
With overall crime up 31%, New Yorkers see how their city is not as safe as it was before the pandemic.
A former NYPD captain, Adams has been a steady supporter of his Police Department.
“I will support my police and we’ll make our city a safe city,” he said at a speech marking his first 100 days in office.
On Sunday, Adams defended the actions of officers who, in two separate incidents, killed two people who were allegedly carrying guns. He asked for the speedy release of body camera footage.
“I stopped by the 88 to see that officer and really thanked him, when I looked at that body cam footage, it was unbelievable,” the mayor said.
Last week, Adams also took the side of a Manhattan bodega worker charged with second-degree murder.
In surveillance video, bodega worker José Alba is seen stabbing a man who appears to be attacking him behind the counter.
“My heart goes out for that hard-working honest New Yorker that was doing his job in his place of business,” Adams said.
The mayor has routinely blamed the criminal justice system for the spike in crime, but has stopped short of criticizing Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who’s become a target for conservatives. Adams and Bragg privately spoke last week and discussed the basic facts of Alba’s case.
A group of bodega owners will be meeting with the district attorney to ask him to drop the charges.