Bronx gun violence becomes hot topic on NYC mayoral campaign trail. Here's what the candidates are saying.
Mayor Eric Adams was in the Bronx on Thursday afternoon, meeting with community leaders following a dramatic surge in gun violence.
On Tuesday alone, at least four people were shot in under eight hours.
More police are heading to the Bronx
As Adams and NYPD officials try to stem the tide of bloodshed, it's fair to say that the borough's residents will be seeing many more police officers in their neighborhoods. It's a headache not only for a sitting mayor but for a man hoping to convince New Yorkers he should be reelected.
Adams walked though Haffen Park, the site of a deadly shooting over the weekend in which five people were wounded, including a 17-year-old girl who was shot in the back of the head while trying to get away.
The mayor was accompanied by violence interrupters and community leaders before announcing new efforts to curb the violence, including:
- The deployment of 1,000 NYPD officers
- Additional patrols, including in some of the parks
- Expanded hours for the summer violence zones
- Stepped-up patrols by public safety and neighborhood safety teams
"We're going to ensure that they're in the hotspots. We're going to be on the ground to talk with and partner with our crisis management team so they can identify some of the gang rivalries," Adams said. "We're going to reach out to the notable gang members, the shooters, the trigger-pullers, and see if we can sit down around the table and talk about how do we end this violence."
Community organizations say they're doing their part, too, and can be a resource for people who don't feel comfortable going to police.
"Someone walked or burst into our office or a meeting, and they said, if you don't get him, X, Y and Z is going to happen," said Tara Brown-Arnell, with Bronx Connect.
While activists say they believe the work they are doing is working, Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson says it should be all hands on deck with the community working together.
"Everyone has a responsibility. You don't need a title in front of your name to call 911," she said.
"The Bronx is turning into the O.K. Corral"
The actions come as the mayor is not only facing community outrage but increased pressure from his political opponents.
"Five shootings in the Bronx during the month of August. I was speaking to an elected official in the Bronx yesterday, and he said the Bronx is turning into the O.K. Corral for us," former Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.
"Yesterday, I spent my day in the Bronx because the blood is flowing there," Republican Curtis Sliwa said. "The mayor should have been here yesterday, along with the police commissioner, promising that they would flood this sector with additional police officers and not choosing to do that. The governor has at her beck and call National Guardsmen. She's already put a thousand in the subways."
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Cuomo called for hiring more police officers, and so did Sliwa, who was in Harlem.
"We need to take action. We need 5,000 additional cops," Cuomo said.
"Listen to the police of the 23rd Precinct. We are 50 men and women short. We cannot put out foot patrols. We cannot have out sector patrols," Sliwa said.
Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani also offered his two cents.
"My vision for public safety is the one that I have shared over the course of this campaign. It's one that will not depopulate the police. It's the one that will work with police officers to create true public safety," Mamdani said.
The assemblyman's plan would keep the same level of cops the city has now, but also create a Department of Community Safety that would focus on expanding violence interrupter programs and civilian mental health teams to respond to 911 calls.
