“The Blueprint to End Gun Violence” front and center for Mayor Eric Adams

Feb 03, 2022

Shannon Longworth Reporter

By Shannon Longworth (Reporter), Dan Reardon (Editor)

In the first month of his term, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced his own “Blueprint to End Gun Violence,” which includes strategies like increasing the number of officers on patrol and expanding partnerships to work more closely with federal and state law enforcement. Rising gun violence has brought more attention to Adams’ plan and brought more urgency to high-profile meetings, like one with President Joe Biden.

Adams’ plan also brings back controversial anti-crime units under the new name “Neighborhood Safety Teams.” Public concern regarding previous iterations of these units stemmed from their involvement in the deaths of people like Amadou Diallo and Eric Garner. According to Adams’s blueprint, “Neighborhood Safety Teams” will be different, as “the city will hold listening tours in key neighborhoods, truly understanding the challenges of past anti-crime units.”

LONGWORTH: FIVE NYPD OFFICERS SHOT—AND TWO DEAD IN THE FIRST MONTH OF 2022.

EACH BULLET BUILDS PRESSURE ON THE MAN PROMISING TO CONTROL CRIME IN THE VERY CITY WHERE HE, HIMSELF, WAS ONCE A POLICE OFFICER.

ERIC ADAMS: “IT IS A PLAN FOR RIGHT NOW. GUN VIOLENCE IS A PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS. THERE IS NO TIME TO WAIT. WE MUST ACT.”

LONGWORTH: AS THE SECOND BLACK MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY, SWORN INTO OFFICE IN 2022, ERIC ADAMS IS JUST ONE NAME YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY.

JAY DEDAPPER: “HE IS FOCUSING ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY ON CRIME RIGHT NOW, AND THAT IS IN PART BECAUSE EVERY COUPLE OF DAYS, THERE IS SOME INSTANCE–SOME CRIME–THAT IS REALLY CAUSING A LOT OF PEOPLE TO PAY ATTENTION.”

LONGWORTH: ADAMS IS PRESENTING HIS PLAN TO CRACK DOWN ON GUN VIOLENCE BY REINSTATING–AND REBRANDING–THE NYPD’S PLAINCLOTHES UNIT. THAT’S CONTROVERSIAL BECAUSE PLAINCLOTHES OFFICERS WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE HIGH-PROFILE DEATHS OF AMADOU DIALLO AND ERIC GARNER.

BUT ADAMS SAYS THIS TIME’LL BE DIFFERENT.

ADAMS: EVERYONE IS GOING TO KEEP THEIR VIDEO CAMERAS ON. TOO MANY OFFICERS WERE TURNING OFF THEIR CAMERAS WHEN THEY HAD INTERACTIONS WITH CIVILIANS. THAT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN ANYMORE.

LONGWORTH: TO OVERSEE IT ALL, HE’S APPOINTED THE FIRST FEMALE POLICE COMMISSIONER THE CITY’S EVER SEEN: KEECHANT SEWELL.

NOW, CRIME’S BEEN A MAJOR CONCERN FOR MANY NEW YORK MAYORS. ADAMS ISN’T THE FIRST TO TRY AND CLEAN UP THE STREETS.

THE MOST RECENT, SUCCESSFUL EXAMPLE WAS RUDY GIULIANI, WHOSE “BROKEN WINDOWS” CAMPAIGN LOWERED CRIME RATES IN THE CITY DURING HIS RUN.

BUT UNDER ADAMS’S PREDECESSOR, BILL DE BLASIO, CRIME CLIMBED–PARTICULARLY DURING THE PANDEMIC.

ADAMS SAYS HE’S BRINGING CHANGE, CITING HIS 22 YEARS ON THE FORCE. BUT WILL HE REALLY?

WELL, THE FORMER REPUBLICAN–NOW DEMOCRAT–IS CERTAINLY POPULAR.

BOTH DEBLASIO AND BLOOMBERG BACKED HIM.

“THE CITY’S NEVER HAD A MAYOR WITH SO MUCH SWAGGER BEFORE. I MEAN, YA’LL SEE ME OUTSIDE WITH THE PEACOATS, THE SCARVES…THE SHINE ON THE BALDIE–”

DEDAPPER: ERIC ADAMS IS A BIG CHARACTER AND THE MEDIA LOVES CHARACTERS, NEW YORKERS LOVE CHARACTERS, WE’VE ELECTED A LOT OF MAYORS THAT’RE CHARACTERS. HE IS PLAYING INTO THAT, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, AFTER THAT FADES, AFTER THE CHARACTER PART FADES, YOU KNOW–THE ‘IT’S FUN TO HAVE HIM AROUND’–IT’S THE PERFORMANCE THAT DOES MATTER.”

LONGWORTH: ALL THIS, MAKING ERIC ADAMS JUST ONE NAME YOU NEED TO KNOW.