President Joe Biden will visit New York next week for a meeting with Mayor Eric Adams as New York City ramps up its battle against gun violence, the White House announced Wednesday.
The commander-in-chief will come to the Big Apple next Thursday, Feb. 3, and talk with Mayor Adams about his administration’s “comprehensive strategy to combat gun crime,” according to the White House.
That effort, the Biden administration said, “includes historic levels of funding for cities and states to put more cops on the beat and invest in community violence prevention and intervention programs, as well as stepped up federal law enforcement efforts against illegal gun traffickers.”
“I look forward to welcoming President Biden to New York City next week and sitting down to discuss how we can work collaboratively to end the scourge of gun violence we are seeing on New York City streets,” Mayor Adams said in a statement Wednesday afternoon. “The sea of violence comes from many rivers, and that’s why my ‘Blueprint to End Gun Violence in New York City’ seeks to dam every river that feeds this greater crisis. Public safety is my administration’s highest priority, and we welcome the opportunity to display to President Biden how federal and local governments can coordinate and support each other in this fight to keep New Yorkers safe.”
Biden’s meeting will occur two days after the city lays to rest Police Officer Wilbert Mora, the second officer to die in last Friday’s shooting in Harlem. Mora’s partner, Police Officer Jason Rivera, succumbed to his injuries on Jan. 21, hours after they were shot while responding to a reported domestic disturbance; Rivera’s funeral is this Friday, Jan. 28.
The double police homicide sparked anger and outrage from Adams, Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell and others across the city. On Monday, the mayor unveiled a comprehensive gun violence action plan focused on deploying additional police officers to areas hardest hit by gun violence; expanding mental health intervention programs and youth support initiatives; and seeking state legal changes to ensure the most violent felons in the city are kept off the streets longer.
President Biden and Mayor Adams had spoken to each other in a Jan. 24 phone call following the Harlem shooting, during which the president offered support for Adams’ plan and the city.
“He expressed his firm support for Mayor Adams’ efforts to combat gun violence and violent crime,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said during her Jan. 25 briefing. “During the phone call, the president also reiterated his commitment to serve as a strong federal partner for New York City and other communities grappling with the increasing gun crime we’ve seen over the past two years.”
Last summer, the Department of Justice established gun violence strike forces in New York and other cities hit hard by gun crime. To date, Psaki noted Tuesday, the strike forces have launched over 350 investigations nationwide, leading to more than 2,000 guns being taken off the streets.
