Tuesday marks three weeks until the June 22 Democratic primary, and three of the frontrunners remained busy courting voters on Memorial Day Monday as most New Yorkers enjoyed the holiday.
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams spoke out against a recent spate of violence in the city, underscoring his support of robust law enforcement and public safety initiatives to stop crime across the five boroughs.
Adams cited a number of violent incidents from the holiday weekend — including the violent robbery of a 64-year-old man at a Midtown subway station caught on camera; and a fatal stabbing Friday morning at a Lower East Side skatepark.
“This is unacceptable. Every New Yorker deserves to feel safe in our city. Public safety is the key to prosperity. We are now just days away from the start of the summer, which historically means that we will see a rise in crime — and we are already suffering from massive increases in violent incidents,” Adams said. “We need to get a handle on the crime and violence we are seeing now through immediate interventions. I am calling on the city, once again, to adopt my plan to battle crime before the start of summer. We cannot live in a city where New Yorkers are afraid to take the subway and our children are afraid to go to skateparks and our city parks are forced to close out of fear of violence.”
Adams’ plan includes, among other initiatives, reinstating the NYPD Anti-Crime Units dissolved last year and increasing the department’s many efforts to battle gun crime and get illegal firearms off the streets.
Meanwhile, former Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia unveiled on Memorial Day her plan to increase support for the 210,000 veterans who call the five boroughs home.
“Our veterans have sacrificed for all of us – now it is up to us to step up to serve them. It is shameful that of the hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who have answered the call to serve, so many live below the poverty line, unable to afford housing or provide for their families,” Garcia said. “The statistics point to a government that simply does not function or serve the people as intended. I’m running for mayor to right the ship and actually make our City work for New Yorkers, particularly our most vulnerable. That work must and will start with our veterans and their families.”
Garcia’s veterans plan includes boosting access to health care coverage, increasing veteran access to food assistance, ensuring greater affordable housing opportunities and creating a pathway for veterans to secure good-paying city jobs through civil service.
Entrepreneur Andrew Yang also tried to bolster his mayoral election hopes by releasing on Monday a 30-second television ad with some star power.
Actor and comedian John Leguizamo provided the narration, in Spanish, in support of Yang’s candidacy for mayor. Leguizamo highlights a number of Yang’s election promises including providing cash payments to struggling New Yorkers and establishing a path for more businesses to reopen safely.
Yang noted that he’s received support from a number of Latino leaders across the city, including Congressman Ritchie Torres, Brooklyn City Council Member Carlos Menchaca and President of the Freelancers Union Rafael Espinal.
