Mayor Adams' Statement on Passage of City Council Bills that Will Make New York City Less Safe

January 30, 2024

NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams today released the following statement after the New York City Council’s votes to override the mayor’s vetoes of Intros. 586-A and 549-A, which would make the city’s streets and jails less safe. The mayor vetoed both bills earlier this month.

“When our administration entered office two years ago, crime was up, and confidence was down across the city. During our first month in office, in one week alone, Detectives Jason Rivera and Wilbert Mora were murdered, multiple officers were victims of gun violence, and an 11-month-old baby was shot in the head.

“Today, New York remains the safest big city in America — and we are getting safer. In 2023, murders were down 12 percent, and shootings were down 25 percent. The Preliminary Mayor’s Management Report will show today that crime was down 3 percent across the major seven categories for the first four months of this fiscal year, and we have continued that trend into the first calendar month of this year. We have also meaningfully improved the conditions in a jail system that was on the brink of collapse two years ago. But the City Council’s votes today may end up undermining all that progress.

“These bills will make New Yorkers less safe on the streets, while police officers are forced to fill out additional paperwork rather than focus on helping New Yorkers and strengthening community bonds. Additionally, it will make staff in our jails and those in our custody less safe by impairing our ability to hold those who commit violent acts accountable.

“From our law enforcement officers and district attorneys to our faith leaders, from the business community to the editorial boards, and from the Federal Monitor to parents like Yanely Henriquez – who lost her daughter Angellyh to gun violence nearly two years ago – New Yorkers have been clear that they want their officers on the streets and their correction staff to come home to their families at night.
“I have always believed that public safety and justice go hand in hand, and I have fought for both throughout my entire career. I share the City Council’s goal of increasing transparency in government, and our administration has remained at the table to negotiate in good faith throughout this entire process to achieve that mission. But the answer is not to compromise public safety or justice for the victims of violence.
“With these bills set to become law, I remain willing to partner with my colleagues in the City Council to address New Yorkers’ concerns in the period leading up to implementation.”