Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn: Mayor Eric Adams held his first community forum on public safety Wednesday night. He spoke to residents, activists, and leaders in Downtown Brooklyn. “We all agree that this gun violence is taking too many family members. We can’t live in a city where 50 people are shot. We can’t live in a city where young people pick up a gun faster than they can get an iPad,” Adams said.
Seated at every table were a community group, violence disrupters, and a high-ranking NYPD official sitting side by side. Some group conversations were energetic, some included tears. It was a collaboration of stakeholders not seen during prior administrations.
It’s the first of a series of what City Hall has dubbed “community conversations on public safety.” It was held at the Boys and Girls High School in Brooklyn. One person asked: “How much of the budget can be used for the betterment of our people knowing that one billion dollars is for the police and yet one million is for job training programs?”
Mayor Adams said, “The police budget remained flat. We can’t live in a city where young people pick up a gun faster than they can get an iPad.”
It was almost like watching Mayor Adams’ version of Mayor Bloomberg’s 311. “We need to ask you what you need from us. And that’s why we’re here,” NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said.
