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Adams won’t give up on bail reform, putting pressure on Hochul


Hours before Mayor Eric Adams held a news conference on Wednesday to argue that a “crazy, broken system” allows repeat offenders to continue to be arrested and then released without In need of bail in New York City, Governor Kathy Hochul offered something about a pre-emptive strike.

Four months ago, The Governor and State Legislature tightened New York’s bail laws for the second time in three years, making more criminals eligible for bail and giving judges more discretion to consider both the seriousness of the case and the defendant’s recidivism when placing bail.

But the mayor, unhappy with the city’s crime rate, once again put the ball back on his court.

At her own press conference, the governor, clearly furious, introduced recent bail law amendments. “I’m not sure why people are intentionally ignoring this,” she said. “But people are out there and, you know, people trying to do political calculations based on this.”

She did not mention Mr. Adams, a Democrat, or, for that matter, her Republican opponent in November, Representative Lee Zeldin. But both Mr. Adams and Mr. Zeldin criticized the governor for the state’s approach to bail and made similar statements about how bail laws have affected crime rates.

Mr. Adams, who has relied heavily on his mayoral background on reducing crime, even used physical props on Wednesday to illustrate his point. He made his remarks alongside posters detailing the crimes of individuals he said were some of the city’s worst repeat offenders. (Mr Adams said his attorneys had prohibited him from disclosing the names of individuals.)

The mayor and his police officials also released a series of statistics that they say demonstrate the severity of the problem.

“Our recidivism rate has skyrocketed,” Mr. Adams said. “Look at the actual numbers. In 2022, 25% of the 1,494 people arrested for theft committed another felony within 60 days.”

“However, in 2017, only 7.7% went on to commit another crime,” he added.

In 2019, State legislators rewrote bail laws so that few people awaiting trial landed behind bars because they could not afford to apply for bail. Law enforcement agencies have fiercely fought the law, whose enforcement was introduced at the beginning of the pandemic, in which gun crime increased in cities around the country.

After a wave of criticismLawmakers agreed on a series of changes in 2020, adding two dozen more crimes to the list of serious offenses for which a judge can apply bail.

The second amendment to the bail law was introduced earlier this year, after Mr. Adams requested further changes, angering many lawmakers.

However, Mr. Adams said tougher amendments were still needed. He called on the state to allow judges to regularly consider the dangers of bail decisions, and to have some minors’ cases heard in criminal court instead of family court.

He insisted on Wednesday that he was not trying to target the governor, his ostensibly political ally, whom he authentication less than two months ago. Likewise, Ms. Hochul has chosen to highlight the programs she and the mayor have worked on, and how they are “in sync”.

The mayor and governor have made a point of projecting political harmony, a new tone after years of public hostility between their predecessors, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio.

But the rise in crime and Mr. Adams’ laser-like focus on the issue threaten to strain their relationship.

Murders and shootings decreased slightly this year, but Major crime including theft has increased more than 35 percent.

Mr. Adams, a former police captain, sometimes turn to exaggeration to describe situations. In May, he said he had never seen crime at these levels, despite having served as a police officer in the 1980s, when crime was much higher. For example, today’s homicide rate is close to par with 2009, when Michael R. Bloomberg was mayor.

But Mr. Adams ran on the premise that he would bring down crime, and his political imperatives threatened conflict with Ms. Hochul, who has every incentive to project herself as the absolute control of the situation. Figure.

Legislative leaders in Albany were startled by Mr. Adam’s recent comments. Last week, when a reporter asked the mayor if he wanted a special session to address bail reform, and the mayor replied affirmatively, Michael Gianaris, deputy majority leader in the Senate , compared him to Republicans.

Mr Gianaris said: “Sadly, Mayor Adams has joined the ranks of right-wingers who are grossly disregarding this issue. “He should focus less on moving away from his own responsibility for higher crime and more on taking steps that will actually make New York safer.”

When Mr. Adams urged a second wave of law changes earlier this year, Ms. Hochul accepted her own reasons, using considerable political power to do so. The effort was met with fierce opposition in the Legislature, with one congressman going on a hunger strike to protest the Hochul plan.

And while Mrs. Hochul eventually succeeded in making the change successful, the effort remained a stain in her relationship with the Legislature.

Among other things, 2022 Amendment makes more criminals eligible for bail. The new changes, however, did not set the dangerous standard Mr. Adams now imposes, which criminal justice advocates say has racist tendencies.

Mr. Adams’ decision to push for more change has created an opportunity for Mr. Zeldin, who last week hold a press conference to voice support for Mr. Adams’ calls for a special session to address the issue of bail reform.

Mr Zeldin said: “I believe that judges should have the power to weigh up the danger and risk of flying, the criminal record and the seriousness of the offence, for other offences.

A poll this week showed Ms Hochul 14 points ahead of Mr Zeldin – “an early but certainly not insurmountable lead,” according to a pollster at the University of Siena.

The mayor on Wednesday was heartbroken to emphasize that he and Mr. Zeldin were not, in fact, part of the party.

Mr Adams said of Mr Zeldin: “We had to break a hip, because he obviously didn’t understand. “He voted against all responsible gun laws in Congress.”

The Legal Aid Association, the main legal provider to New York’s poor, said in a statement Wednesday that the Adams administration is trying to “pick up a handful of cases to mislead New Yorkers.” York and convince them that bail reform is responsible for all social ills. “

Ms. Hochul was more cautious in her criticism, focusing instead on recent amendments to bail laws. She said the changes have given judges and district attorneys “the tools they need” to improve public safety and suggested that people who don’t use them should answer voters.

“I believe in accountability at all levels,” she said. “And you know, people can’t just say they don’t have something when they have it.”

Jonah E. Bromwich contribution report.



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