Mayor Bill de Blasio on Monday offered a hefty dose of frustration but no new ideas to combat the current gun violence surge, which he acknowledged will likely continue for the rest of the year.
Hizzoner’s remarks came a little over a day after the Big Apple was shocked by the murder of a 10-year-old boy in Queens in an apparent dispute over parking that escalated into gunplay.
“We are doing everything we can here in this city, but we need help,” de Blasio said, throwing up his hands during his daily virtual press conference. “We need help from the federal government, we need help from the state government.”
“It’s not acceptable, it has to stop. It has to stop. It’s going to take … so much work, because it has to stop, because this is not a way for us to live.”
The mayor was joined by an equally frustrated Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark, but city Police Commissioner Dermot Shea was again absent from the public safety-heavy press briefing.
De Blasio offered little in the way of new ideas to stem the crisis over shootings, which are up 163 percent over the last two years. Between May 3 and May 30, the city saw 150 shootings, compared to 57 in 2019 and 91 in 2020, according to NYPD data — a 163 percent increase over two years.
Hizzoner once again touted the 28 percent increase in gun seizures by the NYPD as the epidemic of trigger play continues despite that. He reiterated his months-old prescription for getting epidemic of gunfire under control, including putting 1,400 new-graduated cops on the beat, adding new funding for community groups that work with teens and young adults to stop gang violence and expanding the city’s high-tech gunfire monitoring system, known as ShotSpotter.
Instead, he put the onus on Washington and Albany to back new proposals for gun control and additional services for parolees. — but said nothing of consequence about how to get guns off the street. He made the remarks even though there is also no indication that the Queens murder of the boy has anything to do with parolees or recidivism.
And he acknowledged that his current course of action would likely be unable to staunch the bloodshed this summer.
“For the rest of the year, we’re going to be dealing with a major challenge,” de Blasio admitted.
Speaking at a press conference later Monday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo dismissed de Blasio’s criticism of the state’s action on parolees and recidivists, noting he’s often been unpopular in the five boroughs — and said he, too, was “not thrilled” with his handling of crime in the Big Apple.
“As far as the mayor is concerned, and you know what I think about him,” Cuomo chided. “I’m just with the majority of New Yorkers. I’m a Queens boy. So I’m with Queens boys and the Bronx boys and the Manhattan women. Not thrilled.”
The third-term Democratic governor, who has been beset by myriad controversies and scandals the past year, also blasted the mayor’s handling of crime and homelessness, claiming the Big Apple’s economy won’t recover if the next mayor doesn’t get the two problems under control.
“As a voter, I’m saying, focus on two issues, crime, homelessness. The economy will come back if it’s not being stopped by crime, and quality of life,” Cuomo said.
“Crime, quality of life, homeless is an artificial ceiling, where people say: I’m not going to visit New York. They’re people getting shot all over the place. I’m not going to invest in my small business. I’m worried about crime. I’m not going to buy an apartment in that neighborhood. There’s homeless people on the street corner who are throwing rocks. It has to be addressed.”
On Saturday, Justin Wallace was shot dead by a man who the child’s father suspects fired the shots over a yearlong dispute over a shared Far Rockaway driveway. The killer walked on the sidewalk in front of a home on Beach 45th Street about 9:30 p.m. on Saturday and fired eight rounds at the house, shocking video of the shooting shows.
“It was just the most painful thing. It’s horrible,” said de Blasio. “A 10-year-old child should be alive today, should be in school right now, killed by a cowardly horrible human being who fired shots just randomly into a home.
“The pain that Justin’s parents are feeling right now, no parent should ever go through that.”
Additional reporting by Bernadette Hogan
Article From & Read More ( De Blasio offers no solution to gun violence after shooting of Queens boy - New York Post )https://ift.tt/3w28kTP
Entertainment
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "De Blasio offers no solution to gun violence after shooting of Queens boy - New York Post"
Post a Comment