Mayor Adams invites judges, DAs, police, attorneys, advocates to weekend public safety and crime summit
NEW YORK -- Mayor Eric Adams is convening a high-level crime summit this weekend to identify solutions that preserve public safety and justice.
The mayor is bringing judges, district attorneys, cops, defense attorneys and advocates together for a frank discussion of what needs to be done, CBS2's Marcia Kramer reported Friday.
In a scene some say happens all to frequently in New York City, police at the 72nd Street subway station investigated yet another stabbing incident.
A man and woman were riding a northbound 2 train when an unknown man got into a fight with them. According to police, he pulled out a sharp object and stabbed the man in the finger and leg. The victim's friend pulled out pepper spray to fight off the attacker.
"The fact that this woman found it in her will to break up a fight ... I have so much admiration and respect for her," said Dana Steiner, a subway rider.
Friday afternoon, a man got out of the way just in time after being pushed onto the tracks at the Myrtle-Wyckoff L train station in Bushwick.
The persistent crime on the subways, despite an increase in cops patrolling underground, is one reason Adams has decided to call a two-day crime summit. Adams says, despite an increase in arrests and a reduction in gun crimes, there's apparently also a safety perception gap.
"How do we feel? New Yorkers must feel safe and we must deal with the actual crimes at the same time, and that's what I'm saying, that until New Yorkers are feeling safe, we're not going to be successful," said Adams.
According to the latest crime stats, transit crimes are up 41 percent since this time last year and subway arrests are up 47 percent since the start of the year. But so is crime. The index crimes - murder, rape, robbery, assault, burglary and grand larceny - are up more than 41 percent so far in 2022 and were up nearly 47 percent last week.
Crimes above ground are up 31 percent year to date, but were only up 2.2 percent last week.
Watch Marcia Kramer's report
As CBS2's Alecia Reid reports, shots were fired Friday right in front of Dutch Kills Playground in Astoria.
"It was like bang bang, bang bang, like four or five," witness Marian Dodolcea said.
Families were in the park with their children when witnesses say a group of teenagers opened fire.
"Parents and kids, they were just running that way," Astoria resident Dan Frank said.
"It's a horrific thing. I'm a father. Can you imagine what would happen? It makes me cry just thinking about it," Astoria resident Peter Weisman said.
Even though shootings are down 14 percent since last year, some New Yorkers say they are on edge.
"That was a little chilling to hear those shots," Frank said.
"It's like, you don't want to raise your kids here. Like, I'm ready to leave," Astoria resident Erica Concepcion said.
Adams says viable solutions to keep New Yorkers safe are critical.
"The bottlenecking of our system, that system is allowing people who are violent to remain on our streets far too long," he said.
Adams is inviting the entire criminal justice establishment to participate in the summit. He's hoping to find common ground solutions from people on different sides of the issue.
"Even those who criticize our policies will be there, those who are in support. We must approach this in a unified way to deal with the mental health issues that people are facing," said Adams.
This is an important moment for Adams. He ran on a platform of making the streets safe and his pleas for the legislature to pass criminal justice reforms have so far been ignored. He's hoping a summit that brings divergent views together might help break the logjam in Albany.