In 2018, 289 people were killed in New York City — the lowest murder rate in 50 years. Last year, the number was 485. Two hundred more lives taken annually — and a huge majority of them were African American or Hispanic men.
Albany doesn’t care.
Obsessed with closing all jails and freeing all prisoners, the liberal leaders of the Assembly and Senate reject simple, common-sense measures that would help the justice system crack down on guns and gangs — saving the lives of the people they claim to want to help.
Mayor Adams has asked his fellow Democrats in the Legislature to help him fight crime by making some basic fixes to the no-bail and Raise the Age laws: Give judges the power to jail clearly dangerous perps, and let older teens caught with a gun be tried in criminal, not family, court, if it’s a repeat offense.
Nothing about this is radical or discriminatory — but so far, Albany leaders say they won’t.
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Gov. Hochul all insist these laws don’t need fixing. They need to hear that you think otherwise.
Below are the key legislators who need to get on board. Support the mayor: Call them, e-mail them — tell them what you think. Fix this now!
Assembly
CARL HEASTIE (D-Bronx)
Speaker
518-455-3791
CRYSTAL PEOPLES-STOKES (D-Buffalo)
Majority Leader
518-455-5005
JEFFRION AUBRY (D-Queens)
Speaker Pro Tempore
518-455-4561
JEFFREY DINOWITZ (D-Bronx)
Chair, Codes Committee
518-455-5965
DAVID WEPRIN (D-Queens)
Chair, Correction
518-455-5806
CHARLES D. LAVINE (D-Glen Cove)
Chair, Judiciary Committee
518-455-5456
Senate
ANDREA STEWART-COUSINS (D-W’chester)
Majority Leader
518-455-2715
MICHAEL GIANARIS (D-Queens)
Deputy Majority Leader
518-455-3486
JAMAAL T. BAILEY (D-Bronx)
Chair, Codes Committee
518-455-2061
JULIA SALAZAR (D-Brooklyn)
Chair, Crime and Correction Committee
518-455-2177
BRAD HOYLMAN (D-Manhattan)
Chair, Judiciary Committee
518-455-2451