We are all saddened by the death of two New York City police officers, and we all watched as the Mayor of New York City, Eric Adams, stood in the Cathedral and praised the service of Officer Jason Rivera, being buried today.
Adams spoke of the love we all feel for the officer and the loss that it will bring to his family. He was followed by New York City Police Commissioner Ms. Keechant Sewell, a most impressive speaker, who echoed the sentiments of Mayor Adams and all of the officers assembled in attendance today.
Further, as a gesture of good will and as an overture to express the sympathy of all New Yorkers, Commissioner Sewell promoted the slain officer to the grade of Detective. She went on to say how NYC plans to tackle the dramatic increase in crime across the city in which five NYPD officers have been shot in the month of January. She received a standing ovation for her speech … one truly worthy of such ovations.
So, this begs the question: “What actions have actually been taken to change this situation?” The Adams Administration has been in office for 28 days now and much of what we hear from Mayor Adams sounds much like the empty words we heard from his predecessor. Police shootings, subway rapes, elders attacked on the streets in broad daylight … knife attacks, innocents pushed in front of subway trains, and drug deals going wild.
One can’t help but be reminded of Biden’s very first day in office – he opened a national border to all comers, took away an entire country’s energy independence, and committed the U.S. to the Paris Climate Accords – ALL IN ONE DAY … just to name a few of his actions … on his very first day! With the stroke of a pen, Bill DeBlasio shut down the largest city in America and kept NYC that way for over a year. So, back to the question: “What are Adams and his Police Commissioner waiting for?!” They have, at their command, some 35,000 officers in uniform … more officers than there are active-duty service members in the militaries of Norway or Finland or Switzerland!
So, maybe it’s time to take some real action! Not just words, but something substantive. IT’S TIME TO FLOOD THE ZONE!
If New York plans to recover the bright shiny reputation it enjoyed just a few short years ago, the mayor needs to get as many officers on the streets and in subways as he can and he needs to do that not for a day or two, but perhaps for as long as a year or better yet, however long it takes to get this crime wave under control! If the prosecutors refuse to cooperate, arrest them! Charge them with a crime and hire lawyers who can create crime from whole cloth … whatever it takes. Be the Mayor that you said you would be --- turn your Police Commissioner loose. You chose her because she could do what’s needed to be done. Now, turn her loose and clean up that City! The consequences for not doing so are incomprehensible.
Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco – are you listening?