NYC Mayor Eric Adams’ ‘crime summit’ fails to address bail reform on Day 1
Mayor Adams on Saturday downplayed the devastating effect that critics say bail reform is having on crime and recidivism, claiming there are “many rivers in the sea of violence.”
“Everyone wants to point (to) one word to dealing with the criminal justice issue. We have bail reform, bail reform, bail reform. No, it’s more than that,” Adams said. “The problem with crime is not one incident. We want to keep thinking it is, but it’s not and that’s what we put on the table today.”
The comments came in response to a question about why bail reform wasn’t discussed during the start of the mayor’s two-day crime summit Saturday.
The mayor, speaking later at a joint press conference with Gov. Hochul on subway crime, insisted “Everything was discussed with today’s session, and we’re going to follow up tomorrow.”
But sources told The Post the topic of bail reform never came up at the summit, which Adams kicked off to tackle the Big Apple’s surging crime problem.
The mayor met for roughly four hours behind closed doors at Gracie Mansion with district attorneys, other elected officials, defense lawyers, cops and other major stakeholders for Day 1 of a two-day weekend summit that some critics have blasted as a “waste of time.”
Most participants were mum with reporters while coming and going on the specifics of what was on the agenda, but some insiders confirmed the topic of reforming state bail laws was off the table on Day 1 — despite an earlier pledge by Adams that it wouldn’t be.
Participants tried to paint a rosy picture of the summit.
“I don’t want to talk about what happened there, but in terms of crime … I think everyone is starting to realize that police alone can’t solve this…and one of the things that I hope will come out of this is getting some investment in some of the other things that will help us out,” said lefty Public Advocate Jumaane Williams.”
Others who attended included Bronx DA Darcel Clark, Corrections Commissioner Louis Molina and Queens DA Melinda Katz.
Before heading in, Clark blamed her inability to move criminal cases through the system on “losing lawyers” in her office and new discovery laws that make it more tedious for her staff to turn evidence over to defense lawyers.
“Our lawyers feel like paper pushers now,” Clark said. “They are not really focusing on the actual cases. They are more concentrated on getting the paperwork out and not having one piece of paper can dismiss a case. That jeopardizes their license. That jeopardizes the cases. And that jeopardizes public safety.”
Clark said she didn’t know if bail reform would be discussed over the weekend. But civil rights lawyer and invitee Norman Siegel told The Post Friday bail reform — which critics say has fueled crime and recidivism — wouldn’t be on the agenda the entire weekend.
Siegel, the former longtime executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said the panels would instead address issues including “prosecutors not getting discovery [evidence] to defendants in a timely manner” and whether more people should be hired to expedite the process.
Ex-NYPD Commissioner Bernard Kerik blasted the sessions as a “waste of time”
“No city leader knows more about reducing crime than the #NYPD!” he tweeted. “Mayor- recruit/hire more, and unhand-cuff the cops. Governor [Hochul]- repeal bail reform and fire left wing rouge DAs..”
All five city district attorneys — which also include embattled Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg and Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez — were expected to be among the summit participants, according to a list released by City Hall.
Bragg has faced a firestorm of criticism — and an exodus of veteran prosecutors — since imposing a series of soft-on-crime policies after he took office on Jan. 1.
In 2019, Gonzalez also announced a soft-on-crime plan called “Justice 2020” but earlier this year called for “tweaks” to the 2019 bail reform law, which critics — including the NYPD — have blamed for fueling crime and recidivism.
Both state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers) and Assembly Leader Carl Heastie (D-The Bronx) — who passed bail reform and have resisted efforts to roll it back — were expected to send their legal counsels to represent them at the summit.
