New Yorkers hold speak out against Mayor Adams’ gun plan
New York, NY – Members of the New York Community Action Project (NYCAP) gathered on the afternoon of Saturday, February 26 to speak out against Mayor Eric Adams’ Blueprint to End Gun Violence proposal.
Adams released this proposal late last month and has already received criticism from the progressive movements in New York. The Blueprint is a general plan for how Adams plans on tackling various problems in New York. He believes that a falling infrastructure, homelessness, a badly managed public transportation system and joblessness all come down to one thing: gun violence.
Gun violence is on the rise in the city and it’s a symptom of a much larger problem – not the cause. Residents of the different boroughs have been very loud and clear about what’s hurting this city, and gun violence is not at the top of the list.
Adams’ proposal calls for: placing more officers in neighborhoods are already affected by over-policing, tightening the relationship between the NYPD and state police, using technology to identify individuals before they commit crimes, growing a stronger relationship with the ATF and the FBI, empowering business and churches to give information to the NYPD through the use of surveillance, prosecuting 16 and 17-year-olds as adults if found with a gun, allowing judges to take ‘dangerousness’ into account, and much more.
This Blueprint is an incredibly dangerous proposal for everyone living in New York and will largely affect already oppressed and overpoliced populations — mainly Black and brown people. It’s paramount that New Yorkers begin addressing the Blueprint now before it fully takes effect.
NYCAP members highlighted and broke down different aspects of the Blueprint during a live stream event (you can watch it here) and held the speak out to continue their campaign against it. The solution they were calling for is a Civilian Police Accountability Council (CPAC) as they say that’s the true way for working people to gain safety back in their neighborhoods.
NYCAP will continue to host speak outs and actions against Mayor Adams’ proposals and will continue advocating for a CPAC in the next coming months.