Eric Adams has claimed New York is not as bad as LA’s Skid Row – all thanks to him.
The first-term mayor made the proud proclamation as he touted year-end crime statistics at 1 Police Plaza Wednesday – and held up a picture of the far-flung LA neighborhood as proof.
A rant ensued – one that seemed to ignored how his city is in the midst of an unprecedented migrant crisis which he himself warned will soon see asylum seekers ‘sleeping on the streets’.
The brag was spurred by an inquiry about the city’s rising motor vehicle theft rates – up 191 percent from before the pandemic.
This was accompanied with increases in both felony and misdemeanor assaults, along with the revelation that overall crime is down just .032 percent.
Still, Adams on Wednesday persisted, and held up an unflattering picture of the infamous Los Angeles locale as if it were a trophy.
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Eric Adams on Wednesday claimed New York is not as bad as LA’s Skid Row – and held up an unflattering photo of the notorious Los Angeles locale as supposed proof
The first-term mayor made the proud proclamation as he touted year-end crime statistics at 1 Police Plaza Wednesday, which are only only down a paltry .032 percent from last year
‘This is another city in America,’ Adams said, producing a photo of a homeless man on the infamous street roughly two years ago.
‘This is what I saw when I drove around the city January 1, 2022,’ he continued, citing his most recent visit.
‘This is an example of another city in America.’
The statement, while pointed, seem to ignore the state of his city’s own streets.
Just the day before, in a rare sit-down interview, he warned that those same streets will soon be rife with migrants if the federal government does not intervene.
What’s more, homelessness remains an issue in all five boroughs, but Adams on Wednesday still appeared to take credit for solving that continuing crisis.
He continued to hold up the picture on his tablet – showing a 56-year-old homeless man warming a piece of doughnut over a bonfire – to drive his point home.
‘This is what you threw up your hands – fires burning on the street, children out here. There are no toilets,’ he said, pausing after making the last point while offering an incredulous look.
‘This is-,’ he continued, before getting tripped up. ‘Go look at other cities and look at what we inherited when I put in place our homeless encampment task force,’ he stated.
‘You don’t see this in New York.’
Adams held up the picture on his tablet showing a 56-year-old homeless man warming a piece of doughnut over a bonfire to drive his point home
Robert Mason, a 56-year-old homeless man, warms up a piece of doughnut over a bonfire he set to keep himself warm on Skid Row in Los Angeles, on Feb. 14, 2023
Homeless people on 1st Avenue between 20 and 21st street, Manhattan , U.S., January 27, 2023
Asylum seekers line up in front of the East Village re-intake, converted into a city-run shelter for newly arrived migrant families in on December 4
Adams is seen holding the photo of the homeless encampment Wednesday, as crime statistics are slightly down in his city
Yet similar problems do exist across even the most expensive areas of Manhattan.
Many surfaced during the pandemic, and Adams – upon assuming his role from the infamously ineffectual Bill DeBlasio – took on the task of tackling the issue.
He has since created several task forces to help house the homeless and get the mentally ill off the streets, though the fruits of the efforts have taken more than a year to materialize.
In November, the former police captain announced his homeless outreach staff had referred 70 percent more people off the streets to shelter during Fiscal Year 2023, compared to the year prior.
He also cited how he and his administration had moved approximately 1,000 people from city-paid stabilization beds to permanent housing during that span – more than double that of Fiscal Year 2022.
Meanwhile, encampments also still exist across this city, though they are typically disbanded within a matter of weeks.
That does not stop them from resettling elsewhere before undergoing the same process – typically the case for street-sleepers who do not want city aid.
Moreover, homelessness statistics are notoriously unreliable, so the extent of this sample set is largely unknown.
‘The results are clear – crime is down, jobs are up, tourism is back,’ Adams said at the news conference. ‘But our work is not done. We’re not spiking the ball. We’re not saying, ‘Mission Accomplished’
As of Thursday, there is no reliable database of the number of homeless in the city.
But over the summer, a hint was provided through the number of homeless reported staying at city-sanctioned shelters – a record 100,000 despite it still being warm outside.
Now, in the middle of winter, that number is likely markedly higher, though it has yet to be reported.
The majority of the rise can be attributed to migrants, an estimated 70,000 of which are currently in city shelters.
Ahead of this winter, the city said it was continuing to increase its outreach efforts, and Adams on Wednesday touted his tough-on-encampment approach, which has proved at least more successful than LA’s.
He told the crowd at the packed police headquarters while still touting the 2022 photo: ‘And there are those who say I’m harsh because I don’t allow this to exist. That’s what I’m fighting against. Do you want this in front of your house? You want your children to see this? Is this what you want your children to see?
‘Not while I’m mayor. It’s not going to happen.’
He went on to call New York the ‘safest big city in America,’ after revealing the city’s crime statistics.
Murders this year fell by 11.9 percent compared to last, to a reported 386 as opposed 438, the data showed.
Rapes, meanwhile, were down 10.5 percent, while robberies were down 3.1 percent.
Grand larceny thefts were were also down 2.5 percent and burglaries 13.1.
The number of shooting victims – who are counted separately from the crimes that led them to be shot – declined by 27 percent, though felony assaults are up 6.3 percent.
Following his spiel about Skid Row – which he never mentioned by name – the mayor said the results speak for themselves.
‘The results are clear — crime is down, jobs are up, tourism is back,’ Adams said at the packed police conference. ‘But our work is not done.
He added: ‘We’re not spiking the ball. We’re not saying, “Mission Accomplished.”‘