Adams Testifies Before State Legislature

*Reposted from Gotham Gazette. Written by Samar Khurshid. (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office) *

Mayor Eric Adams on Wednesday appeared before the State Legislature to testify on Governor Kathy Hochul’s proposed budget for the 2023 fiscal year and his own Albany agenda, as well as take questions from legislators. Adams, a former state senator making his first appearance before the Legislature as mayor, reiterated his calls for changes to state criminal justice laws, pushed for changes in state law to enhance child care and tax credits for working New Yorkers, asked for more state funding for treating those with serious mental illness, called on Albany to reverse hundreds of millions in cuts and cost shifts towards the city in recent years, and more.

“At this moment, our city is focused on three significant goals: reducing crime, overcoming the challenges caused by the pandemic, and rebuilding our economy,” Adams said in his opening remarks, appearing virtually.

Adams’ first month in office was marked by a deadly Bronx fire and spate of other violent incidents, including several police officers were shot, two of them fatally, a fast food worker killed during an armed robbery, and a woman shoved to her death in front of a subway train by a severely mentally ill homeless man. In the wake of those incidents, Adams has continued his laser focus on public safety, which led his mayoral campaign and was front and center in his testimony on Wednesday, including via several tense exchanges with legislators from the five boroughs who disagree with his push for more conservative criminal justice policies, partially undoing some of their own reforms of recent years.

For full article visit: https://www.gothamgazette.com/city/11078-mayor-adams-testifies-state-le…