De Blasio says NYC is 'thriving' and is 'much safer' since pandemic
Outgoing New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio discusses crime, Mayor-elect Adams and COVID vaccine mandates on 'Fox News Sunday'
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio claimed Sunday that the city is "much safer" now than it was when he took the reins eight years ago, despite a recent surge in murders.
"Eight years I’ve been mayor, index crimes, major crimes in New York City down 11% over eight years. And we did it bringing police and community closer together," de Blasio said on "Fox News Sunday."
"The bottom line is that there is today in New York City, a much safer city than we were eight years ago."
While major crimes are down overall, murders skyrocketed last year and have remained high so far in 2021.
New York's Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks to a crow in the Bronx borough of New York City, New York, U.S., February 5, 2021. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
There were 318 murders in 2013, but that number shot up to 437 last year and there have been 443 murders so far in 2021, according to NYPD data
New York City's surge in homicides mirrors a nationwide trend, as several big cities across America have set records for murders this year.
The seven major categories of crimes – murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, grand larceny, and grand larceny of an automobile – were down in 2020 to 95,593, compared to 111,335 in 2013. There have been 93,172 index crimes so far in 2021.
Police converge on the scene of a shooting in Brooklyn, one of numerous during the day, on July 14, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
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Hate crimes have increased during the pandemic, as there have already been 503 hate crimes reported in 2021, a 100% increase over the 252 that were reported last year.
New York City Police Commissioner Dermot Shea blamed bail reform for the surge in hate crimes.
"When you have mass amounts of people put back on the streets that have traditionally been held in jail, you're seeing some of that permeate here as well," Shea told WPIX this week. "I mean, that's just a fact. It's a fact that people don't want to talk about, but when you ... have people that have no regard for others, and expecting them to change their behavior dramatically. It's not working out."
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Incoming Mayor Eric Adams ran on a tough-on-crime platform, recently slamming bail reforms that allowed a man to walk free less than 24 hours after allegedly torching a 50-foot Christmas tree outside Fox News headquarters.
The Christmas tree at the center of Fox Square caught fire early Tuesday. Police said they arrested a man running from the scene. (Fox News)
"This guy has clearly made a decision that, you know, ‘I’m going to just continue to wreak havoc.’ And arson is a serious crime," Adams told reporters on Thursday. "Judges should be able to look at the person in front of them on those violent actions and make a determination."
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