Soft-on-crime Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg says there has been an uptick in gun crimes

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'Manhattan is open for crime' under DA Bragg: Attorney

Manhattan defense lawyer Michael Discioarro argues the new district attorney's policies are a 'blueprint for crime' that ignores victims and panders to criminals.

Embattled Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, whom critics have slammed for his soft-on-crime policies, said Monday that his office was urgently addressing a spike in gun crimes.

"We know we've seen an uptick in gun crimes and we're working on that every day, working with our law enforcement partners on tracking the guns that are flowing into our communities as people sit from far away and profit off of our pain," he said at a Martin Luther King Jr. event hosted by Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network in Harlem. 

Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg.  (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)  ((Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images))

During the brief three-minute speech, Bragg emphasized the importance of focusing on public safety and "fairness in the system."

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"Your first civil right is the right to walk safely to your corner store, so as your district attorney I'm working on that every day," he said.

He added, "We cannot have safety without fairness, and we cannot have fairness without safety."

Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg  (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle, File) (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle, File)

 Bragg has been under attack since his office released his "Day One" memo to staff directing them to downgrade certain felonies, including armed robberies of commercial businesses, and to no longer seek jail time for many serious offenses.

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The new NYPD Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell wrote in leaked email that Bragg's policies could endanger the public and undermine justice for victims, the New York Post reported.

Bragg, a former federal prosecutor, admitted Sunday that he had a "challenging [first] two weeks" in office after the uproar over his progressive policies at a time when the city is facing a rise in many types of violent crimes.