Gun violence, racial injustice main agenda in New York mayoral election

Public shootings, rising gun violence and a string of hate-driven attacks on subway pedestrians has led to growing concerns over public safety in the US city of New York.

More importantly, it has become an important issue in the race for American's most populous city’s upcoming mayoral primary election, with prospective candidates making it a key campaign agenda.

There are just over six weeks left until the city’s mayoral primary election, with candidates rolling out their first campaign posters.

The shooting incident in the bustling Times Square on Saturday, which injured three bystanders, including a 4-year-old girl, again put a spotlight on the issue of gun violence and crime in the city.

Importantly, it comes a year after the “defund the police” movement had swept the city.

On Monday, businessman and Mayoral candidate Raymond J. McGuire appeared at the site, saying “as a 6-foot-4, 200-pound Black man in America,” he understands how the police can violate civil rights.

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The growing concerns over crime and violence have given these candidates an opportunity to make forceful cases for public safety in the city.

As of May 2, 132 people have been killed compared with 113 in the same period last year, marking a 17 percent increase, according to New York Police Department statistics. There have also been 416 shooting incidents compared with 227 the same time last year, making an 83 percent rise, a report in New York Times stated.

In an indication of how grave the issues have become for the city’s mayoral race, many candidates have focused on gun violence and racial injustice in their plans.

“We’re in a very precarious position,” Rev. Al Sharpton, the civil rights leader, was quoted saying in a report by New York Times. “People are afraid of the cops and the robbers. We have both of them that we’ve got to deal with. And anyone that cannot come up with a comprehensive plan that threads the needle of both should not be running for mayor.”

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Sharpton said he intends to press mayoral candidates on issues of both overpolicing and gun violence at a forum in coming weeks.

Eric Adams, the Brooklyn Borough president and a former police officer, is leading the field of mayoral candidates in a new poll released last week, followed by Scott M. Stringer, the city comptroller, who continues to face questions over allegations of sexual misconduct.

Adams says he has been a victim of police brutality himself. He has spoken publicly about the rise in gun violence in the New York City.

“This city is out of control,” Adams said on Monday. “That’s what has changed in this mayoral race: People are finally hearing me. We don’t have to live like this.”

A Spectrum News NY1/Ipsos poll last month found that “crime or violence” was a major concern for New York Democrats, second only to the coronavirus.

A spate of crimes targeting Asian-Americans have also alarmed New Yorkers across the city, which observers could determine which way the outcome of upcoming election swings.

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