My Conversation with the Mayor

"I was hoping to see that we would firmly approach [gun violence] from a mental health standpoint," Cooper said of Adams' plan. "He used the police-officer approach."

You’ve likely been following the debate around violence prevention and policing since Mayor Adams rolled out his Blueprint to End Gun Violence. This is a complex set of issues and policies, to be sure, and much has yet to be seen. But I’ve continued to assert that unless we are making a real commitment to youth development and mental health, more policing will only deepen our city’s existing wounds. 

A recent article in the Brooklyn Patch covers a conversation I had with Mayor Adams about these critical issues. 

Read it here: A Friend's Plea To Eric Adams: We Don't Need More Cops

Shootings continue in our neighborhood, including a 14-year-old who was wounded by gunfire in the middle of the day in a busy area of Stuyvesant Heights. These debates are not theoretical, they’re life and death. Please let me know your thoughts on these topics and let’s continue the conversation.