NYC’s Adams to Join Biden in Crime-Fighting Talks at White House

(Bloomberg) -- Eric Adams, the Democratic nominee for New York City mayor, will attend a White House meeting with President Joe Biden on Monday on cracking down on gun crime and firearms dealers, according to a person familiar with the plans.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, local law enforcement leaders and elected officials will also be at the meeting, according to the person. Biden will be discussing his call for channeling federal funding to help cities and states fight a nationwide spike in violent crime.

Adams, the Brooklyn borough president who last week won the Democratic nomination to lead the nation’s largest city, is a former New York Police Department captain. He has advocated for the return of some form of stop-and-frisk and a plainclothes anti-crime task force.

A crime surge amid the coronavirus pandemic was a backdrop to the mayoral race in New York, where shootings increased by more than 160% during the year ended in April. Homicides increased by almost 30% in 34 major U.S. cities last year compared to 2019, according to one study.

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