Status: 01/01/2022 07:14
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In New York, Eric Adams has succeeded Bill De Blasio as mayor. The former police officer becomes the second black mayor in metropolitan history.
By Antje Passenheim, ARD Studio New York
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The new mayor likes to understate: “I don’t need an inauguration. All I need to fulfill my duties as mayor of New York is a mattress on the floor.”
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Antje Passenheim
ARD-Studio New York
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Because of the exploding corona numbers, Eric Adams had canceled his planned ceremony at the start of his term. Now he has taken his oath in front of 15,000 revelers: right after the New Year’s Ball Drop in Times Square. Because even if more than one in five people in New York is now infected with Corona, his message is: “We cannot close this city again, we cannot allow the city to continue to go under economically.”
Eric Adams at the inauguration after the annual New Year’s Eve Ball in Times Square, New York.
Image: AFP
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Ex-cop wants to ensure security
The prerequisite for growth is security. This is also one of Adams’ mantras. The fear of rising crime has drawn many voters to the ex-cop, says city policy expert Jeff Mays of The New York Times: “Adams spoke about how he would use his experience as an ex-cop to fight crime . At the same time, he has stressed that he does not want to curtail civil rights — particularly those of blacks, Latinos and poor New Yorkers, who have suffered much discrimination from the police.”
Democrat Eric Adams is the new mayor of New York
Christiane Meier, ARD New York, daily news at 11:15 p.m., January 1, 2022
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Above all, Adams wants to reconcile her with the New York police: For the first time in history, he put a black woman at the head of the 36,000 emergency services. Kechant Sewell wants to be more than a crime fighter: “It takes emotional intelligence to break down the barriers that still exist between the police and the population.” Adams clenches his fist: “I’m you – after years of praying and hoping and working, we’re moving into City Hall!”
Own bad experiences with the police
The new city tour brings new perspectives, says New York Times journalist Mays: “You know how the police deal with some people or the judicial system. Adams himself was beaten by the police as a young man. He knows what it means To grow up poor. To have a different education.”
Alvin Bragg also brings this perspective with him. The 47-year-old will lead the Manhattan Attorney’s Office from January. The Harvard lawyer from Harlem is the first African American to head the powerful office in the gray bunker. Around 110,000 cases a year go through there. As the successor to District Attorney Cyrus Vance, the new chief directs 600 prosecutors. Bragg is also in charge of the fraud investigation into ex-President Trump and his company. Above all, he wants to ensure more equality: “In New York City, more than 80 percent of procedural cases are minor offenses that have nothing to do with public safety. We have to reduce this footprint. And we have to eliminate racial inequalities in the same way. Because over 80 percent of those accused of such petty crime are black.”
Bragg knows the trauma: the New York police searched him three times at gunpoint because of the color of his skin. He wants to make himself as strong for the black communities as his new colleague Damian Williams – the new federal prosecutor for the southern district of New York.
Fight against corruption and hate crime
He is also the first African American to hold this post – and is one of only seven black federal prosecutors out of a total of 232 in the United States. In his inaugural speech a few weeks ago, he campaigned for the fight against violence and corruption. New York urgently needs to do something about the growing hate crime. “Anti-Semitism is on the rise. Anti-Asian violence is on the rise,” Williams laments. “The abuse of the most vulnerable in our society is on the rise.”
The first black prosecutor in the court’s more than 230-year history has dedicated himself to fighting it. He announced the creation of a dedicated civil rights department at the court so that offenders can be better held accountable.
The new Mayor Adams gave the go-ahead for the turning point in a rain of confetti in Times Square: “I will lead the city because I can do it. The people voted for me. And that was a wise decision.”
A turning point in New York: top positions are occupied by African Americans
Antje Passenheim, ARD New York, 1/1/2022 6:24 a.m
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