NYC mayor offers to help stem flow of guns to Jamaica

Eric Adams, mayor of New York City, wants to partner with Jamaica to help stem the flow of guns and drugs to the country.

The mayor’s offer of help came Sunday night when he spoke at a function in Queens to launch activities to mark Jamaica’s 60th anniversary of independence.

The former New York police captain pointed to the fact that the flow of guns and drugs to Jamaica and New York is having a negative effect on both places.

Like Jamaica, New York City has seen an increase in the number of murders and shootings within the past 18 months.

The New York Police Department reported that so far this year, there has been a 38 per cent increase in major crimes in the city, although there has been a dip in the number of murders compared with the corresponding period last year. Last year, the city recorded some 485 murders.

Adams said that as mayor of the city which is home to nearly one million Jamaicans, he was concerned about the flow of guns and drugs that continues to create mayhem both in New York and Jamaica.

“I am concerned about the impact such flows are having on the country as it relates to the loss of lives. Some of the guns causing deaths in Jamaica are manufactured in the United States and shipped to Jamaica and the region. We will partner with Jamaica, together, to change the culture of gun flows that is destroying the public safety in both our countries in a real way,” he declared.

Calling New York City the heart and soul of the Jamaican diaspora, Adams said that the city boasts the largest Jamaican population in the United States.

He pointed to the major contributions that Jamaicans have made to the life of New York and said that having Jamaicans in New York will strengthen the bonds that exist between Jamaica and New York. He further said that expanding cooperation in education, trade and business opportunities with Jamaica would benefit both the city and Jamaica.

Also in attendance at the launch ceremony were Prime Minister Andrew Holness, Minister of Culture Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange, Industry Minister Senator Aubyn Hill, US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and state senator, Leroy Comrie, among others.