Mayor Adams, Releases Open Letter Showing Broad Support For His Efforts To Make NY Safer And A More Just City

The Adams administration today released an open letter from over 200 business, civic, and labor leaders from Harlem to Hollis.

This shows broad support for Mayor Eric Adams’ efforts to make New York a safer and more just city.

The letter comes a week after Mayor Adams put forth a comprehensive Blueprint to End Gun Violence and follows a series of shockingly violent crimes across the city.

“Making New York a safer city is a prerequisite for prosperity and social justice — and will move us past the multiple crises we’re facing,” said Mayor Adams. “It will take all New Yorkers to help move us forward, and the support from this extraordinary coalition is an indication that we are on the right track.”

“The signatories to this letter are leaders in industries that represent more than three million jobs in New York City,” said Kathryn Wylde, president & CEO, Partnership for New York City. “Public safety is the number one concern of employers and workers. We are united behind the mayor’s efforts to reverse the rise in crime.”

“Mayor Adams’ focus on making both New Yorkers and tourists feel safe in our city is crucial for New York City’s recovery,” said Stuart Appelbaum, president, Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union.

“As an institution focused entirely on the health and wellbeing of our fellow New Yorkers, we applaud the mayor’s leadership in offering new solutions to make our city safer,” said Steven J. Corwin, MD, president and CEO, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

“We appreciate and stand with Mayor Adams in his critical efforts to reduce crime and improve public safety,” said Eric S. Goldstein, CEO, UJA-Federation of New York.

“In many ways, public safety is at the root of our city’s economic recovery — it’s, of course, important to bringing visitors and people back to the five boroughs, but it’s also critical to securing investment in New York’s future that lead to the creation of middle-class careers both in construction and across other industries,” said Gary LaBarbera, president, Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York. “The men and women of the New York City Building Trades stand with Mayor Adams in his call to bring a heightened sense of safety and justice to our streets, and urge leaders at the local, state, and federal level to move quickly to ensure these vital goals are met.”

“The mayor’s blueprint for public safety is a common-sense approach to New York’s crime challenges, pairing essential social services and community-based interventions with appropriate tools for the courts and strategies for police,” said Jonathan Lippman, former Chief Judge, New York Court of Appeals. “I very much urge our city, state, and federal leaders to collaboratively support the mayor’s smart and practical efforts to both tackle crime and ensure fairness in our system of justice.”

“We support Mayor Adams’ comprehensive approach to reducing crime and gun violence,” said Rob Speyer and Steven Swartz, co-chairs, Partnership for New York City. “The return of the pre-pandemic vibrancy of our city depends on his success.”

“On our buses, in the subway, and in the neighborhoods where we live, transit workers see the need to improve public safety every single day,” said Tony Utano, President, TWU Local 100. “All branches of government must step up and take action, and that includes addressing the mental health crisis more effectively. The mayor’s plan is a big step in the right direction.”

“This is a well thought out, comprehensive public safety plan at a time when New Yorkers are looking for action and results,” said Charles Phillips, co-chair, newly formed Mayor’s Corporate Counsel. “Now is the time to come together around constructive next steps.”

“This is an important and historic approach to public safety,” said Stephen Scherr, co-chair of, newly formed Corporate Council. “The strength of our city and its continued economic recovery depends on this type of leadership.”

Open Letter in Support of Mayor Adams’ Efforts To Make New York a Safer And More Just City

We support Mayor Eric Adams’ efforts to reduce crime in New York City. Public safety is the bedrock of a thriving city and, as the mayor has made clear, it is equally necessary to invest in mental health care and alleviate conditions that contribute to violent behavior, including substance abuse, homelessness, and joblessness.

The killing of two young police officers, Jason Rivera and Wilbert Mora, and the dramatic increase in senseless shootings across the five boroughs have elevated the need to get illegal guns off the streets and maximize the ability of law enforcement to function fairly and effectively. The killing of Michelle Go, the Deloitte executive who was pushed under a subway in Times Square, illustrates that illegal guns are only one dimension of a much larger problem.

During the pandemic, both crime and quality of life conditions have worsened in the Central Business Districts, in many residential neighborhoods, on the public transit system, and in local shopping strips where small business owners and employees are vulnerable to attack. New York cannot recover from the devastating impacts of the pandemic without first restoring the sense of personal security that every resident, worker, visitor, and community in our city has the right to expect.

The mayor has taken a courageous position and we all share responsibility to help him carry out his agenda. Governor Kathy Hochul took prompt action to establish an interstate task force and new state office to address the problem of illegal guns. We need to do everything in our power to make New York safe again.

Sincerely,

• Richard Aborn, President, Citizens Crime Commission of New York City
• William D. Abramson, Principal, Buchbinder & Warren Realty Group LLC
• Pranay Agrawal, Co-Founder & CEO, Fractal Analytics Inc.
• Lee S. Ainslie, III, Managing Partner, Maverick Capital
• Yo Akatsuka, President & CEO, Nomura Holding America Inc.
• Simon Allen, Chief Executive Officer, McGraw-Hill Education, Inc.
• Stuart Appelbaum, President, Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union
• Jeffrey H. Aronson, Managing Principal, Centerbridge Partners
• Robert Bakish, President & CEO, ViacomCBS Inc.
• Linda Baran, President & CEO, Staten Island Chamber of Commerce
• Candace K. Beinecke, Senior Partner, Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP
• Charles R. Bendit, Co-Chief Executive Officer, Taconic Investment Partners LLC
• Stephen Berger, Chairman, Odyssey Investment Partners, LLC
• William H. Berkman, Co-Chairman & CEO, Radius Global Infrastructure, Inc.
• Seth Bernstein, President & CEO, AB
• David Beveridge, Senior Partner, Shearman & Sterling, LLP
• Michael W. Blair, Presiding Partner, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
• Jeff T. Blau, Chief Executive Officer, The Related Companies, L.P.
• Kathy Bloomgarden, Chief Executive Officer, Ruder Finn, Inc.
• Lee Bollinger, President, Columbia University
• John Borthwick, Founder & CEO, Betaworks
• Albert Bourla, Chairman & CEO, Pfizer Inc.
• Greg Bovitz, Chief Executive Officer, Bovitz
• LaRay Brown, Chief Executive Officer, One Brooklyn Health System
• Kenneth Buckfire, President & Managing Director, Miller Buckfire & Co.
• Marty Burger, Chief Executive Officer, Silverstein Properties, Inc.
• Frank A. Calamari, President & CEO, Calvary Hospital
• Mark Cannizzaro, President, Council of School Supervisors and Administrators
• Donald A. Capoccia, Principal, BFC Partners
• Timothy Cawley, Chairman, President & CEO, Con Edison
• Kenneth I. Chenault, Chairman & Managing Director, General Catalyst Partners
• Richard A.C. Coles, Founder & Managing Partner, Vanbarton Group LLC
• Marc Cooper, Chief Executive Officer, Solomon Partners
• Steven Corwin, President & CEO, NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center
• Vijay Dandapani, President & CEO, Hotel Association of New York City
• Kenneth L. Davis, President & CEO, Mount Sinai Health System
• Anthony J. de Nicola, Chairman, Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe
• Emma DeVito, President & CEO, VillageCare
• Annemarie DiCola, Chief Executive Officer, Trepp, LLC
• Jamie Dimon, Chairman & CEO, JPMorgan Chase & Co.
• James L. Dolan, Executive Chairman & CEO, The Madison Square Garden Entertainment Company
• William R. Dougherty, Chairman, Executive Committee, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP
• Michael Dowling, President & CEO, Northwell Health
• Douglas Durst, Chairman, Durst Organization Inc.
• Blair W. Effron, Co-Founder, Centerview Partners
• Joel S. Ehrenkranz, Partner and Co-Founder, Ehrenkranz Partners L.P.
• Douglas F. Eisenberg, Executive Chairman & Co-Founder, A&E Real Estate, LLC
• Steven Ellis, Chairman of the Firm, Proskauer
• Christopher Erikson, Business Manager, Local 3 International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
• Jeffrey Farber, President & CEO, The New Jewish Home
• Alexander Farman-Farmaian, Vice Chairman, Portfolio Manager, Edgewood Management LLC
• Sean Feeney, Co-Owner of Lilia & Misi and Co-Founder, Grovehouse
• Laurence D. Fink, Chairman & CEO, BlackRock
• Peter Finn, Founding Partner, Finn Partners
• Winston C. Fisher, Partner, Fisher Brothers
• Alan H. Fishman, Founder, Willow Holdings, Inc.
• Robert B. Fiske, Jr., Former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York
• Bruce J. Flanz, President & CEO, MediSys Health Network
• Charles Flateman, Chair, NYC & Company and Vice President of Marketing, The Shubert Organization, Inc.
• William E. Ford, Chairman & CEO, General Atlantic LLC
• Jane Fraser, Chief Executive Officer, Citi
• Adena Friedman, President & CEO, Nasdaq
• Miguel A. Fuentes, Jr., President & CEO, BronxCare Health System
• Kenneth M. Garschina, Principal, Mason Capital Management, LLC
• Peter Gelb, General Manager, The Metropolitan Opera
• Jeff Gennette, Chairman & CEO, Macy’s, Inc.
• Michael Gerstenzang, Managing Partner, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
• Thomas P. Gibbons, Chief Executive Officer, BNY Mellon
• Kenneth Gibbs, President & CEO, Maimonides Medical Center
• MaryAnne Gilmartin, Founder & CEO, MAG Partners LP
• Dan Glaser, President & CEO, Marsh McLennan
• Timothy Gokey, Chief Executive Officer, Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc.
• Eric Goldstein, Chief Executive Officer, UJA Federation of New York
• James P. Gorman, Chairman & CEO, Morgan Stanley
• Barry M. Gosin, Chief Executive Officer, Newmark
• Thomas J. Grech, President & CEO, Queens Chamber of Commerce
• David G. Greenfield, Chief Executive Officer, Met Council
• David J. Greenwald, Chairman, Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP
• Efraim Grinberg, Chairman & CEO, Movado Group, Inc.
• Stewart KP Gross, Managing Director, Lightyear Capital
• Robert I. Grossman, The Saul J. Farber Dean and CEO, NYU Langone Health
• Christopher Grosso, Chief Executive Officer, Intersection
• Samer Hamadeh, Founder & CEO, Zeel
• Andrew Hamilton, President, New York University
• Kathryn Haslanger, Chief Executive Officer, JASA
• Robin Hayes, Chief Executive Officer, JetBlue Airways Corporation
• H. Dale Hemmerdinger, Chairman, Atco Properties & Management, Inc.
• Matthew Heyd, Rector, Church of the Heavenly Rest
• Matthew Hiltzik, President & CEO, Hiltzik Strategies, LLC
• Leslie W. Himmel, Managing Partner, Himmel + Meringoff Properties LLC
• Marc Holliday, President & CEO, SL Green Realty Corp.
• Brian T. Horey, President, Aurelian Management
• Chris Hughes, Co-Founder, Economic Security Project
• Donna Imperato, Chief Executive Officer, BCW
• Jerry Jacobs Jr., Chief Executive Officer, Delaware North Companies, Inc.
• Kenneth M. Jacobs, Chairman & CEO, Lazard
• Alan Jones, Senior Managing Director, Intermediate Capital Group plc
• Julie H. Jones, Chair, Ropes & Gray LLP
• John Josephson, Chairman & CEO, Sesac
• Brad S. Karp, Chair, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP
• Mitchell Katz, President & CEO, NYC Health + Hospitals
• Charles R. Kaye, Chief Executive Officer, Warburg Pincus LLC
• Richard A. Kennedy, President & CEO, Skanska USA Inc.
• Andrew Klaber, President, Bedford Ridge Capital
• Paul Knopp, U.S. Chair & CEO, KPMG LLP
• Jack Kopnisky, President & CEO, Sterling Bancorp
• Philippe Krakowsky, Chief Executive Officer, Interpublic Group
• Henry R. Kravis, Co-Founder & Executive Co-Chairman, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.
• Jeremy M. Kroll, Co-CEO, Founder & President, K2 Integrity
• Barbara Armand Kushner, President, Armand Corporation
• Gary LaBarbera, President, Building & Construction Trades Council of Greater New York
• Scott LaRue, President & CEO, ArchCare
• Rochelle B. Lazarus, Chairman Emeritus, Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide
• Kewsong Lee, Chief Executive Officer, The Carlyle Group
• Joey Levin, Chief Executive Officer, IAC
• Allan Levine, Chairman & CEO, Global Atlantic Financial Company
• Robert A. Levine, Chairman, RAL Companies & Affiliates LLC
• Pamela Liebman, President & CEO, The Corcoran Group, Inc.
• Judge Jonathan Lippman, Former Chief Judge of New York
• Martin Lipton, Senior Partner, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
• Robert P. LoCascio, Founder & CEO, LivePerson, Inc.
• George Loening, Chairman, CEO & Founder, Select Equity Group, Inc.
• Roger Lynch, Chief Executive Officer, Condé Nast
• Mehdi Mahmud, CEO & President, First Eagle Investment Management, LLC
• Tracy V. Maitland, President, Advent Capital Management, LLC
• Anthony Malkin, Chairman, President & CEO, Empire State Realty Trust
• Anthony E. Mann, President & CEO, E-J Electric Installation Co.
• Lynn Martin, President, NYSE
• Ted Mathas, Chairman & CEO, New York Life Insurance Company
• Sandeep Mathrani, Chief Executive Officer, WeWork
• Shuji Matsuura, Chief Executive Officer, Mizuho Americas
• Peter W. May, President & Founding Partner, Trian Partners
• Charles R. McCall, Chief Executive Officer, Astoria Energy II LLC & Astoria Energy LLC
• Andrew McMahon, CEO & President, The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America
• Anish Melwani, Chairman & CEO, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton Inc.
• Avner Mendelson, President & CEO, Bank Leumi USA
• Daniel J. Messina, President & CEO, Richmond University Medical Center
• Marc Metrick, President & CEO, Saks Fifth Avenue
• Michael Miebach, Chief Executive Officer, Mastercard
• Melva M. Miller, Chief Executive Officer, Association for a Better New York
• Ken Moelis, Chairman and CEO, Moelis & Company
• Daniel Moore, President & CEO, Rockefeller Group International, Inc.
• Deanna M. Mulligan, Chief Executive Officer, Purposeful
• Liz Neumark, Chair & Founder, Great Performances
• Melissa O’Connor, President & CEO, Retail Council of New York State
• Philip Ozuah, President & CEO, Montefiore Health System
• Randy Peers, President & CEO, Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce
• David Perlstein, President & CEO, SBH Health System
• Douglas L. Peterson, President & CEO, S&P Global
• Michael A. Peterson, Chairman & CEO, Peter G. Peterson Foundation
• Charles E. Phillips, Jr., Managing Partner & Co-Founder, Recognize
• Michael Phillips, President, Jamestown Properties LLC
• Deirdre Quinn, Co-Founder & CEO, Lafayette 148 New York
• Andrew Rabinowitz, Co-Chief Executive Officer, K2 Integrity
• Daniel Ramot, Co-Founder & CEO, Via
• Kenneth Raske, President, Greater New York Hospital Association
• Steven L. Rattner, Chairman & CEO, Willett Advisors LLC
• Scott H. Rechler, Chairman & CEO, RXR
• Daniel Reingold, President & CEO, RiverSpring Living/The Hebrew Home at Riverdale
• Christiana Riley, Chief Executive Officer, Deutsche Bank Americas
• Michael M. Roberts, President & CEO, HSBC Bank USA
• James D. Robinson, Co-Founder & General Partner, RRE Ventures
• Ramon Rodriguez, President & CEO, Wyckoff Heights Medical Center
• Evan Roth, Co-Chief Executive Officer, BBR Partners, LLC
• Steven Roth, Chairman & CEO, Vornado Realty Trust
• Steven Rubenstein, President, Rubenstein Communications, Inc.
• William C. Rudin, Co-Chairman & CEO, Rudin Management Company, Inc.
• Kevin P. Ryan, Founder & CEO, AlleyCorp
• Tim Ryan, U.S. Chair & Senior Partner, PwC
• John Sabey, Chief Executive Officer, Sabey Corporation/Sabey Datacenters
• Scott Salmirs, President & CEO, ABM Industries Inc.
• Charles W. Scharf, CEO & President, Wells Fargo & Company
• Saul Scherl, President, New York Tri-State Region, The Howard Hughes Corporation
• Michael Schmidtberger, Partner & Chair of the Executive Committee, Sidley Austin LLP
• Alan D. Schnitzer, Chairman & CEO, The Travelers Companies, Inc.
• Martin Schroeter, Chief Executive Officer, Kyndryl Inc.
• Alan D. Schwartz, Executive Chairman, Guggenheim Partners, LLC
• Stephen A. Schwarzman, Chairman, CEO & Co-Founder, Blackstone
• Frank Scremin, Chief Executive Officer, LaGuardia Gateway Partners
• Kathleen Shanahan, Chief Executive Officer, Turtle & Hughes, Inc.
• Louis Shapiro, President and CEO, Hospital for Special Surgery
• Jeff Shell, Chief Executive Officer, NBCUniversal
• Tarek Sherif, Co-Founder, Medidata Solutions, Inc.
• Betsy Smith, President & CEO, Central Park Conservancy
• David M. Solomon, Chairman & CEO, Goldman Sachs
• Jeffrey M. Solomon, Chair & CEO, Cowen
• Lisa Sorin, President, The Bronx Chamber of Commerce
• Rob Speyer, President & CEO, Tishman Speyer
• Stephen J. Squeri, Chairman & CEO, American Express
• Charlotte St. Martin, President, The Broadway League Inc.
• Robert K. Steel, Vice Chair, Perella Weinberg Partners
• Barry Stern, President & CEO, New York Community Hospital
• Msgr. Kevin Sullivan, Executive Director, The Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York
• Steven R. Swartz, President & CEO, Hearst
• Jose L. Tavarez, President, Bank of America New York City
• Gary G. Terrinoni, President & CEO, The Brooklyn Hospital Center
• Owen D. Thomas, Chief Executive Officer, Boston Properties
• Craig B. Thompson, President & CEO, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
• Mary Ann Tighe, Chief Executive Officer, NY Tri-State Region, CBRE, Inc.
• James S. Tisch, President & CEO, Loews Corporation
• Gary M. Tischler, Founder & Managing Partner, Vanbarton Group LLC
• Paul Todd, Chief Executive Officer, GLG
• Joseph Ucuzoglu, Chief Executive Officer, Deloitte
• Tony Utano, President, Transport Workers Union of America, Greater NY Local 100
• Robert Vecchio, Chief Executive Officer, LPI, Inc.
• Ellis Verdi, President, DeVito/Verdi
• James R. Wacht, President, Lee & Associates NYC
• George H. Walker, Chairman & CEO, Neuberger Berman Group LLC
• Jessica Walker, President & CEO, Manhattan Chamber of Commerce
• Gerard M. Walsh, Chief Executive Officer, Episcopal Health Services, Inc.
• Philip Waterman III, Managing Partner, WatermanCLARK, LLC
• Charles Weinstein, Chief Executive Officer, Eisner Advisory Group LLC
• Daniel Weiss, President & CEO, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
• James Whelan, President, The Real Estate Board of New York
• Valerie D. White, Executive Director, Local Initiatives Support Corporation
• Jeff Wilpon, Partner, Sterling Equities
• David Winter, Co-Chief Executive Officer, Standard Industries Inc.
• Robert Wolf, Chief Executive Officer, 32 Advisors LLC
• Kathryn S. Wylde, President & CEO, Partnership for New York City
• Strauss Zelnick, Partner, ZMC
• Michael Zetlin, Senior Partner, Zetlin & De Chiara LLP
• Mitchell Zuklie, Chairman, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP

Find out more information about Eric Adams here.