Brooklyn Councilman Jumaane Williams, a vocal critic of the NYPD’s stop- and-frisk policy, announced plans Monday to form a new national coalition against gun violence — without providing any new ideas for stemming the spike in shootings this year.
The new National Network to Combat Gun Violence has no formal leadership, no Web site and no Twitter account — but Williams said he hoped someday it could be the legislative version of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, the well-funded organization founded by former Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Williams grew animated when asked if there was a connection between the increase in shootings and the city’s more restrictive stop-and-frisk policy implemented under his ally, Mayor de Blasio.
“There is no connection between stops and shootings, but even if there was, I would still oppose it on constitutional grounds,” said Williams, who repeatedly attacked the Bloomberg administration’s police policies.
“Sure, a police state would mean less violence, but we don’t want to live in a police state . . . We cannot ask black and brown people to accept something that others would not,” Williams added.
Queens Councilman Eric Ulrich, a Republican, said the rise in shootings should be a wake-up call for de Blasio and his council allies who, he charged, have launched a “crusade” against the NYPD.
“New Yorkers, in general, got accustomed to living in a city with low crime rates, which was achieved through policing techniques like stop-and-frisk that got illegal guns off the streets,” said Ulrich.
“Every day we are seeing reports of gun crimes, and I hope my colleagues will revisit the issue.”
As the new anti-gun group tries to get its footing and present solutions, the city is battling a surge of shootings, including 21 over the weekend that left three dead.
Overall, shootings are up by 8 percent this year, according to the city’s latest crime data.
One solution that will not likely be on the group’s radar is reinstating the city’s sweeping stop- and-frisk program, a debate that has been rekindled in the wake of the shootings surge.
The mayor’s office declined to weigh in on the debate. Instead, spokesman Phil Walzak touted de Blasio’s focus on public safety and his decision to “put hundreds of more officers on the streets, deploy cops to areas experiencing crime spikes, and utilize innovative strategies to catch bad guys and keep neighborhoods safe.”
In announcing his new group, Williams praised Bloomberg’s efforts to combat gun violence nationally — and then criticized the job he did locally.
“The mayors have their group, but legislators are often the ones on the ground and we need a national network where we can share ideas and discover best practices,” Williams said at City
Hall news conference. “The mayor does a great job with the group nationally, but as mayor he didn’t do as good of job here locally in the city.”
A Bloomberg spokesman declined comment.