Adams calls for special state legislative session on bail laws

NEW YORK — Mayor Eric Adams called on the state legislature Tuesday to hold a special session to tighten New York’s bail laws for repeat offenders.

Since taking office in January, Adams, a former cop and moderate Democrat, has railed against 2019 reforms to the state's bail law as he attempts to combat a spike in crime. He said lawmakers should reconvene in Albany this summer to make changes.

“I hope they will do that,” Adams told reporters at an unrelated event at City Hall. "I hope that just as we had a special call to return to Albany to deal with the ruling on right to carry, I believe that Albany should consider coming and revisiting some of the violence we’re seeing of repeat offenders."

Crime has been trending up since the Covid-19 pandemic took hold in early 2020, and Adams' plea comes as the summer — known to bring seasonal spikes in crime — settles on the city.

“I think it would be a good idea that we need to revisit, while we’re still in the middle of the summer, some of the laws that we have,” Adams said.

The state Legislature held a special session earlier this summer to pass new gun laws, after the Supreme Court struck down New York’s law strictly limiting who can carry a gun in public. They also took the first concrete steps toward enshrining abortion rights in the state constitution in response to the high court's decision unraveling Roe v. Wade.

But lawmakers have shown little appetite for the bail changes Adams has called for, such as giving judges discretion to keep a suspect in custody if they deem the person dangerous. Under New York’s 2019 bail reforms, cash bail is banned except in serious violent felony cases and certain exceptional misdemeanors. The state budget in April made some changes to bail laws, but stopped short of what Adams has demanded.

Hochul said later Tuesday there has been "no discussion" about the possibility of a special session, saying that the changes passed in the budget, which included provisions addressing repeat offenders, are sufficient for now.

"What I would like to point out is that significant changes to the bail laws were made. Reforms to the reforms. Because I believe that we have to do everything we can in our power to protect public safety," she said.

"Everybody talks about repeat offenders. Our changes now cover repeat offenders for property crimes, theft, etc, under the bail laws. Our bail laws also cover gun crimes that had been left out before. They now cover hate crimes that had been left out before. We also gave more discretion to judges to make determinations that they did not have before — allowing them to examine factors such as the severity of the crime, were guns involved, was there an order of protections. so the judges have more power," Hochul said.

State GOP leaders, who have backed the idea of a special session on bail, welcomed Adams' comments and criticized Hochul for shooting down the idea.

"New York City Mayor Adams today joined our calls for a special legislative session to address bail reform and other public safety concerns. But — without an ounce of hesitation — the political ruling class in Albany has dismissed these calls," said Senate minority leader Rob Ortt. "The Governor and the Legislative majorities were quick to rush to Albany to restrict the rights of law-abiding citizens, but when it comes to holding criminals accountable and protecting victims they couldn’t care less."

The mayor’s comments come as Republican gubernatorial candidate and Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) has railed against bail reform, after a man allegedly attempted to attack him with a sharp object at a campaign event.

Adams dismissed suggestions that Zeldin made an odd bedfellow in the criminal justice debate. Adams has endorsed Democrat Hochul in the governor’s race.

“I don’t think it’s ironic I’m on the same page as Zeldin. I think it’s ironic that he finally caught up to Kathy Hochul and I. Kathy made it clear, Gov. Hochul made it clear, that she was not willing to pass the budget without dealing with some of the issues around criminal justice,” he said, referring to the changes made in April.

“I believe that he has finally raised his voice on something that Gov. Hochul and I have been talking about for far too long,” he said, noting that Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley, who co-chairs the Zeldin campaign, could have charged the alleged attacker with a violent felony eligible for bail but did not.

“In one breath he can’t talk about lax actions from the criminal justice system, and in another breath the person that represents him is releasing the person that attacked him on stage,” he said.

The Zeldin campaign said he “has been calling for a repeal of cashless bail throughout his entire campaign, which began over 15 months ago. Congressman Zeldin has been railing on cashless bail since it was enacted,” according to a statement.

“While Congressman Zeldin was calling for a repeal of cashless bail, Kathy Hochul was saying no to that effort, because she said that data didn’t support that. The facts are the facts,” the statement said.

Key context: Adams has seen major crime jump since he took office, despite making the issue his priority as mayor.

He cited the case of two teenagers who were arrested for allegedly beating NYPD transit officers who stopped them for fare evasion, and released without bail. One of the teens has prior arrests this year for robbery and gun possession.

“As soon as we catch them, the system releases them, and they repeat the action,” Adams said. “When I say we’re the laughingstock of the country, this is what I’m talking about.”

The suspects were charged as juveniles in family court, which cannot set cash bail, according to the state court system. Judges can, however, hold underage defendants in custody after holding a probable cause hearing. Adams has also called for changes to the state's raise the age law, which prohibits people under 18 from being charged as adults in most cases.

What’s next: Adams acknowledged it will be an uphill battle to get the Legislature to make further changes to bail laws. He urged judges to use their discretion to set bail in cases where the law does allow it, but judges have sometimes opted not to impose it.

“While we’re waiting for changes in these laws, which is going to be an uphill battle, there are things we can do right now,” he said.

Anna Gronewold contributed to this report.