ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -“Crime is still 21% lower than it was when I took office in 2013. Now, if people still have a sense that our community isn’t safe, we can’t just do a victory lap and say, ‘Hey, you’re safe,’” said Mayor Kathy Sheehan over Zoom.
Albany’s current mayor isn’t running for reelection: Carolyn McLaughlin, Dorcey Applyrs, Dan Cerutti and Corey Ellis are all trying to replace her. Public safety is one of the top issues in next week’s democratic mayoral primary.
Recently, the U.S. Attorney had to run for his life after an illegal immigrant with a knife lunged at him. And businesses also reported break-ins over the last few months. The four candidates trying to win the democratic nomination were asked by NEWS10’s Anthony Krolikowski how they would address the continuing problem.
McLaughlin: “I wanna see the police on the street. Not in a way that, ‘We’re here to police you and turn this into a police state,’ but, ‘I’m a part of the community and I have a presence here.”
Applyrs: “Across our nation, is an increase in the unhoused population, substance abuse and mental health crisis. What’s very clear is that as a City, we have to tackle those challenges.”
Cerutti: “We have businesses that have hired private security. It’s an embarrassment that that has to happen. This is one of the first things we’re gonna do is a concerted effort to help the people on our streets.”
Ellis: “Quality of life officers. These would be not police officers but regular citizens trained. They would be visible where we have our restaurants, where we have our nightlife.”
Some of the recent crimes have allegedly been committed by minors. Krolikowski asked the candidates how they plan to address youthful offenders.
McLaughlin: “We need to look at whatever laws are on the books. See how we can make it work more in a positive manner for the young person. What kind of activities are we offering. I’m talking about, let’s get some young people actively pursuing creation of programs, sort of an advisory committee.”
Applyrs: “When we as a City don’t provide the public works services that are required in an equitable way, people don’t feel good about it where they live and that has implications but also it’s important to have youth programming.”
Cerutti: “When we as a City don’t provide the public works services that are required in an equitable way, people don’t feel good about it where they live and that has implications but also it’s important to have youth programming.”
Ellis: “We can’t look at law enforcement as the answer to this problem and that’s the issue. You have to start with stronger communities. When your largest employer in the city, which is our hospitals and the healthcare industry, pays the least, every other industry follows suit.”