Spare us the outrage that Adams is like Giuliani on crime

The usual suspects say somberly that Mayor Eric Adams is Rudy Giuliani disguised, and there is laughter. Really, New York City should be so lucky.

The city’s progressive cabal and usual media claque claim that the rookie mayor’s unfolding public safety policy amounts to rehashed Giuliani-era sophistry reinforces past mistakes and fuels the current anger.

Oh? What failures – and really, what anger?

It seems that eight years de Blasio dystopia is not enough for some people. They need a steady diet of avoidable public disorder to be happy — and they want to do whatever it takes to make it happen.

This accounts for the otherwise puzzling opposition to Adams’ ongoing purge of 250 or so vagrant villages around the five counties – filthy, rat-ridden disease vectors made out of cardboard and stolen plastic sheeting. Truly, people of conscience would not wish them on their worst enemies.

They were endemic when Giuliani became mayor in 1994 — but all but disappeared shortly thereafter. It’s no secret what happened: the mayor’s determination to get rid of them, combined with the introduction of humanity and very expensive social benefits Alternatives, have largely done the job.

It remains to be seen if Adams can repeat that success – he’s certainly sailing against strong headwinds – but one thing seems to be in no great doubt: he’s just as morally offended by the shacks as Giuliani was a generation ago. And he seems determined to do something about it.

Cue the recoil.

“Mayor Adams has launched an offensive against the most vulnerable in New York City,” the city announced Council Progressive Caucus. “This illustrates the mayor’s intent to return to the failed windowpane policy of the 1990s.”

“Back to the Giuliani Era”, proclaimed a headline in the media. “Adams’ order to clear homeless camps sparks anger in New York.”

Yet the only anger expressed in the accompanying story came from the council’s progressives and their allies, so opposition to the mayor’s street-cleaning appears to be – at best – circular.

Polls certainly show that New Yorkers in general aren’t like that least angry with Adam’s efforts – quite the opposite. They’re afraid of crime, they hate disorder, and they support the mayor.

As for the claim that Adams “failed.” Broken Windows Policy the 1990s”, well, one can only hope. As far as public safety policy goes, they’ve certainly done their job: it’s a cliché now, but New York really did become America’s safest city, and it remained so until things began to unravel during the nightly de Blasio years.

There is no dispute that Giuliani’s approach to public safety was vigorous. But back then, there were almost 2,000 murders a year; Crime was out of control and the city’s public squares were overrun addicts and the mentally ill. Hard times called for tough politics.

Today’s challenges aren’t quite as scary — not yet, anyway — but the trendlines are scary and the institutional barriers to recovery are significant.

There’s the question of Adam’s commitment and staying power. Yes, he ran on a public safety platform, and he says a lot of the right things. But some of his strategies are best described as half measures – his anti-gun initiative comes to mind – and he likes to go back to controversial statements. (One day he’s into quality of life monitoring and the next maybe not so much.)

A real test for the man will inevitably come with his first violent crisis between the police and the public. Until then, let’s just say that Eric Adams is an institutionally lonely man climbing a very high mountain.

For example, there is the city council. Back then, the Council consisted of a few inspired leaders and a bevy of amiable hacks—meaning it rarely got in the way.

Today the Council is littered with progressive termite tunnels; It seems genuinely intent on making things worse – a case in point being its idiotic objections to Adams’ vagabond actions.

The same is true of the Albany establishment, which is known for fueling New York’s current street crime crisis with ill-considered allegations Penal Code “Reforms”. Whether the modest rollbacks of these changes, which are reported to be part of an upcoming government budget deal, will be enough is unclear – but likely not. Adams really shouldn’t be holding his breath to find out.

Now it’s about how willing New Yorkers are to share their public spaces with addicts and the insane – and their streets with violent criminals.

They will have a say in the June 28 primary and again in November; until then, the best they can do is offer comfort and support to their new mayor.

He’s not Rudy Giuliani, but he’s heading in the right direction and it’s hard to ask for more than that.

Email: bob@bobmcmanus.nyc