Crime
New York City Mayor Eric Adams is allegedly meeting with alleged drug dealers at a local Burger King, echoing Memphis mayor’s ceasefire talks with gangs
New York City Mayor Eric Adams allegedly met with alleged drug dealers who’re reportedly using a local Burger King as their headquarters.
Witness to alleged meeting between drug dealers and Adams he said that the meeting lasted about an hour and cops were also present.
A City Hall spokesman told the newspaper: “Mayor Adams personally visited us last weekend to see the situation on the ground and hear from employees, customers and residents. The police station was and will continue to be the first to respond to community complaints.”
According to reports, Kevin Kaufman, a resident and owner of an apartment in New York, has filed a lawsuit against Burger King for the quantity of $15 million. Kaufman maintains that the restaurant allowed “professional drug dealers” to operate with impunity.
According to the lawsuit: “The activities of drug dealers at Burger King have attracted drug addicts, drunks and emotionally disturbed people who have terrorized the neighborhood for months,” the lawsuit also alleges that “the standard of life that is critical to the well-being of the neighborhood has been threatened, deeply harmed and destroyed by the character of this criminality.”
New York’s Adams is not the only city leader to side with those that some say are running a criminal racket. In February, Memphis Mayor Paul Young met with gang members to ask for a ceasefire.
As reported, Young’s meeting was hosted by HEAL 901a Memphis nonprofit headed by Durell Cowan.
Cowan, the nonprofit’s executive director, said gangs must be included within the conversation.
“We can’t have conversations about how to help specific people without including them in the conversation. When conducting violence intervention and prevention activities, it is easy to establish contact with these people, and we found that they did not hesitate to meet with the mayor. And again, this was not negotiated,” Cowan said. “Hey, we have to do something about crime. I need a seven-day ceasefire. What would you contribute to your community to prevent such events from happening?”
According to Cowan, it is important to his nonprofit that gang members aren’t dehumanized.
“They’re different gangs, but because of me and my brother Delvin Lane from the 901 Block Squad, we communicated who we were bringing in to be certain there have been no real rivals within the space where they may have this conversation safely and at no cost. It is necessary.”
Cowan continued: “These people are human and they don’t think they want to be here. Sometimes the things you see are cries for help. See when we talk about mental health and things like that. There is usually no conversation until we see that the situation has occurred. We have to face these things. We have to do this, and the only way to do it is to hear their views directly.”
Young, for his part, understands this town needs several approaches within the fight against violent crime in town, which incorporates engaging gang members in discussions about methods to achieve this goal.
As Young said, “If we’re going to talk about how we’re going to reduce crime, I think it’s important to involve the people who were directly involved,” Young said. “It was really as simple as asking what it would take to get a seven-day ceasefire. They expressed their willingness to do so.”
Young also said some gang members expressed hope that he would discuss with other gangs, which might mean more would come from him than from other gang members.
“One of them told me how powerful our presence was there and how powerful it would be if, instead of relying on them to convey the message to others associated with their organization, I went and made an impact directly,” he stated. “It would be extremely important for them to see me in their neighborhood because it is not a common occurrence. These young people want to see decision-makers. They want to see those who came from these neighborhoods and made it in different ways.”