NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams today announced that the administration will host a high-level summit at Gracie Mansion this weekend with a wide range of stakeholders — including members of the defense bar and the judiciary, advocacy group leaders, district attorneys, and law enforcement — to find common ground on efforts to keep New Yorkers safe. The objective of the summit is simple: Identify actionable solutions to ensure that New Yorkers get the safety and justice they deserve out of the criminal justice system.  

While the groups present may have different positions on a number of policy issues, this summit represents an effort to find common ground and advance those areas of agreement, while the groups continue to pursue individual policy goals.

“We can all agree that in order for our city to succeed we need both public safety and justice because the two together are the prerequisites to prosperity,” said Mayor Adams. “We have more in common than that which divides us and this summit is an effort to take what we agree will make New York safer and advance that agenda. Only by working with those who sometimes disagree will we see progress.”

“New Yorkers expect that their government will do all it can to keep them safe and treat them fairly,” said Chief Counsel to the Mayor and City Hall Brendan McGuire. “The mayor is gathering this experienced and creative group so that we can learn from one another and seek common ground for the benefit of everyone who is affected by our criminal justice system. We thank every participant for making the time to join us.”

“Dialogues like these — especially among New Yorkers who have differences of opinions as to why our criminal justice system is not just nor effective — will help us come together and begin to change the system for the better,” said Norman Siegel, former director, New York Civil Liberties Union. “I’m looking forward to productive, important and lively conversations this weekend, and I know we’re all coming to the table with a shared goal: Building a safer, more just city.”

Making the city’s criminal justice system more effective, efficient, and accountable is the Adams administration’s top priority. In recent years, there have been unprecedented pressures imposed on the system due to the pandemic. Those pressures have made it harder for the system to serve its dual purposes of ensuring justice for all and keeping New Yorkers safe. By gathering experienced leaders and practitioners with a range of perspectives, this convening aims to identify areas of common ground and potential solutions on a range of issues, including the pretrial discovery process and the treatment of those with serious mental illness.