NEW YORK CITY – New Yorkers admit to feeling the impacts of rising crime but told Fox News they expect "absolutely nothing" to come from President Biden’s meeting with the mayor Thursday.
Biden will travel to New York City Thursday to discuss a "comprehensive strategy to combat gun crime" with Mayor Eric Adams.
The president’s trip comes after thousands of police officers from across the nation traveled to Manhattan to pay their respects to fallen NYPD officers Jason Rivera and Wilbert Mora, who were shot and killed while responding to a domestic violence call last month.
"I think it's a total waste," one woman said of the president’s visit to the city. "He's going to do absolutely nothing to help New York City."
New York Police salute as a hearse carrying the casket of NYPD Officer Wilbert Mora is escorted down Fifth Avenue as it departs from St. Patrick's Cathedral after a funeral service for Mora, Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
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"Political – it's all political," the 75-year-old lifelong New Yorker continued. "That's why he's coming. No other reason."
The Biden administration on Thursday morning rolled out a strategy to stop the flow of guns, bolster law enforcement and increase funding for community policing ahead of the visit.
New York City saw 485 people murdered last year, a slight increase from 2020. It also experienced a sharp rise in hate crimes and an increase in almost all categories of major crimes. Additionally, subway crimes are up 65% so far in 2022.
"I cannot believe what’s happened in this city," one resident of the Big Apple told Fox News. "Crime is out of control."
Guns confiscated from gang members on display during Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez's press conference in the DA's office on Jan. 4, 2022. (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
"I know people who won't get on the subway," another woman said. "People rearrange their day around it…it definitely has an impact, especially for women."
One woman who owns a business in Manhattan said, "My customers, they're very afraid, after 5 o'clock, to walk in the city."
"My mom calls me every night, she’s scared to go out," a construction worker told Fox News. "Unfortunately, where she lives at, crime is up in the Bronx."
"A lot of people are doing bad," the man continued. "You know, COVID – when people don't have money, crime goes up."
New York Mayor Eric Adams speaks during a press conference by Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez in the district attorney's office on Jan, 4, 2022. (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
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One woman said the rise in crime started even before the pandemic hit.
"When they passed the bail and discovery laws, the state legislature passed them, Cuomo pushed them through, and it's changed everything," she said, referring to former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
"Sadly, no one is caring, nobody's taking care of these issues," she continued.
When asked if they thought the president’s visit would bring positive change, many were skeptical: "Every president, they sell dreams. Let’s see what happens," one said.
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