Mayor Blast Courts For 'Lagging' Behind Amid NYC Crime Surge

NEW YORK CITY — A frustrated Mayor Bill de Blasio blasted court officials for "lagging" on reopening from the coronavirus pandemic and amid a citywide crime surge.

De Blasio on Monday contrasted the court system's slow-to-reopen pace with other parts of daily life in the city, from indoor dining to entertainment, that have returned.

Courts in New York City had 18 trial verdicts during the first half of this year, de Blasio said Monday.

There were 405 verdicts during the same span in 2019, he said.

“It’s now the end of August 2021 and almost every other part of our society is back full strength,” he said. “Why on Earth is the court system not back?”

The mayor and NYPD officials for months have called on the court system to effectively restart trials at pre-pandemic levels. Their calls grew more urgent as the city experienced a sharp uptick in violent crime.

But officials in the court system, which is run by the state, have shot back that de Blasio and NYPD brass are looking for a scapegoat.

"Yet again, the mayor demonstrates his glaring lack of understanding of the criminal justice process in this state," Lucian Chalfen, a court system spokesperson, told Patch in a statement Monday. "His gaslighting rhetoric regarding court operations in an attempt to shift the public safety discussion continues.

"The court system has been back at full strength – with all Judges and staff fully back in person in the courthouses since May. Trials are being held, but for cases to be tried, you need the prosecution and defense to have their cases prepared, which isn’t occurring in s number of Counties."

Violent crime fell in June and July after city officials started their "Safe Summer NYC" program — a multi-prong approach focusing on community outreach, targeted policing, gun arrests and gang takedowns.

Murders and shooting incidents are still up 35 percent and 100 percent from 2019 levels, according to NYPD's crime statistics.

De Blasio on Monday said there's more work to do, but that the efforts still appear to paying off.

"We’re really happy about what’s happening at the community level and what’s happening with the NYPD,” he said.

But de Blasio said ongoing, "non-stop" talks with court officials have failed to get them to speed up trials. He said crimes need to have consequences.

“If there are no trials, there are no consequences,” he said.