NYC mayoral candidates prepare for final debate co-hosted by WABC

NEW YORK CITY (WABC) — Eric Adams and Curtis Sliwa are preparing for their final New York City mayoral debate co-hosted by WABC.

More than 45,000 New Yorkers have already cast their ballots.

On Monday, Democratic candidate Eric Adams campaigned in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, going door-to-door discussing quality of life concerns with small business owners.

He has vowed to jumpstart the New York economy still suffering from the pandemic.

Adams’ opponent, Republican Curtis Sliwa on Monday, joined in a rally and protest over vaccine mandates.

Adams has said he supports the mayor’s order to city workers — either get vaccinated or no pay.

“Stop this nonsense, end the mandates, it should be as it was originally for cops and firefighters,” Sliwa said. “Encourage vaccination. I’m vaccinated. If you can’t or won’t be vaccinated test them once a week.”

He added, “We’re talking about shots – people getting two shots, one shot…How about those who are getting shot? And suffering from lead poisoning in the City of New York?”

Meantime, Eric Adams said he is looking at new school safety technology that could eliminate metal detectors, which some critics claim are too intimidating for an educational setting.

“We don’t need to dehumanize children. There is new technology out there where you don’t need that visible presence to detect a firearm and we are going to use that technology to make our schools safer,” Adams said.

He also said that he wants to add school safety officers where necessary, not take them away.

“It’s imperative that we do an analysis of the schools, see the need to keep children safe, and focus on that and that’s what I’m going to do. I’m not going to be rigid. I’m going to look at those schools and say, this is what we need to keep children safe, because they all are not the same,” Adams said.

Mayor de Blasio said that there are about 4,500 safety agents, more than the 3,200 NYPD said during his news conference earlier in the day Monday. 250 will be added in the next class.

That followed a weekend in which both candidates rallied voters.

But the two men have very different ideas for fixing the alarming spike in crime, with Sliwa calling for more arrests for shootings.

“Three out of four have resulted in men shooting other individuals and never being arrested,” Sliwa said. “That’s like an advertisement to come on into Brooklyn and conduct a shootout.”

“We keep talking about the crime that takes place on Lenox Avenue, but the crime takes place in the system where you see 5% of Black and brown children never reach proficiency,” Adams said. “If you don’t educate you will incarcerate.”

Eyewitness News Anchor Bill Ritter will moderate the final mayoral debate Tuesday night at 7 p.m. on Channel 7.

RELATED | New York City mayor’s race: How to vote early

Election Day is Tuesday, November 2.

MORE NEWS | NYC union group demands $500 payments for vaccinated workers

———-
* Get Eyewitness News Delivered
* More New York City news
* Send us a news tip
* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts
* Follow us on YouTube

Submit a News Tip