ALBANY — Mayor Bill de Blasio doubled down on his calls to restore a judges’ ability to exercise discretion under the new bail reform law, a position that’s lodged him in the middle of a controversial debate.
“I think there’s a form of judicial discretion with appropriate checks and balances, really clear guard rails that will help us to address some of the outstanding issues,” de Blasio told a panel of Democratic lawmakers during a legislative budget hearing on local governments Monday.
He also reiterated NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea’s claims tying an uptick in crime to the criminal justice changes passed by the state legislature last year.
“The bail reforms were the right thing to do. I do believe there’s a connection clearly between the change in law and this kind of unusual uptick. Our police commissioner stated clearly his reasoning and I have a tremendous respect for his analysis. I think there’s always more than one factor in anything in life…but it’s the only major thing that changed,” de Blasio added.
It’s an issue that’s divided top Democrats: Gov. Cuomo and state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart Cousins (D-Westchester) have said they are interested in making amendments to the law, citing the need to revise the statute especially in light of a spike in anti-Semitic hate crimes.
But Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie has remained immobile, refusing to budge on calls from law enforcement, moderate Democrats and Republicans to make changes.
“Everybody is looking for a sensible solution to the problem,” he told reporters in Albany last week.
“Right now, it seems when the sun doesn’t come up, everyone wants to blame the bail law.”
De Blasio told reporters he has had “very good conversations” with Heastie over the past several weeks, but refused to provide any details.
He also said he had plans to meet with Heastie and Stewart-Cousins during his Albany visit.