NEW YORK — Mayor Eric Adams held his first Community Forum on Public Safety on Wednesday evening.

He spoke with residents, activists and leaders in downtown Brooklyn.

“We can’t live in a city where young people pick up a gun faster than they can get an iPad,” Adams said. “Every day, the commissioner and I stop by hospitals, meet with parents. Almost every evening, picking up our phones, reviewing the number of young people who are losing their lives.”

In addition to crime, the conversation with community members focused on several quality of life issues, including education, homelessness and job creation.

Adams encouraged better communication between City Hall and residents, as well as neighbor to neighbor.

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez also joined in the conversation, saying programs need to be put in place to get the city’s youth to understand the importance of not getting involved in the world of crime. violence. He touted a new program he is implementing that is expected to add more senior prosecutors to deal with gun violence, expedite cases and analyze data.

“A $2 million restorative justice program is underway so we can get young men to lay down their guns and build their life skills,” Gonzalez said.

The NYPD responded to two more shootings overnight – one in Jamaica, Queens and the other in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, where a man died.