Manhattan US Attorney Jay Clayton on Sunday said he wants to root out more crime in housing projects \u2014 and already warned Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani not to undermine the NYPD\u2019s \u201cpreventing policing.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
The President Trump appointee <\/a>said US authorities and prosecutors in general are focusing more on local crime and corruption because federal laws are tougher than regional criminal-justice systems such as New York City\u2019s to put away the bad guys.<\/p>\n \u201c[During] certain weeks, we are positioning our attorneys in precincts around the city where we have the most violent, gun-toting criminals,\u201d Clayton said Sunday <\/a>on 77 WABC\u2019s the \u201cCats Roundtable\u201d radio program. \u201cWe charge [suspects] federally if we can because there\u2019s a greater likelihood of detention.<\/p>\n US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton said his office will be rooting out crime in the city\u2019s housing projects. REUTERS<\/p>\n \u201cAnd if we\u2019re able to prove the case, they\u2019re going to get and serve longer sentences,\u201d the US attorney said. \u201cThat\u2019s what New York wants. The New York people, they want gun-toting criminals off our street.\u201d<\/p>\n Clayton said he advised the lefty Mamdani to let the NYPD continue to do one of the things it does best \u2014 \u201cpreventative policing \u2014 by preserving specialized department units such as the Strategic Response Group<\/a> that handles counter-terrorism, protests and riots.<\/p>\n \u201cThe New York Police Department is the greatest police department in the world. It\u2019s not even close [to others],\u201d Clayton said. \u201c[The NYPD\u2019s] efforts in preventive policing \u2026 are so far ahead of the other big city police departments.<\/p>\n \u201cTo get rid of preventive policing would be a huge mistake. \u2026 You\u2019re not treating people better by pulling back on the police. You actually create more violence scenarios for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n Mamdani has called for disbanding the SRG.<\/p>\n Clayton said he advised Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani to keep the NYPD\u2019s Strategic Response Group. Getty Images<\/p>\n Clayton said he\u2019s also looking for his office to help take down other open-air drug markets in the city after the recent crackdown in Washington Square Park<\/a> \u2014 as well as root out gang violence, gun-trafficking and corruption, including in local public housing projects.<\/p>\n Clayton discussed the recent federal indictment of 19 suspected narc-dealers operating in Washington Square Park. The feds\u2019 clean-up effort was done in concert with the Drug Enforcement Agency and the NYPD.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m happy to say, with the New York Police Department\u2019s continuing vigilance there, that Washington Square Park is now a park and not a drug den,\u201d Clayton told host John Catsimatidis.<\/p>\n NYPD officers patrolling Washington Square Park during a recent crackdown on open-air drug use on Nov. 1, 2025. Michael Nagle<\/p>\n