Seated at every table was a community group, violence disrupters, and a high-ranking NYPD official sitting side by side.
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Some group conversations were energetic, some included tears.
It was a collaboration of stakeholders not seen during prior administrations.
It's the first of a series of what City Hall has dubbed "community conversations on public safety." It was held at the Boys and Girls High School in Brooklyn.
Questions aimed at the mayor were at times pointed.
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They ranged from oversight of homeless shelters and the budget.
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One person asked: "How much of the budget can be used for the betterment of our people knowing that one billion dollars is for the police and yet one million is for job training programs?"
Mayor Adams said, "The police budget remained flat. We can't live in a city where young people pick up a gun faster than they can get an iPad."
Even questions about seniors and education turned into concerns about crime.
"We will never be able to police our way out of the situation that we're in," New York City Schools Chancellor David Banks said. "The police play a role but as the mayor said, it's about how we engage as a community. And as the largest school system in the world, we have a major role to play."
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It was almost like watching Mayor Adams' version of Mayor Bloomberg's 311.
"We need to ask you what you need from us. And that's why we're here," NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said.
The question is, will it have the impact the mayor is hoping for?
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