#Eric Adams says courts ‘contributing to overflow of crime’

Democratic mayoral nominee Eric Adams on Wednesday accused the court system of “contributing” to the city’s high crime rate — and demanded more virtual proceedings to speed up the wheels of justice.

During a news conference in Brooklyn, Adams was asked if he agreed with outgoing Mayor Bill de Blasio, who on Monday said the city’s courts were “not functioning” and “undermining public safety.”

“I think it’s a combination. The ocean of crime is being fed by many rivers,” Adams said.

“I believe the court is contributing to this overflow of crime that we’re seeing.”

Adams, the outgoing Brooklyn borough president and a former NYPD captain, also said the courts “just haven’t evolved” with the times.

“Why aren’t we having a greater number of men and women who are allowed to have teleconferences? Everyone is using Zoom, why haven’t the courts caught up with this?” he said.

“There is no reason for people to have to wait inside the courtroom … The days of being in a building, those days are over.”

Adams also said: “The court must expedite, particularly, violent crimes. You can’t have people walking on the streets who have shootings and other violent acts.”

On Monday, de Blasio revealed that there were only 18 verdicts reached in criminal trials across the city during the first half of the year, compared to 405 during the same period in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic led to courthouse closures.

“The court system not functioning is having a bigger impact [on crime] than almost any other factor right now,” he said.

“The absence of those consequences for a whole variety of crimes is undermining public safety.”

In a prepared statement, a spokesman for the state Office of Court Administration said, “We look forward to working with the new Mayor and sharing our insights into court operations with him, including the fact that at the beginning of the pandemic we were the first state court system in the country to implement a virtual court model.”

Lucian Chalfen also said the “virtual court” system “has been and continues to be used in the criminal courts in this City.”

“And as [Adams] rightly points out, there are many contributory factors affecting the health and safety of New Yorkers, some obvious and some more nuanced,” he added.

The comments were far milder than those Chalfen directed at de Blasio on Monday, when he accused the mayor of using “gaslighting rhetoric regarding court operations in an attempt to shift the public safety discussion.”

“The court system has been back at full strength — with all judges and staff fully back in person in the courthouses since May,” he said at the time.

“Trials are being held, but for cases to be tried, you need the prosecution and defense to have their cases prepared, which isn’t occurring in a number of counties.”

On Tuesday, The Post exclusively revealed that district attorneys across the city last year declined to prosecute accused felons at a rate of 16.9 percent, more than double the average 8 percent of the prior four years.

Most of the DAs’ offices wouldn’t comment, but a spokesperson for Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez acknowledged that his office decided at the height of the pandemic to not pursue “low-level and non-violent cases in response to the public health emergency.”

“We have since resumed our pre-pandemic practice, which includes robust diversion programs wherein we decline prosecution if individuals successfully complete their requirements,” Gonzalez’s spokesperson added.