Mayor Eric Adams Grapples With Two Shocking Acts of Violence

The killing of a police officer and a fatal push on the subway underscore the challenges that Mr. Adams faces as he tries to improve public safety.

In one evening, barely an hour apart, Mayor Eric Adams was confronted with two tragic events that crystallized some people’s persistent fears about New York City.

Shortly before the mayor announced the shooting death of Police Officer Jonathan Diller from a hospital in Queens, the police confirmed that a man had been fatally pushed into the path of a subway train in an unprovoked attack in Manhattan.

The two episodes underscored the defining challenges of Mr. Adams’s mayoralty as he has tried to improve public safety and boost the city’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. In recent months, he has repeatedly embraced a slogan — “Crime is down, jobs are up” — to drive both points home.

But the violence on Monday undercut the argument that the city is becoming less dangerous and raised questions about whether Mr. Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul have done enough to address gun violence and safety on the subway. Mr. Adams recently increased police patrols on the subway, and Ms. Hochul ordered the National Guard and the State Police into the transit system.

Mr. Adams, a Democrat and former police officer, found himself in a familiar place on Monday night — grieving with New Yorkers over another “senseless act of violence” and speaking out against those who have a “total disregard for the safety of this city.”

“I cannot say it any clearer — it is the good guys against the bad guys,” Mr. Adams said at a news conference at Jamaica Hospital in Queens after meeting with Officer Diller’s wife. “These bad guys are violent, they carry guns, and the symbol of our public safety, which is that police uniform, they have a total disregard for.”