One of NYC mayoral frontrunners declines to participate in next debate

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, one of the frontrunners in the New York City mayoral Democratic primary, said Tuesday that he will not be participating in the final debate before early voting begins. The debate is airing on CBS New York and streaming on CBSN New York  on Thursday night. 

Adams said he will be with the family of a 10-year-old boy who was killed in a shooting last weekend in Far Rockaway, Queens. The 22-year veteran of the New York Police Department has made crime a central focus of his campaign.  "I'm going to be in Rockaway with the family of a 10-year-old child," Adams told reporters on Tuesday, dismissing criticism from rival campaigns that he was dodging tough questions. "I wanted to do the debate. I enjoy debating the people on the stage, I wanted to. But the people of Rockaway, the people of the city - violence is suffocating our city. Now, to a lot of people, they're not aware of that, but I'm in these streets every day."