NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Mayor-elect Eric Adams on Thursday spoke out against new bail reform laws that allowed a homeless man accused of setting fire to a Christmas tree outside Fox News headquarters to walk free.
The 49-year-old suspect, Craig Tamanaha, was arrested on the scene early Wednesday after the 50-foot tree at the intersection of West 48th Street and 6th Avenue was set ablaze.
A slew of charges were leveled against Tamanaha, including arson and reckless endangerment, but according to the assistant district attorney assigned to the case, none were bail eligible offenses. Under New York law, arson is only considered a felony if the suspect tries to harm someone or commit a hate crime.
Tamanaha walked out of the courthouse hours after the fire under supervised at the request of prosecutors.
"This guy has clearly made a decision, you know, I'm going to just continue to wreak havoc and arson is a serious crime," Adams said.
The incoming mayor believes judges must be able to use their own discretion when it comes to bail.
"Judges should be able to look at the front person in front of them on those violent actions and make a determination. That is the missing piece," Adams said. "Where they can give bail, they should do so, but on cases like that, that is where the tweak needs to be. That's a picture perfect example."
Before Wednesday's tree torching, Tamanaha had been in and out of jail for a series of low level offenses, including drug possession and public intoxication.
Tamanaha's next court appearance is scheduled for Jan. 4.
Many in law enforcement have blamed bail reform for a recent rise in crime and the New York State Association of Chiefs of Police is proposing adjustments to the state's bail reform laws.
"We recognize the inequities in the cash bail system and the fact that if someone with money can get out of jail and someone that doesn't have money can get stuck in jail," said executive director Patrick Phelan, who is a retired chief.
He wants to eliminate cash bail altogether but he proposes "giving judges the discretion to remand people to jail and allowing them to consider dangerousness to the community as a reason for remand."
The chiefs also propose allowing judges to review the criminal history of juvenile defendants and for a tiered discovery system so district attorneys aren't pressured to release evidence all at once.
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