The one who knocks: Mayor Adams vows door-to-door checks on gun permits

He’s certainly no criminal like Walter White, but Mayor Eric Adams is vowing to take up the “Breaking Bad” character’s mantle as the “one who knocks” — at least when it comes to gun permits in New York City.

“It is really about using the good, old-fashioned methods of doing investigation,” Adams said in an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” Thursday morning.

“When I became a police officer, people knocked on my neighbor’s doors and interviewed them and asked what type of person am I.”

Police officers will employ those “good old-fashioned” methods of investigation like knocking on neighbors’ doors as part of the background check requirements on potential gun permit holders included in New York’s new gun safety law.

State officials added extra requirements for individuals seeking concealed carry weapons permits that take effect today, Sept. 1, in the wake of the US Supreme Court’s decision that overturned a 1913 state law mandating individuals to show “proper cause” for packing heat.

“And I think those are the same skills that’s going to be used to look at not only social media but also knocking our neighbors’ doors, speaking to people, finding out who this individual is that we are about to allow to carry a firearm in our city,” said Adams, a former police captain.

Background checks will now require applicants to sit down for an in-person interview, submit four character references, a list of former and current social media accounts spanning the prior three years and disclose the names of their spouse or any other adults living in their home. 

Permit renewals will also now be required every three years, instead of five years under the former law. 

NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said the department has tracked a 54% increase in carrying license applications ahead of the Thursday deadline, accounting for 1,579 applications filed since June 1 — compared to 1,024 filed during the same period in 2021.

Officials also said the NYPD won’t add additional officers to enforce the new rules in newly created gun-free zones like Times Square right off the bat, but Adams said he predicts the changes will stress the department’s current resources. 

“We’re not going to take police officers from those areas where we need police protection because of violence, upticks, but at the same time, it is going to really stretch out our law enforcement capabilities,” said Adams on MSNBC.