Brad has been a leading voice for closing Rikers Island and was the first citywide elected official to call for federal receivership in 2022.   As Comptroller he created a first-of-its kind Department of Corrections dashboard which monitors pervasive issues in the City’s jails, including staff absenteeism, missed medical appointments, and incidents of violence among detained people and staff. 

At the height of the discriminatory use of stop-and-frisk, Brad spearheaded legislation at the City Council along with Public Advocate Jumaane Williams to strengthen the City’s prohibition on racial profiling and create the office of the NYPD Inspector General. What followed were dramatic declines in discriminatory stop-and-frisk, accompanied by dramatic declines in crime. Additionally while in the Council, Brad sponsored a resolution in favor of pending legislation within the New York State Legislature to enact extensive gun control laws including waiting periods, background checks, and safety certificates.

As Comptroller, Brad’s hard-hitting audits and reports have exposed the failures of Mayor Adams’ approach to public safety, like sweeps of homeless encampments that place just 0.1% of people into permanent housing. Brad’s audit of ShotSpotter, a gunfire location and detection technology contracted by the NYPD, revealed that alerts only identified confirmed shootings 13% of the time.

Brad led the pension systems to call on American Express, MasterCard and Visa to support a proposal to establish a merchant category code (MCC) for gun and ammunition stores. The MCC code would allow financial institutions to both locate and report large purchases of firearms and ammunition – purchases that have the potential to be used for criminal purchases.