Brooklyn borough president and mayoral candidate Eric Adams blasted some of his Democratic rivals Thursday for not focusing enough on public safety, which he called a “prerequisite to prosperity.”

“I am a little disappointed that many candidates are not talking about the issues of the uptick in gun violence,” Adams, a former police officer, said in an interview on “Mornings On 1” as part of an ongoing series of conversations with the candidates running for the city’s top job. “Some candidates are calling for the legalization of heroine, crack cocaine, fentanyl — I find that problematic."

Opponent Andrew Yang has said he supports decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of hard drugs and focusing more on treatment rather than prosecution. 

The Brooklyn native also said he wants to make New York a more equal place. 

“I have witnessed, and I have been saying this for years, that the city has been leaving behind people of color and low-income New Yorkers for decades," he said. “We can change these inequalities."

Adams is looking to be the first Black mayor of NYC since David Dinkins, who served the city from 1990 through 1993.

The candidate said he wants to provide equal opportunities for city students and eliminate segregation. 

Adams said one way to do it is to add more housing density in affluent communities, not just low-income ones.

He said upzoning in affluent neighborhoods would help address the affordable housing shortage, better integrate schools, and give people access to better food options and transportation. 

Adams also tried to reframe the gentrification of Brooklyn.

“Gentrification is a mindset, not a human being or a person,” Adams said. 

He said it’s about people not frequenting local stores or using city agencies to target longtime residents. 

Adams said the borough is diverse and that Brooklyn residents, new and old, have shown they can live alongside one other.

“The goal is in harmony, so we’re all singing the same song,” Adams said.