NEW YORK (NewsNation) — Violent crime in New York City will be under review Monday as the House Judiciary Committee holds a field hearing in lower Manhattan.

The hearing, led by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), the committee chairman, is expected to examine the policies in place by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office as well as hear testimony from the victims of these violent crimes.

However, before the hearing started, a group of Democrats — including New York City Mayor Eric Adams — held a press conference where they called the House hearing a “stunt hearing” about violent crime in Manhattan.

“Since when did my Republican colleagues become so concerned about the life and safety of New Yorkers?” Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) said during the press conference.

Nadler called out GOP representatives, listing the many ways in which they were not concerned about residents, including when they voted against billions of dollars for law enforcement in the American Rescue Plan.

“We all grieve for the victims of violent crime, here in Manhattan and everywhere,” Nadler said. “But if Jim Jordan and his Republican members really cared about protecting New Yorkers, they would join Democrats in assessing the iron pipeline that floods our streets with illegal guns from states with less strict gun laws.”

The hearing comes just two weeks after Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg handed down an indictment on former President Donald Trump.

Republican committee members want to demonstrate as best they can that Bragg is wasting taxpayer money and resources on trying to convict Trump versus using that money to go after criminals who are causing mayhem in the city.

Bragg was invited to speak at Monday’s hearing, but he declined.

C-SPAN is not airing the hearing on television.

Jordan said Bragg fosters pro-crime, anti-victim policies and that he doesn’t like prosecuting violent crimes which he said has led to a significant surge in crime.

New York City has “lost its way when it comes to fighting crime and upholding the law,” Jordan said. “Here in Manhattan, the scales of justice are weighed down by politics.”

Last year was a record year for crime in NYC, with more than 170,000 felonies reported, according to the New York Police Department CompStat. However, the NYPD crime data also revealed that major felony crimes are slightly down for the first three months of this year over last year.

The NYPD reported that murders are down 9.9% year-over-year and the number of shooting victims is down 18.7% with shooting incidents down 23%. Robberies and rapes are also slightly down from last year.

However, felony assaults, car thefts and shoplifting are up over the last year.

Instead of Bragg bringing felony charges against Trump, Jordan said Bragg should be looking for ways to keep the city safe. Trump recently pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.

New York City trial attorney Arthur Aidala told NewsNation’s Adrienne Bankert on “Morning in America” that one of his clients will be testifying at Monday’s hearing about his experience with violent crime.

Last year, 61-year-old Jose Alba, Aidala’s client, was charged with murder in connection with the death of 35-year-old Austin Simon.

The altercation started after a woman and her 10-year-old daughter went into a bodega to buy some snacks around 11 p.m. on July 1. The woman’s electronic benefits card was denied, sparking an argument between her and Alba, who was working as the bodega’s cashier at the time.

The woman told authorities Alba grabbed the snacks from the girl, so she left and told her boyfriend, Simon. Simon came into the bodega, confronted Alba, pushed him and tried to steer him from behind the counter, police said. Alba then picked up a knife and stabbed Simon in the neck and chest, according to authorities, until the woman pulled her own knife.

Alba was arrested on charges of second-degree murder, but the Manhattan district attorney’s office later dismissed the charges based on sources of information including files, records, video and audio, interviews with police and civilian witnesses and interviews with the clerk.

Aidala said he doesn’t think Bragg is serving the voters who elected him in the way the residents had hoped.

“I could tell you, as a person who works in Manhattan, I’m there five days a week, the people who elected Alvin Bragg, they want him to tackle those 170,000 felonies,” Aidala said. “Now, those aren’t all in Manhattan. Those are all five boroughs. But they want it.”

He explained they want Bragg to tackle the real felonies, not go after Trump.

Jordan and other Republicans sent a letter to Bragg last month asking him to send documents related to the case and requested that he came to Washington to testify about what they call his “politically motivated decision to charge Trump.”

They also issued subpoenas for a former city prosecutor who oversaw the Trump case before Bragg took it over when he was elected in 2021.

Bragg filed a lawsuit last week asking a judge to invalidate the subpoenas.

In a recent Twitter post, Bragg said, “Don’t be fooled. The House GOP is coming to the safest big city in America for a political stunt. This hearing won’t engage in actual efforts to increase public safety such as supporting national gun legislation and shutting down the iron pipeline.”

Jordan also posted to Twitter, saying, “If New York City is the “safest big city in America,” then why are so many people leaving?”