Commuters in Mineola tell News 12 they don’t feel as safe as they used to in New York City, and they hope President Joe Biden’s visit on Thursday will be a step toward changing that.

The New York Police Department says the president will tour their headquarters in lower Manhattan.

Lenny Vicciardo, of East Williston, works in New York City where six police officers have been shot so far in 2022, two of which were killed.

“I feel over the last couple, since COVID really started, the city has gone downhill,” Vicciardo says.

Biden will join Mayor Eric Adams to discuss the gun violence epidemic.

News 12 is told that Long Islander Linda Beigel Schulman has been invited to a meeting with Biden and Mayor Eric Adams in Long Island City, Queens.

Schulman lost her son Scott Beigel four years ago during a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida

The mayor has already released a blueprint to reduce gun violence, which includes putting more officers on the street, beefing up security at the Port Authority Bus Terminal and other entry points, increasing mental health services and creating changes to New York’s bail reform law.

Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder says illegal gun seizures have gone up and Suffolk County’s new District Attorney Ray Tierney says he has started an anti-gang task force following shootings.

Joyce Gorycki’s husband James died 28 years ago during the Long Island Rail Road massacre.

She says a multi-pronged approach is the way to make progress against gun violence.

“This is very, very important,” Gorycki says. “We’ve got to stop all these shootings. It’s terrible and it’s the worst I’ve seen in a long time.”