Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin lost the 2022 New York gubernatorial election last week against incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat. Now that Hochul will remain in office, Zeldin said that the issue of crime will continue and residents will have to decide if they want to stay in New York or move away.
“Many of the issues that we were campaigning on, they don't just go away the day after an election," Zeldin said in an interview on "Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo."
“We continue to see that, with all the crime headlines that continue to be part of the news. And, that's going to impact New Yorkers deciding whether or not to stay in this state and for others to decide whether or not to travel to New York," Zeldin added.
"It's really important as the Democrats go forward that they understand that they can't be passing more pro-criminal laws. They need to make changes to some of the pro-criminal laws they have passed already, like cashless bail,” he continued.
One of government's most essential functions is ensuring public safety. From cashless bail and other pro-criminal laws, to weak DAs and eroding support for law enforcement, NY has failed miserably on this most basic, urgent need. Discussed with @MariaBartiromo on @SundayFutures. pic.twitter.com/Dhni8F79F8
— Lee Zeldin (@RepLeeZeldin) November 13, 2022
Townhall covered last week how a convicted murdered on parole reportedly tried to kidnap an 8-year-old girl in New York City. The convict, Juan Rivera, 52, was reportedly released from state prison in late August after being locked up since the early 2000s. According to the New York Post, he grabbed and “physically restrained” the young girl as she walked through her neighborhood with her father in the afternoon.
The girl’s father, Abraham Perez, intervened and wrestled his daughter from Rivera. Police officers who happened to be in the area reportedly arrested Rivera. He was charged with kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment and harassment. Perez told a local outlet, News 12, that his daughter is now “traumatized” and will not go outside anymore.
Following the incident, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, said in an interview that the state’s “catch and release” policy is “destroying the foundation of our country.”
“There are too many people…that are repeated offenders. They have made up their mind that they’re going to be violent in our streets,” he added.
Earlier this year, Adams said that New York City had become a “laughing stock” over its rising crime.
“Anything goes in the city of New York,” he said in remarks at an event. “The most important city on the globe has become the laughing stock of the globe.”
Despite this, Hochul refuses to acknowledge that crime is a major issue plaguing her state. This month, Townhall reported that Hochul said that crime rates were a “conspiracy” being peddled by Republicans.
“These are master manipulators,” she said of Republicans. “They have this conspiracy going all across America trying to convince people in Democratic states that they’re not as safe. Well, guess what? They’re not only election deniers, they’re data deniers.”
New York Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul claims it’s a “conspiracy” that violent crime is rising.
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) October 31, 2022
“[Republicans] are master manipulators. They have this conspiracy going all across America trying to convince people that in Democrat states, they’re not as safe.” pic.twitter.com/JWwzRr51mj
In New York City, subway crime is reportedly up 40 percent compared to last year. Adam’s first day in office, he took the subway and called 911 to report a fight. He also encountered passengers yelling and sleeping on the trains.
A Gallup poll released last month showed that the majority of Americans believe local crime has increased, as well as nationally.
“Although crime is not one of the top issues Americans cite as the most important problem in the U.S., their belief that crime in their local area has risen in the past year has hit a new high in Gallup's trend,” the poll write-up stated.