AGov. Andrew Cuomo and
Mayor Bill de Blasio have
been paying an awful lot
of lip service praising our “heroes”
and “essential workers.”
However, when it comes to helping
them feel safe getting to
and from their important jobs,
these elected offi cials are missing
in action.
Our doctors and nurses,
cops, fi refi ghters, supermarket
employees, and many others
take the subway to perform
their vital services, but, since
the outbreak of the novel coronavirus,
it has become a rolling
hotel for the homeless and emotionally
disturbed, and an underground
haven for criminals.
These “heroes” deserve better
and it is time our mayor and
governor give them some peace
of mind.
The mayor should focus less
THE RIGHT
VIEW
Bob Capano
on releasing criminals from jail
and prioritize public safety, and
the governor should send in the
COURIER L 24 IFE, APRIL 24-30, 2020
National Guard.
Last month, there was a 55
percent increase in robberies
compared to March of last year.
And this is with about 90 percent
less riders! This trend is
continuing. Clearly criminals,
rather than workers, feel very
safe on the subway.
In addition to their bad
deeds against citizens, the
perps continue to feel emboldened
to disobey police offi cers.
Just last week, a police offi cer
was viciously kicked on to a
subway platform, breaking her
wrist as she was attempting to
arrest someone. Obviously, it
could have been much worse.
Heads of the MTA know
they are losing control of their
system as they have hired 70
private security guards to act
as “eyes and ears” within the
city’s subways. Signifi cantly,
they have no law enforcement
powers. You don’t need a PhD in
criminal justice to know that if
criminals don’t have a problem
kicking a cop off of a subway
platform, they are not going to
be deterred by another set of
“eyes and ears.”
Meanwhile, de Blasio has
focused on emptying Rikers Island
due, working toward the
progressive utopia of having
no one in jail. When it was reported
that some of those released
went on to commit more
crimes against innocent New
Yorkers, Hizzoner said, “I think
it’s unconscionable just on a
human level that folks were
shown mercy, and this is what
some of them have done.” No
Mr. Mayor, it is unconscionable
that you continue your track record
of putting criminals above
law abiding New Yorkers.
The mayor should stop this
insane mass release policy,
which includes letting go those
that district attorneys object to
releasing because of the danger
posed to the public by the inmate.
He should also re-deploy
what he can of the NYPD to the
subway. At the same time, the
governor can put a strong show
of force underground by deploying
the National Guard. One of
the main reasons he may consider
doing this is because he
never misses a chance to pull
rank on de Blasio. Subway commuters,
especially today, deserve
to feel safe and secure.
Bob Capano has worked for
Brooklyn Republican and Democrat
elected offi cials, and has
been an adjunct political science
professor for over 15 years.
Follow him on twitter @bobcapano.
OPINION
Our ‘heroes’ deserve better. Send
the National Guard to the subway!
Things fall apart. What used to
work, doesn’t anymore
One painful part of this
moment in history is
the slow-dawning realization
that we are, for the moment,
powerless. Politicians
get elected by promising to
bring changes — promises that
they frequently cannot deliver
upon. This crisis especially exposes
the lie.
Congress defi nitely has
some power against the president:
the power over government
spending and the power,
when united, to override the
president’s decrees. Are they
using it? Hard to say, but it
seems to me they are mostly
not. Also unclear if this president
would even acknowledge
he is bound by congress at this
point. I’d say the outlook there
is not great.
At this point, can the state
legislature override the governor
or the city council, the
mayor? The state legislature
has not met in weeks. It is unclear
if it will meet again this
year. The city council is making
noises that they will control
some of the mayor’s less
reality-based plans, but right
now I do not see how they will
enforce their edicts.
Can the governor control
the state bureaucracy? In some
cases yes, and this governor
is skilled at deploying his authority.
But it has been heartbreaking
to see people trust
the system when I know the
system will fail them. Calling
the state unemployment insurance
hotline does not work. We
were promised fi xes weeks ago.
It appears to still not work.
Can the mayor control the
city’s bureaucracy? Ha. Ha ha
ha. It didn’t feel like he had a
grip during normal times. The
police force has been literally
turning their back on him for
years. He announced 21,000
free hotel rooms for healthcare
workers and those who need
self-quarantine. Try getting
one of those.
And what is our method for
controlling those above us? I
think protests were never very
effective, being more about
assuaging the participants’
guilty or angry egos than enacting
any change. The tiny
minority of fools gathering at
statehouses to demand their
right to a haircut or an ice
cream cone at the expense of
their lives, possibly, will not
get their way unless they have
a particularly stupid governor.
For the rest of us, protests occur
on Zoom now: a literal virtual
echo chamber.
What about elections? The
nearest election in June is primaries
for the state legislature,
the one that’s currently
not meeting. Insurgent candidates
used to rely on doorknocking
to spread the word;
that’s out. Now the campaigns
have to phonebank, but most
voters do not list their phone
numbers. For years, I have
argued that running to represent
your block on Democratic
county committee is the way
to build grassroots power. It
now appears the competitive
county committee elections
will be canceled because they
won’t fi t on absentee ballots.
Where does this leave us?
Stay tuned.
Nick Rizzo is a Democratic
District Leader representing
the 50th Assembly District and
a political consultant who lives
in Greenpoint. Follow him on
Twitter @NickRizzo.
WORDS OF
RIZZDOM
Nick Rizzo
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