To make progress against New York City’s rampant crime, Democratic Mayor Eric Adams could turn to a Republican to be his state’s governor, a former New York City Police Department official said Thursday.
During an appearance on the Fox News show “America’s Newsroom,” former NYPD Inspector Paul Mauro said having Republican Lee Zeldin in office would help Adams address one of the mayor’s top priorities, according to Fox News.
Mauro said Adams will not speak out against incumbent Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul but in private might do something different.
“I actually think on November 8th, when he goes into the booth, because he can’t publicly go against his base, I think Adams pulls that lever for Zeldin,” Mauro said in reference to the outgoing congressman from Long Island.
“Zeldin gives him the top cover he needs to do some of the stuff that he wants to be his legacy, which is fixing New York.”
Mauro pushed back on Hochul’s claims that restrictions on guns will limit crime.
“Unfortunately, Kathy Hochul believes that the only crimes that are being committed are these crimes with guns. And you have people who are afraid of being pushed in front of oncoming subway cars. They’re being stabbed, beaten to death on the street with hammers,” he said, according to Fox News.
“America doesn’t have a long gun problem. America has a problem, particularly in our urban areas, with illegal handguns, and that’s what this is. And until our adults in the room are willing to recognize that that’s the problem, there’s going to be no way to solve it,” Mauro said.
Mauro said he thinks Zeldin would make changes. One possible change would be the firing of Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney whose policies have been attacked by some businesses as being too soft on crime.
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“He’s also said that he is going to declare a crime state of emergency, which allows him to put in policies that get him around the legislature,” Mauro said of Zeldin.
On Tuesday, Zeldin debated Hochul, saying she fails to hear the cries of New Yorkers who demand to be safer than they currently are, according to the New York Post.
“My opponent thinks that right now there’s a polio emergency going on but there’s not a crime emergency — different priorities than I’m hearing from people right now,” Zeldin said.
“They’re not being represented from this governor — who still, to this moment … hasn’t talked about locking up anyone committing any crimes.”
As part of her response, Hochul said, “I don’t know why that’s so important to you.”
Zeldin later said that remark “proves that she isn’t in touch with the people,” according to the Post.
“It proves that she doesn’t represent the people because it should be first and foremost in her mind,” Zeldin said.
“If she wants to represent New Yorkers, if she cares about New Yorkers, she would have her finger on the pulse and she wouldn’t have to make that point. She wouldn’t have to think it in her head, let alone say it out loud.”
