Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) harshly criticized Gov. Kathy Hochul‘s (D-NY) inaction on addressing crime in New York, calling on her and other lawmakers to “do their job” in protecting residents.
The congresswoman’s primary point of focus was on the lack of safety on New York City’s subway, which saw a man get stabbed while riding the subway system Sunday. Malliotakis blamed Democrats and their “radical bail law” that unleashed dangerous people onto the city’s streets, which she argued has led to a drastic increase in felony assaults.
“And I’m talking about the subway system alone since 2019, and you have real serious situations where you have about every two weeks somebody being pushed on the subway tracks in 2024!” Malliotakis said on Fox News’s Fox & Friends First. “Gov. Hochul needs to get this city and our state under control. Mayor Adams, by the way, was a transit cop, so he knows exactly what needs to be done to make our transit system secure. We’re down about 8,000 cops than we were on September 11, 2001. That is so scary considering the terror threats we face each and every day.”
To remedy this lack of safety, Malliotakis urged the state and the city to hire more police officers to keep its subways safe, especially in the wake of a new congestion tax that just went into effect in the Big Apple. This new tax, the first to be implemented in the United States, will tax most motorists $9 entering New York City’s congestion zones during peak hours in a bid to “push people” toward using the subway system.
“But people don’t want to ride the subway cause it’s not safe!” Malliotakis said. “You want people to ride the subway? Make it safe, don’t tax them.”
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New York City’s subway system and the danger it presents to riders have received newfound attention after a woman, recently identified as Debrina Kawam, was set on fire while sleeping in the subway on Dec. 22. Sebastian Zapeta, a 33-year-old illegal immigrant from Guatemala, was the one who lit a match while the F Train was stopped at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station. He was apprehended by authorities later that day.
Last week, a man was pushed onto New York City’s subway tracks as a train was approaching. While the man survived the encounter, he suffered broken ribs and a fractured skull.
