Crime has surged back to the front of the pack in the news coverage of New York City over the past few days, after a pair of high-profile incidents involving actors occurred on Easter Sunday in Manhattan. TV actor Michael Stuhlbarg was the victim of an attack by a rock-throwing homeless man in Central Park, while Broadway actor John Cardoza found himself the victim of a robbery by a panhandler outside a coffee shop on 145th Street.
City Councilman Joe Borelli (R-51st) is among the people who feel that a significant cause of the problem is in not letting the legal system catch and punish repeat offenders. Speaking on 710 WOR’s Len Berman and Michael Riedel in the Morning program, Borelli says progressive policies are the reason why crime is a major problem in the Big Apple.
“There is a core of ten or so [on the City Council], and unfortunately they drive a lot of the conversation, who just do not like police officers,” Borelli told Berman and Riedel. “They think police officers are the cause of society’s problems, not the solution. We have one, Tiffany Caban, who basically tells people… if your store was burglarized or you were attacked, don’t call the police, here is the social justice warrior you should call and will come to the rescue. It’s just preposterous, it’s bizarre. They live in an alternate universe.”
Borelli cited another council member to illustrate why Good Samaritans are less likely to get involved. “[Council woman] Amanda Farias, who is the majority leader… [said] when all these women got attacked over the last couple of weeks, ‘Where are the men?’ Basically, she said it a little sassy way, and most people pointed out that she was one of the leading voices saying we have to prosecute Daniel Penny, when Daniel Penny intervened. It’s a completely bizarre thing to say when you were the one criticizing this guy who did intervene… but she was the leading voice about it, and now she’s saying where are the men?”
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