Updated

Last week, Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., tweeted out a call for the immediate removal of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio from office amid a surge in violent crime acoss the city.

With the violence showing no sign of abating and claiming a 1-year-old Brooklyn boy among its victims, Zeldin has doubled down on his call to remove the mayor.

“I don't believe New York City is going to survive the remainder of Mayor de Blasio’s term in office," he told Fox News. "Certainly there are individuals who live in New York City who will not literally survive without any type of a change in the way New York City approaches policing, law and order, safety and security."

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The congressman noted that in recent days, more people have been shot in New York City than have died of COVID-19.

“While they're passing out all these masks, I was thinking that maybe they should be passing out vests too,” he suggested.

Although de Blasio has been vocal in supporting protestors and activists on the political left, even funding and participating in the painting of a Black Lives Matter mural on Fifth Avenue, Zeldin says his disapproval of the mayor is not down to partisanship.

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“Ironically, when he stands in front of Black Lives Matter protesters, they're booing him off the stage," the congressman said. "He has lost the confidence of not just New Yorkers who never voted for him ... He's lost the support of people who have voted for him. I actually don't know of anyone in York City who supports Mayor de Blasio."

Zeldin believes that de Blasio’s history in activism explains why the mayor appears to align with protestors over law enforcement and law-abiding citizens.

“It's important for our elected officials to have the backs of our law enforcement, not to participate in efforts with these radical calls to defund our police,” he said.

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Looking ahead, Zeldin said he envisioned New York's future as “a tale of two cities."

“There is  path that they're going down right now, and the path that is available with a change of leadership that would be filled with opportunity.”