Rep. Zeldin says de Blasio 'has to be removed' from office, claims NYC 'won't survive' if he serves out term
Long Island Republican says city is 'at a crossroads' and 'going in the wrong direction'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., told "Outnumbered Overtime" Wednesday that New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio "has to be removed" from office, claiming that the city "won’t survive him staying in for the remainder of this term."
Zeldin, whose district covers central and eastern Long Island, said the region looks to New York City as an anchor and compared the current strife and unrest in the city to the final days of then-mayor David Dinkins in the mid-1990s.
EX-NYPD COMMISSIONER WARNS OF 'VERY BLEAK' FUTURE FOR NYC, SAYS DE BLASIO 'EVISCERATED' THE FORCE
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Mayor Dinkins left and you had Rudy Giuliani come in [in 1994]. There was a focus on quality of life. [Rudy] saw the crime rates go down, the economy flourishing, the potential being reached," Zeldin said. "Here we are again, fast-forward through what has really been a terrible few weeks and months with the city going in the wrong direction.
"It's at a crossroads."
"This is a tale of two cities," Zeldin added. "You have the direction that New York City can be filled with opportunity, it can be filled with law and order, safety and security, peace and prosperity -- or it’ll be this direction that Bill de Blasio is taking it down, which is chaos and lawlessness and poverty and a lack of opportunity."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}According to the New York Post, which cited police data, the number of shootings in New York has nearly tripled over the past four weeks compared to the same period last year. The number of victims of gun violence jumped to 304 from 100 last year.
De Blasio has partially blamed the uptick in violence on the coronavirus pandemic, pointing to an "absence of a functioning court system" among other issues.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"But the NYPD continues to move resources where they are needed and come up with new strategies. It is different from past years because we're dealing with a much greater challenge. But we will beat it," the mayor said Wednesday.
De Blasio, who is term-limited, will leave office on January 1, 2022. One potential Republican contender for the mayorship -- Canarsie native and Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa -- slammed de Blasio during an interview with the New York Post in March, during which he claimed to be "the only candidate with the onions to take back the city."