Should Bill de Blasio resign amid New York City violence?
Joe Borelli, NYC Councilman, discusses the future of New York City under Mayor Bill de Blasio after calls for his resignation
After a year of "systematic defunding and crawling back" of the New York Police Department (NYPD), it's "tough to see" how conditions in New York City could devolve further, New York City Councilman Joe Borelli said Wednesday.
EX-NYPD COMMISSIONER WARNS OF 'VERY BLEAK' FUTURE FOR NYC, SAYS DE BLASIO 'EVISCERATED' THE FORCE
In an interview on "America's Newsroom" with host Sandra Smith, Borelli explained that in his 38 years living in the Big Apple he had "never seen a time where there was such a universal chorus of people demanding one specific leader of this city, Mayor de Blasio, resign."
Protestors supporting City Workers4Justice—an activist organization for city employees, rally outside City Hall Thursday, June 25, 2020, in New York, and call on Mayor Bill de Blasio to defund the NYPD. As the City Council and Mayor's Office put the finishing touches on New York City's 2021 budget, city workers, including Council staff, demand that the fiscal year 2021 budget reduce and reallocate the NYPD operating budget by at least $1 billion. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
Borelli also noted that calls for the former 2020 Democratic presidential candidate to resign were bipartisan, with both Republicans and Democrats taking issue with the mayor's governing.
"I mean, it is coming from both the right and the left. The right obviously sees these headlines on the front page of every paper, every single day seemingly hitting a new milestone of death, of violence and destruction. And, surprisingly, Sandra, the left actually thinks he’s not even going far enough," he told Smith.
Last week, the city's lawmakers voted on budget changes that shifted $1 billion from the NYPD to programs that assist in youth and community development. However, the sum still fell short of what many protesters have demanded.
"I mean, this is 2020 that we really have come to just really see every single night on the evening news as looters and rioters and shooters continue to act with impunity in the city that was once – I mean, for 30 years, Sandra, we were on a good track record," Borelli said.
In a Tuesday night interview on "Hannity," former NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly laid the problems in New York City "solely at the feet of Bill de Blasio," and predicted a "very bleak" future for residents over the next 18 months.
Over the holiday weekend, violent crime rose as 64 New Yorkers were shot, 11 of whom were killed – including a young father who was shot while holding hands with his 6-year-old daughter in the Bronx.
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"And, as Ray Kelly pointed out – I mean, he’s someone who has served two mayors – this is probably not going to end and at any point in the next 18 months while Mayor de Blasio is still in office," Borelli concluded.
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