Lee Zeldin slams decision to slash NYPD overtime to cover migrant costs: 'Death by a thousand cuts'
Former New York gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin weighs in on the migrant surge costing NYC taxpayers massive sums of money and the plan to slash overtime pay for the NYPD and FDNY.
New York City's plan to help cover migrant costs by slashing overtime pay for uniformed agencies is facing fierce scrutiny as critics warn the decision could exacerbate police shortages and crime plaguing the Big Apple.
"This is death by a thousand cuts for NYPD and really for the city as well," former New York Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin told "Fox & Friends" Tuesday. "If NYPD and law and order go, so goes New York City."
"People are going to just throw their hands up. They made it this far. That's amazing. But this is going to be the last straw for many."
'THE VIEW' HOSTS SHREDDED AFTER SAYING MIGRANTS FLOODING NEW YORK CITY MUST BE 'RESETTLED ELSEWHERE'
Critics are warning that cutting overtime pay for uniformed agencies will exacerbate existing shortages in New York City. (Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
City Hall recently confirmed to Fox News Digital that Mayor Eric Adams' administration informed New York City's police, fire, corrections and sanitation departments that they must submit overtime pay reduction plans and begin tracking progress each month.
"The migrant crisis has reached epic proportions, and the city of New York is unable to shoulder the financial responsibility," former NYPD Lieutenant Dr. Darrin Porcher told "Fox & Friends First" Tuesday.
Police unions have voiced similar concerns, warning changes could reduce the number of officers on patrol and exacerbate crime.
Zeldin added that progressive district attorneys, cashless bail policies, taxes on qualified immunity and more are already contributing to officers' low morale.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams warned that the migrant crisis could bring a ‘financial tsunami’ to New York City. (AP/Hans Pennink)
Porcher suggested rescinding NYC's sanctuary city status to stop giving migrants a "passageway" into the city.
"The sanctuary city status came of the former Mayor Bill de Blasio's catastrophic failure as the mayor of the city of New York. It's now carried into the tenure of Eric Adams," he said.
"I have yet to hear Eric Adams speak to receding the sanctuary city status that we have, which affords migrants a passageway into the city of New York. The time is now to remove that sanctuary city status because we need the money for so many other things."
Adams characterized the migrant influx as the source of an impending "financial tsunami" during an interview with local media on Sunday, warning that every city service will be forced to grapple with the effects.
"From child service to our seniors to housing. Everything will be impacted," he said.
The Adams administration's plan also implemented a hiring freeze and notified various agencies of the change via a memo.
Fox News reached out to Mayor Adams' office for comment but did not receive a response.
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Fox News' Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.
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