NY Republican Leaders Ortt & Borelli Stand Up to Combat Violent Crime Crisis Creating More Victims – as a Result of Democrat One-Party Rule Soft-On-Crime Policies
Left to Right: City Council Minority Leader Joe Borelli, Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt, Council Member David Carr, Community Advocate Wai Wah Chin, Senator Pam Helming
New York, NY – New York State Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt, New York City Council Republican Leader Joe Borelli, and Members of the NYC Council Minority Conference today blasted Democrats for ignoring victims of crimes, called for the repeal of Democrat “bail reform,” and urged for the restoration of judicial discretion to help combat the out-of-control crime crisis plaguing our streets statewide.
“Yao Pan Ma. Krystal Bayron-Nieves. Michelle Alyssa Go. An 11-month old baby in the Bronx. Five NYPD officers shot this year, and two – Officers Jason Rivera and Wilbert Mora – killed in the line of duty. All New Yorkers and all victims of the violent crime crisis plaguing our streets want to know: when will enough be enough for the public officials pushing radical ‘decarceration’ efforts in our city and state? I am proud to stand on the right side of history with my fellow Republicans and New Yorkers today, with one simple message for city and state leaders: NO MORE VICTIMS,” said Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt.
“It has not been this unsafe to be a law-abiding American citizen in New York in a very long time. Thanks to radical leftists that support policies promoting untethered violence in our streets, more and more innocent victims are created every single day. Our kids should be able to walk to school without being hit by stray bullets, working New Yorkers should be able to commute on the subway without looking over their shoulder, and our senior citizens should be able to walk to the corner store without fearing for their life,” said Senate Deputy Republican Leader Andrew Lanza.
“Make no mistake – the rise in violence and disorder in this city is a direct result of the disastrous Democratic policies that have focused almost entirely on the rights and well-being of criminals, instead of how to protect people and stop them from becoming victims. If Governor Hochul will not side with the people of this state who just want to be safe on their commutes and in their own communities, then she does not deserve their votes in November,” said New York City Council Minority Leader Joe Borelli.
“Enough with ‘villainizing’ the victims. It is time to speak out and hold criminals accountable. How many more people need to tragically die before we realize that what we have is NOT working. This is not a partisan issue. I am asking for the District Attorneys in New York City to step up to the plate and do what they were elected to do - keep New Yorkers safe and do your job,” said Council Member Vickie Paladino.
“In their quest to be the most ‘woke’ of them all, New York State progressives have turned our streets over to criminals. How many innocent people must be injured or killed before law and order is restored? New Yorkers have had enough of public officials who don’t value their safety. It is time for bail reform to be repealed, judicial discretion to be restored, and common sense to be restored to the criminal justice system,” said Council Member Inna Vernikov.
“This is the definition of a dysfunctional city: where good citizens are imprisoned in their homes because of criminals, and criminals are free in the streets to attack good citizens. This is not what New York was, this is not what New York can remain. How many more cops and citizens, young or old, do we need attacked or killed before victims matter? When they truly matter, getting real solutions, and not just some condolences? Hochul should listen to our New Yorkers, beginning with Mayor Adams, asking to wind back the policies hurting our citizens. To free and protect our good citizens, we need not just words, we need action now,” said community advocate Wai Wah Chin.
The message from Republican Leaders to the people and elected leaders of New York City and State:
Reverse the dangerous ‘decarceration’ movement led by Democrats in charge of city and state governments;
Remove prosecutors and other public officials who refuse to enforce the law and quality-of-life throughout the state; and
Restore common sense and public safety to the criminal justice system.
Just in the past few weeks, many innocent New Yorkers have fallen victim to the violent crime under all-Democrat-rule, including:
Krystal Bayron-Nieves, shot at her job, as she was saving up to go to nursing school, buy a car, and go on vacation;
Michelle Alyssa Go, pushed in front of a train by a deranged homeless man, volunteered for more than 10 years to help at-risk communities in New York;
An 11-month old baby, with the world in front of her, shot and scarred for life;
NYPD Officers Jason Rivera and Wilbert Mora, who both joined the ranks of New York’s Finest to protect and serve, and sacrificed their lives in the line of duty; and
Countless more innocent, law-abiding New Yorkers.
Since Democrats have taken full, unchecked power of the New York State government, they have passed a spate of criminal justice “reforms” resulting in a serious, statewide spike in violent crime. They listen to criminals and refuse to listen to their victims. “Progressive” District Attorneys like Manhattan’s Alvin Bragg refuse to prosecute many violent offenses as felonies, and implement soft-on-crime policies that empower criminals and create even more victims.
Democrat New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York judges have agreed that bail and judicial discretion must be addressed at the state level. Yet Democrat state leaders have either ignored or rejected the common-sense proposals to address these issues.
Some of the disastrous policies under Democrat One-Party-Rule include:
Bail reform, discovery reform, and parole reform, which have all created a revolving door of violent crime – stacked to favor criminals;
Open air drug markets, prostitution markets, unchecked homelessness and other vulnerable New Yorkers in crisis;
Dismantling of Giuliani/Bloomberg-era Broken Windows policing that made NYC the safest big city in America;
Taxpayer-funded activists/social programs that have failed or enabled the decay in public safety, such as ThriveNYC; and
Democrat officials who would rather pander than offer real solutions to solve the crime crisis.
Today’s call for No More Victims follows New York State Senate Republicans’ unveiling of their ‘Take Back New York’ 2022 Agenda, which includes a detailed package with a multi-pronged approach toward restoring common sense to public safety in our state.
The Republicans’ 2022 agenda to restore public safety includes real plans to:
Protect and Support Law Enforcement;
Reject Dangerous “Reforms” like Cashless Bail;
Reform the Broken Parole System; and
Pass a Victims’ Justice Agenda.
For years, Senate Republicans have warned that the reckless bills passed by the Senate Democrat Majority would lead to a spike in crime. Now that the damage is done, the Senate Republican Conference and common sense Republicans from around the state are committed to restoring the rights of victims.
###