That obscene figure is how much some 30,000 illegal immigrants cost New York City, per Mayor Adams’ emergency management honcho Zach Iscol.
The ultimate two-year tab is projected to exceed $4 billion. It already hit $500 million in mid-February.
And there’s every reason to think they’ll keep coming.
The city has plenty of other places to spend $4.6 million a day: That’s $1.7 billion a year, after all. At some point it’ll have to rethink its promises on “welcoming migrants.”
Shouldn’t the folks irate about reduced public-library hours in Brooklyn be asking questions about putting up migrants in luxe hotels?
The Biden administration has sent $8 million to help fix the migrant problem in New York City.Getty Images
Certainly, Gotham simply can’t absorb this fiscal burden without major federal help. But Team Biden has so far sent only a measly $8 million.
Which is outrageous: it’s President Biden who created this crisis. From the first day of his administration (actually, before!), he worked to wreck border security via “wave them in” policies and implicit promises of eventual de facto citizenship.
Now we see the fruits. And what is Biden’s response?
Nothing. He shills his joke of a “comprehensive immigration reform” plan, which would “fix” the issue by effectively legalizing the border-crossers.
Mayor Eric Adams delivers remarks at his annual Interfaith Breakfast at the New York Public Library.Erik Pendzich/Shutterstock
But he does nothing substantive on enforcement, and offers less than crumbs to help the cities the influx is overwhelming.
What’s the plan here? To hope things somehow work out on their own? To wait until after his putative re-election before coming across?
Or will he just stick the Big Apple with a big bill? Thinking the Democratic city will just vote for him anyway? How cynical.
Biden’s indifference here is no less galling just because it’s so typical of him.
But the vast human cost he’s imposing on this front makes it beyond sickening.
Ideas matter, policies matter, leadership is essential.
That could be a list of bromides, but those ingredients actually produced one of the great examples of urban renewal in American history. Now there is a film that tells the whole story in compelling detail.
“Gotham: The Fall and Rise of New York” chronicles how the city nearly murdered itself, and how it was rescued and brought back to life as a world capital. The downhill-uphill saga spans nearly 50 years, from mayors John Lindsay to Michael Bloomberg.
It’s a great story, full of villains and heroes, doers and dopes, and offers the final proof, thanks to the retrospective on the Lindsay years, that the road to hell really is paved with good intentions.
That’s just one of the many lessons that makes the film a timely intervention as the city once again suffers from the plagues of rampant crime and an exodus of talent and taxpayers. As such, “Gotham” ought to be required viewing for Gov. Hochul and Mayor Adams and every member of their inner circles.
Gov. Kathy Hochul giving a speech at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.John Nacion/Shutterstock
‘A global story’
Likewise, lawmakers in the city and Albany should invest two hours to watch the film since they must get in the game if the current downhill slide is going to be reversed. If nothing else, the images and headlines from the worst of times should scare them into a serious examination of their own beliefs and duties.
Indeed, far from being frozen in amber, the film, scheduled for a March streaming release, should resonate in cities across America that also are descending into violence and disorder. (I have a role as one of a score of unpaid commentators.)
“This is a global story,” says Larry Mone, who imagined the movie and brought it to fruition with the director-producer team of Michelle and Matthew Taylor. “Too many people think that the great New York turnaround was just an accident. It wasn’t and it’s important to document what happened and why.”
Mone was president of the Manhattan Institute from 1995 until 2019, a period in which the organization and its scholars served as a nursery for many of the ideas that would guide New York’s comeback.
The “broken windows” approach to policing got its big boost there and, under Mayor Rudy Giuliani, became key to dramatic decreases in crime and huge improvements in the quality of life. Having cops sweat the small stuff, like open drug use and obnoxious squeegee men, often drew scoffs from the media, but it was all part of a strategy to create a sense of public safety that wasn’t limited to statistics, but zeroed in on whether people felt safe.
It still boggles the mind to think that in Giuliani’s first four years, the number of murders in New York dropped from nearly 2,000 in 1993, the year before he took office, to 770 in 1997.
Mayor Eric Adams campaigned on fighting crime, and while he’s made some strides, he still needs help from Democrats in Albany.Paul Martinka During Rudy Giuliani’s first term, the number of murders in New York dropped from nearly 2,000 in 1993, to 770 in 1997. AP
That was one of the most important advances in any city on any issue. Almost by itself, that drop, which led to the lowest murder total in 30 years, proved that New York could be saved and gave people and businesses reason to hope — and stay.
Revolution in policing
And it was just the start of a revolution in policing. Before that, the prevailing view was that police could not do much to prevent crime, their job being to catch the bad guys afterwards.
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The new approach, modified often because of circumstances and court decisions, continued under Bloomberg and helped make New York the safest big city in America. In 2013, Bloomberg’s final year at City Hall, murders fell to 335 and eventually hit a modern-day low of 292 before they started to climb again in the second term of Bill de Blasio’s misbegotten mayoralty.
The dramatic drop in welfare cases is another example. Standing at 1.2 million families when Giuliani took office, and projected to hit 1.5 million, they eventually fell to a little more than 300,000 under Bloomberg.
In education, the great advance was City Hall’s support for charter schools. The alternative to the regular district schools has proved a godsend to many families, especially in the poorest, nonwhite neighborhoods.
These improvements in crime, welfare, and education are more than statistical triumphs. As the film makes crystal clear, they represent lives saved and ultimately reclaimed from failure and hopelessness.
Mayor Bloomerg’s approach continued to make New York the safest big city in America as in 2013, his final year as mayor, murders fell to 335 and eventually hit a modern-day low of 292.AP
Those individual victories, in turn, became the basis of a booming city, as public and private investments in housing and infrastructure drew about 1.6 million new residents from the 1970s low.
New York was the place to be. As Mone says, “This great comeback was all the result of the conscious choices and decisions that leaders made.”
The de Blasio error
Inadvertently, the film also offers a contrast to today’s city. De Blasio ended up handcuffing the cops and, predictably, crime took off and the quality of life declined. He dumbed down education and stymied charters in pursuing a radical ideology that helped no one.
The pandemic gave people another reason to leave. It’s over, but the death rattle still lingers, with many of those who fled deciding not to return. Half-empty skyscrapers dot what used to be teeming streets and shops.
If that were all, it would have been trouble enough. But so-called criminal justice reforms in Albany unleashed an anything-goes attitude, and everything from murder to shoplifting has soared.
Adams campaigned on the promise to deliver public safety and has made meaningful gains in taming violent crime, with murders falling last year to 438, compared to 488 in 2021. But he’s gotten almost zero help from fellow Dems in Albany and a demoralized, shrinking NYPD seems overwhelmed by the epidemic of lawbreaking and criminal coddling.
Adams blamed Bill de Blasio for leaving New York in chaos and made notable gains in taming violent crime, with murders falling last year to 438, compared to 488 in 2021.AP
Prosecutors who act as if they are defense attorneys further complicate efforts to crack down on things like fare-beating and public urination, leading to a pervasive sense of disorder and fear.
Can New York be saved again? “Gotham” offers a very encouraging example and points the way forward. But whether the leadership exists to make it happen remains an open question.
Doomed by Biden
Reader Ron Zajicek offers a vote of no confidence on President Biden’s handling of Ukraine, writing: “Joe’s promised Abrams tanks will arrive in months, millions of Ukrainians have fled, the country will take decades to rebuild and Putin is going to deliver another offensive that’s bigger than before. Both sides have lost, but Ukraine will never be the same.”
Santos lied, but Pete is toxic
Howard Siegel spots a double standard, writing: “While the media screams for the removal of Republican George Santos, they seem eerily silent concerning our unqualified and incompetent transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg. So let us toast with a glass of tainted water our compliments to Mayor Pete.”
As if state legislators and union leaders fearmongering about charter-school costs weren’t enough, Mayor Eric Adams, when he should be championing the city’s kids, is instead caving and joining that crowd.
There’s no reality to charter schools costing $1 billion extra in any foreseeable future, but that doesn’t stop the ridiculous narrative against the increasingly popular schools. If anything, outlays should be reduced, since district schools’ per-student cost is significantly higher than for students at the charter schools New Yorkers want.
New York City’s Asian Americans want more charter schools. So do the Big Apple’s blacks, Hispanics and whites. Public district schools have become increasingly brazen about dumbing down standards, which is why families seeking better options welcomed Gov. Kathy Hochul’s budget proposal that included a plan to enable more charter schools to open in New York City.
Eighty-eight percent and 91% of city charter schools outperform district schools in English and math, respectively.Angel Chevrestt
It’s hard to go to a parents’ gathering without hearing their complaints about district schools, their anguish over the poor options and stories of how they or their friends left or are planning to leave the system — whether to charter schools, parochial schools, private schools or outside the city entirely.
Charter schools deliver better results by a wide margin: 88% and 91% of city charter schools outperform district schools in English and math, respectively, and significantly so.
A recent survey found that nearly two-thirds of New York City parents view charter schools favorably and want the charter cap lifted. As if more evidence were needed, district-school enrollment has continued to plunge while charter enrollment keeps growing.
In the long run, the demand requires lifting the charter cap itself. But the short-term solutions in Hochul’s plan should relieve some immediate pressure. Moving 85 unused allocations from upstate into the city and allowing 21 “zombie” schools’ charters to be reallocated would mean dozens of new charter schools. Some charters, already approved by the State University of New York but unable to open because of the cap, could offer students spots quickly.
Hochul’s proposal is all the more remarkable because it defies the powerful teachers union. District schools are unionized; most charter schools are not, which is why union bosses hate them.
The primary complaint of the state plan for more charter schools was that more charter schools would divert resources away from district schools.Getty Images
The day after Hochul announced her plan, key education state Sens. Shelley Mayer, John Liu and Robert Jackson denounced it. A City Hall rally followed. Tellingly, United Federation of Teachers boss Mike Mulgrew was a featured denunciator. The primary complaint was that under the city funding formula — under which funding follows students — more charter schools would divert resources away from district schools.
But that’s a ruse to protect union jobs.
A student fleeing a failing district school for a charter school does not “divert” resources from the losing district school any more than if he fled for another district school. Yet only the first is condemned — because only the first hurts union jobs. Charter schools are public schools; in either scenario, the student and his funding remain in the public-school system. If anything, charter schools help the city retain students and their funding: They’d otherwise flee the public-school system, the city or the state altogether.
The problem is not students fleeing failing district schools; it’s the failing district schools. Don’t scapegoat charter schools; learn from them!
For New York’s Asian Americans, the need for good charter schools is especially resonant. Asian Americans with traditional Confucian ideals — and strong opposition to Marxist-Communist ones — appreciate meritocracy’s importance in uniting diverse peoples. They value testing and excellence, not participation trophies or dumbing down. They value duty, obligation and responsibility, not narcissism, fragility and entitlement. They value study, hard work and delayed gratification. On average, Asian high-school kids spend twice as much time per week doing homework than white kids and four times as much as black kids.
Kathy Hochul’s budget proposal included a plan to enable more charter schools to open in New York City.AP
Yet in district schools, all these values are openly mocked, condemned as deviant, to be corrected by “social emotional learning” — a form of medicalization. But Asian-American values find support in successful charter schools. Charter schools now serve mostly black and Hispanic neighborhoods, but Asians also want new charter schools near their communities.
This is a time to show courage. Deal-cutting for the budget makes charter schools a bargaining chip. Legislators also fear the union’s wrath. But the union has displayed greater than usual self-interest the last few years, making families and taxpayers say: Enough, we’re out, we’re voting with our feet and taxes. That will take a new budget to address!
Elected officials, especially those standing shoulder-to-shoulder with union bosses, must remember taxpayers fund schools to serve students, not unions. Once they get that, only one conclusion is possible: They must support more charter schools. It’s time for legislators, the mayor and the governor to show courage and do their duty to New York families.
Wai Wah Chin is the founding president of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance Greater New York and an adjunct fellow of the Manhattan Institute.
New York City is considering allowing some city employees to work remotely again, Mayor Eric Adams said Tuesday.
When asked during a news conference if he would consider allowing city employees to work from home, Adams said he has already asked city agencies to “come up with creative ways of having flexibility.”
Adam’s commitment to operating “as a team” and accommodating remote work is a drastic shift from his stance just a year ago when he decried remote work and famously told New Yorkers: “You can’t stay home in your pajamas all day.”
“That accountant that’s not in his office space is not going to the cleaners,” Adams said during a speech last February at the state Democratic Committee’s Nominating Convention.
The mayor said on Tuesday he already asked agencies to come up with flexible solutions to allow work from home for some roles.JOHN NACION/Shutterstock
“It’s not going to the restaurant. It’s not allowing the cooks, the waiters, the dishwashers [to make a living],” Adams added.
In being flexible, Adams noted his administration is working to keep things fair for city employees and make sure they avoid a “two-tier system where some can work from home and others cannot.”
“So we want as a team to say, how do I look out for my fellow civil servant to say you have to come in, how do we compensate you in some way? And that is what we need to do,” Adams added.
The mayor’s change in tune on remote work also comes as it was reported that work from home has caused Manhattan to lose at least $12.4 billion a year,Getty Images
It’s unclear what kind of “flexibility” some city agencies would be granted, which agencies would be included and when that change may take place.
His pledge to being flexible also comes as the city — and the country as a whole — are struggling to fill thousands of jobs.
Adams said the city plans on becoming competitive in their recruitment to fill civil service jobs.
Adams’ commitment to flexibility is a far cry from his stance a year ago, when he decried hybrid work and its negative impacts on the city’s economy. JOHN NACION/Shutterstock
“We have to be clear now. To keep hearing everybody report it’s a New York City crisis, it’s a national crisis of how do we shift to a post-pandemic work environment.”
Adams’ change in tune on remote work also comes as it was reported that work from home has caused Manhattan to lose at least $12.4 billion a year, as workers in Manhattan are spending about $4,661 less per person in the areas near their offices.
Mayor Eric Adams had a bit of trash talk for Kyrie Irving Monday morning following news that the talented but oft-troubled player will be traded from the Brooklyn Nets to the Dallas Mavericks.
“If City Hall was a professional sports team, and you had an employee who gave you as much drama as Kyrie Irving is giving to the Brooklyn Nets, what would you do if that employee said could you trade me – would you do the trade?” Kiernan asked, prompting a chuckle from Adams.
The mayor replied, “I will find the team that beats us the most and send him to that team, because then we’ll start beating that team.”
Mayor Adams laughed when asked to envision City Hall as a professional sports team before appearing to slight Kyrie Irving after it was announced the Brooklyn Net would be traded.Spectrum News NY1
Before wrapping up, @patkiernan and @NYCMayor Adams also talked about Kyrie Irving’s departure from the Brooklyn Nets, with Adams saying: “No matter how much talent you have, your ability to interact with your colleagues is more important.” pic.twitter.com/XpHvMiYf2P
“It’s about synergy in energy. No matter how much talent you have, your ability to interact with your colleagues is more important,” Adams continued.
“One player can bring down the synergy of the team – and so I would send him to the team that beats us the most so we can start winning better.”
The Nets traded Irving and veteran forward Markieff Morris to the Mavericks in exchange for guard Spencer Dinwiddie, forward Dorian Finney-Smith, an unprotected 2029 first-round selection and 2027 and 2029 second-rounders.
The talented but troubled player joined the Nets in 2019 but played very few games after refusing to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.Getty Images
Irving came to Brooklyn in 2019 but played a measly 143 out of a possible 278 games due to his refusal to adhere to New York’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Even after missing nearly two-thirds of the season, Irving ripped Adam’s move to end New York City’s private employer vaccine mandate – a policy he kept in place for city workers.
Irving took to social media in September to blast the policy, writing: “If I can work and be unvaccinated, then all of my brothers and sisters who are also unvaccinated should be able to do the same, without being discriminated against, vilified, or fired.”
He continued: “This enforced Vaccine/Pandemic is one the biggest violations of HUMAN RIGHTS in history.”
Irving has made prior comments about Adams and his COVID-19 policies. Spectrum News NY1
His criticisms came even after Adams lifted the private sector vaccination mandate for professional athletes and performers in local venues, allowing Irving to play home games at the Barclays Center.
Teen violence continues to spiral out of control, yet Gov. Kathy Hochul refuses to lift a finger when it comes to one of its key drivers: the 2017 Raise the Age law, which prevents anyone under 18 from being prosecuted as an adult.
Before Raise the Age, 16- and 17-year-olds could be charged as adults; now such suspects are likely to be sent to Family Court, where they barely face consequences.
Yet New York is facing an ugly surge of teen violence, including terrifying shootings at city schools. Last week, a 13-year-old was charged with opening fire and wounding two other teens at Campus Magnet HS in Queens.
Gangs, as Mayor Eric Adams (an ex-cop) has pointed out, often make younger members their gunmen, knowing they’ll get off easy if caught — a practice Raise the Age encourages.
And the fallout is already clear: Nearly one out of five perps nabbed for robbery last year was under 18, as NYPD brass fumed this month. Over the past three years, the number of under-18 shooters more than doubled, from 48 in 2019 (when Raise the Age took full effect) to 124 last year. The number of teens struck by gunfire mushroomed at a similar rate, from 64 to 153.
And the future looks even worse, with more kids returning to crime after cushy collars. “Nearly half of 16-year-olds arrested in the first year of Raise the Age were rearrested within 15 months,” including a quarter for violent felonies, former Bronx ADA W. Dyer Halpern warned in City Journal last year. The numbers “significantly outpace similar arrests” a year before Raise the Age, as does “the recidivism rate for 17-year-olds arrested over the same period.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul has refused to address the 2017 Raise the Age Law despite the surge in teen violence in New York City.Kevin C. Downs for NY Post
Hochul talks plenty about gun laws, but ignores Raise the Age: She failed to mention it in her State of the State or in her 277-page program book. It seems the gov’s only too happy to let kids run around with guns in their hands, wreaking havoc on everyone (including themselves).
“We can’t normalize this. We can’t continue to ignore the violence that is really engulfing our young people,” pleads Adams. “If we don’t intervene, they are on a pathway of a career in violence, and we have to stop it.”
He’s dead right. Question is: Can he get Hochul and the hard-hearted leftist ideologues in the Legislature to listen?
Just three weeks into her tenure as the first woman to helm the New York City Police Department, Commissioner Keechant Sewell faced an immense tragedy in her new force — the fatal shooting of two police officers in a Harlem ambush.
Her first year on the job was book-ended by attacks on cops when an alleged Islamic extremist came at officers with a machete just blocks from Times Square on New Year’s Eve, leaving three injured.
“As evidenced last night, there are significant dangers in this profession,” Sewell said in a message to the city’s Finest on New Year’s Day. “Be it your first day, or any other, you face the challenges and malevolent forces across this city head on, to prevent the victimization of others.
“This is the legacy of the NYPD,” she continued, “I am honored to serve with each of you and am truly grateful that our officers will recover.”
Praised by Mayor Eric Adams for her “emotional intelligence” when hired, the media-shy commissioner has given few interviews — even hurrying away from a Post reporter at an event earlier this year — and rarely strayed off script in public.
But Sewell’s impassioned speech at Harlem Hospital, and her turning down questions from the press there late on the evening of Jan. 21, 2021 — when a domestic violence suspect shot Officers Jason Rivera and Wilbert Mora — gained her some early respect among the rank-and-file.
As of this past Sunday, murders were down 13.1% in New York City compared to last yearChristopher Sadowski
Cops felt some optimism that the outsider from Nassau County would address numerous long-standing issues in the department — but low morale among the force has been one among several challenges the new commissioner has had to face since taking office.
While the Big Apple has seen a dip in murders in 2022, the NYPD has struggled to stem soaring crime — including major felonies such as robberies and assaults — and grappled with a spate of heinous, high-profile subway attacks.
The NYPD refused to make the police commissioner available for an interview with The Post it could select the reporter, and did not comment.
In 2022, Adams and his Deputy Mayor of Public Safety Phil Banks directed Sewell’s police administration to focus on the unprecedented surge in gun violence.
This lead to the rollout of rebranded anti-crime teams, dubbed Neighborhood Safety Teams, which fulfilled a campaign promise of Adams, as well as a redeployment of desk cops across the city.
That figure still remains a far cry from the pre-pandemic levels in the city — and all other major felonies aside from homicide were up on the year. Overall index crime — meaning those against a person or property — was up nearly 23% as of last week.
Police have another grim trend to overcome: one in 10 of gun violence victims in 2022 were children. New York City’s youth has increasingly fallen prey to wild shootouts or have been targeted over an argument.
The department and mayor’s public safety team also have yet to lay out a plan to combat the wave of retail theft in the city. Adams recently held a summit with dozens of business leaders and crime fighters to brainstorm a plan.
Mayor Eric Adams has been front-in-center when it comes to public safety while Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell has worked behind the scenesWilliam Farrington
Meanwhile, unlike her predecessors — who were eager to speak in front of the cameras — Sewell has opted to work more behind the scenes in the department.
She has taken a back seat to the mayor, who has been front-and-center at most large public safety announcements, most notably when Adams unveiled the Neighborhood Safety Teams, and his mental health plan for homelessness.
Police sources said the commissioner even went off the grid ahead of one press conference she had been slated to attend this year, forcing her first deputy to step in at the last minute.
Sewell has appeared at just as many breaking news events as her immediate predecessor Dermot Shea during each of their first year on the job.
But Shea — — who assumed the position in 2019 under then-Mayor Bill de Blasio — also sat for 79 interviews with reporters, while Sewell has only done nine, according to their schedules and press clippings.
Still, the new commish’s scaled-back public schedule has earned her points with the rank-and-file.
Morale has been a long-standing issue among the ranksChristopher Sadowski
“She seems more genuine than her predecessor, and diversifying the executives by replacing the old mentality chiefs that can’t adapt to the changes in time,” a police source said.
Another police officer, with more than 20 years on the job, said the commissioner seemed to be making improvements in the department.
“It’s the job, the way the job hammers everyone,” the cops said of morale among the force. Speaking to people, they kind of like her.”
Others believe little has changed, with surging overtime and favoritism continuing to go unchecked in the new administration.
“Not much teeth there in her administration,” a police source said.
Another source griped the mayor is at fault.
“He promised too much and he can’t deliver… ask any cop.”
Phillip Banks at a press conference in 2014.Robert Mecea
Some officers, who saw the former Nassau County Police Department chief of detectives as a carpetbagger when she first stepped into the role, have since changed their tune — and praised Sewell for telling cops she would amend the disciplinary guidelines.
“People are saying it had to be changed because it was overkill,” said one source of the NYPD’s discipline matrix, which lays out penalties for misconduct by officers and was developed with the help of advocacy groups and the public.
Insiders opined the move meant Banks was the man behind the curtain at the NYPD.
At the start, Banks often side-stepped the commissioner to speak with three-star chiefs and influenced a series of internal moves — including personally firing the head of Internal Affairs Joseph Reznick, police sources said.
Since then, rumors have circulated in the department of ongoing power struggle at One Police Plaza.
“The word is she fights with Banks on a lot of things,” one source, the Brooklyn cop with more than 20 years on the job, said.
But Sewell seemed to be pushing back against the male-dominated power structure — including when she delivered a fiery and well-received speech to the Policewomen’s Endowment Association in November.
“Understand that you will be second-guessed, told what you should say, told what you should write by some with half your experience,” she said.
“They don’t know any better.”
Police sources said that in recent months however, a new faction in police leadership has emerged following the appointment of Jeff Madrey — a longtime friend of the mayor’s — as chief of department.
Chief Jeff Maddrey was named chief of department in NovemberChristopher Sadowski
“It’s commendable that [he’s] loyal to his friends,” one source said of the mayor, “but on some things he should just be like, ‘Yo, bro, fall back and let her do her thing. Mind your business.’”
A second migrant who arrived in New York City from the southern border and was living in a city-run shelter has committed suicide, city officials told The Post.
The 26-year-old man was found in a bathroom of the shelter last week in Queens and was pronounced dead after being transferred to an unnamed hospital, NBC 4 reported on Monday.
Sources told the outlet he likely came to the Big Apple from Venezuela along with a child and the youth’s mother.
“This is an absolutely heartbreaking tragedy, and we are working closely with the family to support them during this incredibly difficult time,” said a city Department of Social Services spokesman.
“These families are coming to New York City after a months-long harrowing journey, in some cases, still reeling from the trauma they experienced along the way We recognize the very unique challenges asylum seekers are facing and we remain committed to continuing to build on our ongoing efforts and interagency coordination to connect these families and individuals to mental health supports as we help them stabilize their lives in a new country.”
The agency would not confirm further details tied to the incident.
The 26-year-old man was pronounced dead after being transferred to an unnamed hospital.Stephen YangAuthorities believe the man came from Venezuela.J. Messerschmidt/NY PostMigrants from Del Rio Texas arrive in Manhattan, NY’s Port Authority on Dec. 19, 2022.J. Messerschmidt/NY Post
The city has already received over 31,000 migrants and officials expect more than 1,000 new arrivals each week if Title 42, as expected, is lifted later this week.
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis and live in New York City, you can call 1-888-NYC-WELL for free and confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the five boroughs, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.
Oscar Leeser, the Democratic mayor of El Paso, has bent over backward not to “embarrass” the head of his party, President Joe Biden.
As migrants poured across the border, unmetered and unvetted, he quietly grappled with the strain on the city’s resources. He provided the shelter and food the federal government wouldn’t. He struck private deals with Mayor Eric Adams to alleviate the crush, busing some people to New York.
He declared a state of emergency, admitting what had been obvious for nearly two years: The border is out of control, and President Biden isn’t doing anything about it.
Actually, it’s even worse than that. Biden actively has punished Democrats like Leeser and Adams, giving them hardly any aid, refusing to acknowledge what’s happening, deflecting any blame. In other words, he gaslighted them. An astounding 53,000 people crossed the border into El Paso in October alone. Asked if he would visit the border, Biden said “there are more important things going on.”
Adams reached his breaking point a week before Leeser, imploring, “No one has helped us. No one. We have not gotten a dime from anyone. That has to stop. We need help.”
Migrants crossing the Rio Grande river into El Paso from Mexico on December 18, 2022.James Keivom for New York Post
Meanwhile, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said on Thursday: “What Americans should know is that the president has done the work to deal with what we’re seeing at the border since day one” — a complete and total lie.
She threw in a few weak jabs at the usual suspects — ex-President Donald Trump, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — which no one is buying. How can Republicans be to blame for a border that Biden has controlled for two years? Biden JUST. DOESN’T. CARE.
In two days the health directive used to turn back some border-crossers, Title 42, will lapse. In El Paso, it’s expected that 6,000 will cross per day, double what it has been. Biden will be in Delaware, reminiscing about the time he invented Christmas and his uncle won the Nobel Peace Prize. And nothing will be done to actually enforce our immigration laws. The taxpayers of El Paso and New York City will shoulder a burden for which no one voted.
Oscar Leeser has declared a state of emergency for his city. Who will declare one for the nation?
Aside from downplaying the role that the state’s controversial bail-reform laws may have on rising city crime, Hizzoner and his team threw around terms such as “infrastructure’’ and “urgent action items,’’ which left more questions than answers.
“We’re having an issue around the infrastructure of our criminal-justice system,” Adams told reporters during a conference call, referring to the discussions between his office and district attorneys, law enforcement agencies, judges and advocates over the weekend. “This antiquated infrastructure is impacting on the ability of New Yorkers seeking justice on both ends of the spectrum.”
City Hall plans to form working groups with the various participating entities to focus on pre-trial discovery, mental health and “urgent action items,” officials said.
But Adams provided few details about what the criminal-justice system exactly needs to change, other than his wish to create a “centralized portal” for pre-trial discovery and to reduce the amount of time defendants spend waiting for their comparatively brief trials.
Mayor Eric Adams didn’t share major details about what was discussed at his “mayoral summit on criminal justice” this weekend.Mayoral Photo Office
Officials also hope to introduce what they called “care vans” to greet defendants as they come out of their first court appearances and offer them mental-health resources, Chief Counsel to the Mayor and City Hall Brendan McGuire said.
“We’re obviously just coming out of this, and so we’re still formulating the list of urgent action items,” McGuire told reporters.
City Hall held the summit just two days after the mayor blamed the news media for fueling a “narrative” that New York City and its massive subway system are unsafe. Violent crime was up 39% in August citywide compared to 2019, according to NYPD.
Adams said the city has an issue with the “infrastructure of our criminal-justice system.”Christopher Sadowski
Yet Hizzoner on Sunday downplayed the role of bail reform in the city’s crisis of crime and recidivism, echoing comments from earlier in the weekend that there are “many rivers in the sea of violence.
“Any time we engage in this conversation around the criminal justice system, people highlight one term, and that is ‘bail reform,’ ” the mayor said.
“There are so many other aspects of the justice system that we were able to talk through and discuss.”
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