Rep. Lee Zeldin may declare a state of “emergency” on crime in order to nullify the state’s disastrous bail-reform laws, if he’s elected governor.
“One of the items … I would be consulting with counsel on is the option of declaring an emergency on crime where the cashless bail law can be suspended — but that is not plan A,” Zeldin said during an interview this week at the famed 2nd Ave. Deli. “I would prefer that Albany lawmakers repeal the statutes themselves.”
“The problem with an executive order is that when the next governor comes in, they can get rid of it. I believe that the law needs to change,” he said while eating a salami sandwich and coke.
With just six short weeks to go until Election Day, the Long Island Republican has made the city’s out-of-control crime a centerpiece of his campaign, jumping on one despicable news report after another and staging crime scene press conferences to drive home the issue.
Zeldin said, “I feel good about the race. Polls are showing a good distance between Governor Hochul and me.”
Zeldin received a warm welcome from employees of the Kips Bay eatery, whose founder, Abe Lebewohl, was shot dead in an infamous daytime attack in 1996 as the city’s last great crime wave was winding down. The case has never been solved and a $150,000 bounty remains in place for any information leading to the conviction of his killer.
Zeldin said he has found a kindred spirit in Democratic Mayor Adams, who has also been a frequent critic of bail reform and a publicly avowed foe of city socialists like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
“I think he’s an important ally in the efforts to overhaul cashless bail in New York. He is not getting the support he needs to be able to save this city,” Zeldin said.
If elected, he anticipates an excellent working relationship with Hizzoner. “I believe the story that will be written in 2023 is about how Governor Zeldin is working with Mayor Adams to save the city.”
“We served together in the state Senate for four years. We stayed in touch afterwards,” Zeldin said, brushing aside the mayor’s own endorsement of Hochul. “Our interactions through the years have always been positive.”
Zeldin says his day 1 priorities consist of using his state constitutional authority to remove Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who has become the face of the city’s woke catch-and-release approach to violent crime.
“I will be reaching out to Mayor Adams, other elected officials, members of the community and asking for them to submit names of prospective candidates. There’s no litmus test at all as it relates to party. The litmus test is that they’ll do the job,” Zeldin said of Bragg’s replacement, who he would appoint to fill the remainder of his term.
“I also intend to end all remaining state-imposed coronavirus mandates and a full COVID investigation to examine the good, bad and ugly of the state’s response. I also promise to probe Gov. Cuomo’s deadly decision to require nursing homes to accept coronavirus-positive patients,” Zeldin continued.
Zeldin claims that Hochul is in over her head. He also blames her of engaging in pay-to-play.
“She’s selling widespread mass access out the back door of the capital to fund her campaign,” he charged, alluding to Hochul rewarding campaign donors with lucrative state contracts.
“New Yorkers care first and foremost about being able to be safe on our streets and having a quality of life where they can stay here in New York, families can be safe, and they can live here for the longterm and be happy,” Zeldin said. “In Kathy Hochul’s New York, life is getting far worse, not better.”
“When I look at these border communities in border states, I believe that they feel desperate. They feel hopeless. They don’t know what else to do when the left is in full blown meltdown mode because 50 people show up in Martha’s Vineyard,” he said. “New York should do its part by calling on the Biden administration to take this action to secure our borders.”
