De Blasio blames increase in NYC violence on COVID-19
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio says a lack of a functioning court system and jobs in a poor economy are to blame for the deadly violence; Aishah Hasnie reports.
Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., took to Twitter on Tuesday to call on New York City’s Mayor Bill de Blasio to be removed from office as the Big Apple experiences a spike in shootings since June.
"Mayor DeBlasio is destroying our great city from the inside out,” Zeldin, who represents the state’s First Congressional District, tweeted. “New York City will not make it through the remainder of his term. He needs to be immediately removed from office to save the city and protect the people who live there.”
New York City has seen a recent surge in violence following the City Council's vote last week that included $837 million in budget cuts and funding reallocations involving the New York Police Department. The vote occurred after de Blasio pledged to cut the NYPD's funding following mass protests against police violence in the city.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks at the USTA Indoor Training Center on April 30, 2020. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)
The NYPD argued the surge in violence was attributed to early COVID-19 releases from city jails and recent police reform. On Monday, de Blasio pointed the blame on the court system and economy amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“This is directly related to coronavirus,” de Blasio said during a press conference Monday. “This is a very serious situation… As we’re getting into warmer and warmer weather, we’re feeling the effects of people being cooped up for months, the economy hasn’t restarted – we have a real problem here.”
From the beginning of the year through Saturday, there were 530 shootings in New York City. There were 350 shootings during the same time period last year, police said.
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There haven't been this many shootings in New York City since 1996, Fox 5 New York reported.
Zeldin recently penned an op-ed on FoxNews.com coming out against defunding police.
"Mayor Bill de Blasio and New York City Council members seem to believe the NYPD only goes after purse-snatchers and teenagers with fireworks," he wrote. "In reality, police officers have thwarted terrorist attacks, mass shootings and violent crimes, and saved countless innocent lives."
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