Ex-Govs. Andrew Cuomo and David Paterson piled on their fellow elected Democrats for fumbling issues including crime, the migrant crisis and congestion pricing during a tag-team interview on Sunday.
Cuomo again rapped his successor, Gov. Kathy Hochul, for deploying the National Guard in the subway as “optics” and “theater.”
“The answer is hire more police — period,” Cuomo said during a joint appearance with Paterson Sunday on 770 WABC radio’s “Cats Roundtable.”
Cuomo said the National Guard does admirable work but the reservists are not trained to patrol subways — though NYPD transit officers are.
“It’s political. It makes no sense,” said Cuomo, who resigned in 2021 after serving ten years as governor amid sexual harassment and misconduct accusations which he denies.
“I actually think it jeopardizes people. If you’re not trained to do police work in the subway, you shouldn’t be doing police work in the subway,” Cuomo told host John Catsimatidis just days after a horrifying shooting on the A train.
Cuomo said Democrats in New York are likely to lose seats in November’s general election if they fail to address the public furor over crime, the migrant crisis and congestion pricing.
“The Republicans are going to come out in force,” he said.
“You can’t defend these policies.”
Meanwhile, Paterson said President Biden — without mentioning his name — and others running the federal government “will pay” for failing to address the migrant crisis.
“The federal government is going to pay as well — and some of the people who run it ,” Paterson said, an indirect reference to Biden, who is running for re-election amid criticism of his slow-footed handling of the migrant crisis.
“This is really where the epicenter of the problem is germinating. It is an incredible way to treat states like New York and others that have the same problem,” Paterson said.
At one point, Cuomo suggested that Hochul and the legislature should write and approve a one sentence law to relieve New York City of the burden of housing and feeding thousands of migrants.
He said Albany could easily remove non-citizens from being covered under the Right to Shelter edict, which was amended in a settlement last week.
But they won’t do it.
“It is lunacy what is happening,” he said.
“Denying a problem never works. Congestion pricing. Crime in the subways. The migrant problem. You either solve it now or it’s going to get worse.” he said.
I’m afraid the legislature is going to duck.”
Cuomo approved the law allowing congestion pricing, but has since flipped, saying it’s not the right time to impose a new toll to enter Midtown in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the city and the region, including the loss of population.
