Gov. Kathy Hochul says judges — and not the current bail laws she backed with fellow Albany Democrats — should be held to blame for the ongoing surge of violent crime.
“I believe in accountability at all levels. And, you know, people can’t just be saying that they don’t have something when they do have it. They make that as an excuse,” Hochul said Wednesday.
Her comments came in response to a question about Mayor Eric Adams’ call for her and the Legislature to convene a special session and revisit the reforms.
“The judges have tools that they are not using, but they do need more tools such as public safety,” Adams fired back hours later when asked about Hochul’s comments.
“This conversation is about that small number of dangerous people who are repeated recidivists who have made up their mind that ‘we can do whatever we want in this city and nothing is gonna happen to us,'” he added.
Murders and shootings soared in July amid a 40% increase in major crimes this year, according to NYPD data – with just 10 “worst of the worst” alleged repeat offenders accounting for nearly 500 crimes alone.
Gov. Kathy Hochul rejected calls for bail reforms to be revisited during a special session. Office of Governor Kathy Hochul“The numbers continue to trend in the wrong direction,” Adams told reporters Monday afternoon while vowing to continue a “drumbeat” of pressure on Hochul to reconvene state lawmakers this summer.
Hochul has rejected growing calls from Democrats and Republicans alike to reverse limits on cash bail approved by Albany Democrats in recent years by arguing changes made in the budget approved last April give judges enough leeway while making more offense bail-eligible.
“What we gave judges was the ability to consider the severity of the offense – Is this a repeat offense? Is there a history involved here? So we now have spelled out for judges factors to consider in weighing whether or not this person should be out in the street or not,” she said Wednesday.
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins backed up Hochul in separate statements hours later that piled on Adams’ critiques.
“Everything the mayor cited is something that we have addressed, especially his concerns regarding repeat offenders and gun offenses,” Stewart-Cousins said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.
“I’m scratching my head regarding the mayor’s recollection of conversations we’ve had. To date, we’ve received no data from the mayor or his team,” Heastie added via Twitter.
While the chances of a special session appear remote, calls to repeal bail reform have grown increasing prominent ahead of the Nov. 8 election against Republican nominee Rep. Lee Zeldin, who has made opposition to bail reform a key plank of his campaign.
“I will call for repeal the first day I’m in office and it will be part of that first executive budget. It will be part of legislation that’s submitted. I am all in,” Zeldin, who has been endorsed by The Post’s Editorial Board, vowed last week.
