The horrific ambush shooting of two cops amid the Big Apple’s crime surge shows the mess Mayor Adams inherited from progressive predecessor Bill de Blasio — and could spell doom for the ex-mayor’s comrades in office in future elections, pols and pundits told The Post Saturday.
“The pendulum has certainly swung, and the electorate wants a more law-and-order philosophy,” longtime Democratic political consultant George Arzt said Saturday.
“ ‘Defunding the Police’ is way in the past now, and people want something done to make the subways safer, streets safer and prevent violence,” he added.
Councilman Robert Holden, a moderate Democrat from Queens, said the crime wave “demonstrates the failed policies” of de Blasio and the “far left” over the past eight years.
“This is a wake-up call for voters because we have to elect people who will hold criminals accountable,” he said.
“Look at last year’s elections, you saw more moderate Democrats and Republicans get elected to [city] offices, and it will only continue,” he aded.
Slain rookie officer Jason Rivera, 22, and his partner Wilbert Mora, 27 are among five cops shot in just the first three weeks of 2022.
Councilmen Robert Holden (center) pointed fingers at the “far left” amid raging crime in New York City. BRIGITTE STELZER
Officer Rivera (right) was shot dead while his partner remains in critical condition following a 911 call in Harlem Friday. AP / NYPD“Look at the last election, you saw more moderate Democrats and Republicans get elected to office [in the city], and it will only continue.”
Council Minority Leader Joe Borelli (R-Staten Island) said it’s time to re-evaluate police and prosecutorial reforms, including those of woke Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
He also called the progressives who were pushing the “Defund the Police” movement “dopes” because many are now saying “we need to get guns off the streets” — which is tough without police officers.
Council Minority Leader Joe Borelli is one of many pols in the New York area unhappy with Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s policies. J.C.RiceHowever, state Sen. Jessica Ramos, a progressive Democrat from Queens, said it’s time for the entire Democratic Party to join forces and “champion” the New York Health Act that would provide comprehensive universal health care for all New Yorkers — including the mentally ill – to help lower crime.
The “current prison system, which has substituted mental health treatment in New York, is a revolving door where people arrive punished and never get access to the tools that will help them improve their quality of life,” she added.
Councilman Justin Brannan (D-Brooklyn), who considers himself a “pragmatic progressive,” insisted there’s “no magic wand” to get illegal guns off the street. He also said officials on both sides of the political spectrum need to come together if “we want a safe and fair city.”
“All hands on deck, at every level of government,” he said. “Lay all the cards on the table because this is a matter of life and death, and this is not the city any of us want.”
Adams on Saturday thanked elected officials and other city leaders for coming together in solidarity following Friday’s shootings, saying such unity must continue “no matter what philosophical differences we have.”
“The killers assaulted our officers, and this is a battle between the killers and New Yorkers,” he said. “We are not going to lose that battle, and we are not going to be divided… In fact, it is going to unite us like never before,” he said,
State Senator Jessica Ramos spoke in support of the New York Health Act for all New Yorkers, including mentally ill, in the wake of the Harlem shooting tragedy. Robert Miller





