Gov. Cuomo Threatens to Send National Guard to New York City to Deal With Crime Wave, Garbage Piling Up
By Rick Moran
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is angry about the growing crime wave and uncollected garbage littering the streets in New York City. He’s threatening to withhold pandemic recovery funds and send in the National Guard unless Mayor Bill de Blasio does something about it.
Daytime shootings in New York City have doubled over last year and some sidewalks are impassable because of the uncollected garbage. Cuomo said — without mentioning de Blasio’s name — that if de Blasio couldn’t deal with the problems, he’d send in the Guard to pick up the garbage and help get control of the streets.
“The crime problem in New York City is real. Denial is not an option,” Cuomo said, adding that “if jurisdictions don’t resolve police/community issues and redesign public safety,” he would take away the city’s funding allotted to help with recovery efforts due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The warnings are part of a larger initiative unveiled Tuesday called “New York City Stabilization and Recovery Program.”
De Blasio cut $1 billion from the NYPD budget and the effects on the street have been obvious. Shootings in July rose 177 percent and the city is on track to have the most violent year in a generation.
But Cuomo questions why police have to be called when the emergency is a drug or mental health problem.