by MATT MCNULTY
A 2019 letter signed by New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez that opposed the MTA’s plan at the time to hire 500 more NYPD cops to patrol the subway system has resurfaced, as transit crimes skyrocket and the city grapples with the aftermath of a subway shooting that saw 10 injured this week.
At the time, Ocasio-Cortez and several fellow progressives vehemently opposed an MTA plan to hire new cops to patrol the subways.
Now, the letter is coming under scrutiny following a shooting rampage in a Brooklyn subway left at least 30 injured and caused widespread panic in its wake last week.
‘In our view, desperately needed resources would be better invested in subway, bus, maintenance and service improvements,’ the letter reads.
‘We are urging the MTA to divest from this current model of criminalization.’
The letter claimed that ‘communities of color’ would be unfairly targeted by the new officers.
At the time, Ocasio-Cortez also shared the letter on Twitter, writing: ‘Punishing the poor does not create a safer environment. Instead it threatens the very foundation of our community.
‘That is why my New York colleagues and I wrote a letter to [New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo] asking him to help put an end to MTA’s dangerous policing policy.’
The letter – which was also signed by Upper West Side Rep. Jerry Nadler and former Bronx Rep. Jose Serrano, as well as State Sens. Michael Gianaris, Luis Sepulveda, Jessica Ramos, Julia Salazar and Alessandra Biaggi – warned of the ‘historic racial disparities in enforcement.’
Meanwhile, the number of crimes in the subway has jumped 55 percent from the same period last year, according to data.
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In 2020, Ocasio-Cortez joined other top progressive Democrats in backing a growing movement to defund police departments in the wake of George Floyd’s death.
The congresswoman from the Bronx has voiced support for policy solutions aimed at combating police brutality and racial injustice.
Ocasio-Cortez had said she’s ‘actively engaged in advocacy’ for a ‘reduction of our NYPD budget and defunding a $6 billion NYPD budget that costs us books in the hands of our children and costs us very badly needed investment in NYCHA [New York City Housing Authority] and public housing.’
She’s considered to be a contender for 2024.
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/The-top-10-Democratic-presidential-candidates-for-17085176.php
No doubt. That just tells you how decrepit the Democrat party is and why fraud is so necessary for them.
Gee, talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face!
AOC, and the others, insisted the number of police be kept too low because more police would mean minorities would be “targeted.”
Now, as a result of too few police, crime is up 55%.
Love to see the numbers of rapes and robberies, of muggings, of attempted murders on minorities in the subways.
You can rest assured Sandy has never been robbed in the subway.
surprise, the dim wit does not use the subways in nyc, private cars. useless piece of garbage.
The letter claimed that ‘communities of color’ would be unfairly targeted by the new officers.
So basically, she is accusing “communities of color” of committing all the crimes. Nothing racist about that.
How can Democrats be so stupid as to continue to vote for idiots like this who never have their interests at heart or have any idea what problems they face in real life? Fat, slovenly, stupid Nadler is no better. NONE of these morons ride the transit system, you can be assured.
The left wants all life concentrated in tightly-packed cities and the residents totally dependent upon government subsidies. Yet, we see the STANDARD of life they are satisfied with city-dwellers enduring; drugs, shit on the streets, high crime, high taxes and the rapid spread of disease whenever an epidemic strikes.
No, thanks, dumbasses.