Gov. Kathy Hochul is absolutely right that it was her predecessor, Andrew Cuomo, who signed into law the disastrous “reforms,” like cashless bail, that have sent crime soaring.
But she’s delusional if she really thinks she’s fixed things.
“I held up the budget an entire month,” the gov boasted Sunday, claiming she vowed not to leave Albany before the Legislature fixed the no-bail law — and “we got it done.”
Bull.
Yes, she pushed through some minor tweaks to that one law.
But, as ex-prosecutor Jim Quinn has written, they don’t mean much.
Plus, Hochul did virtually nothing to fix the disastrous “discovery” rules, which force prosecutors to meet unrealistic deadlines for gathering mountains of often irrelevant material, leading to many criminal cases lost or simply dropped.
And she hasn’t lifted a finger to fix the Raise the Age law, which sends violent under-18s off to family court for cookies and juice, shielding them from serious consequences.
And while she has a point in slamming soft judges, they’re just one part of the problem: No court can order bail simply because the defendant poses a threat to the community if released or is high risk of reoffending.
With small exceptions, judges still can’t order bail for anyone charged with nonviolent offenses or misdemeanors.
Or even someone who’s been nabbed dozens of times for crimes like car theft, drug dealing, shoplifting, pickpocketing.
And never mind that keeping serial perps on the streets winds up getting people like Charles Brito killed. He reportedly had 16 unsealed arrests under his belt when he was stabbed while trying to rob a CVS in Midtown Manhattan.
Hochul even ludicrously claims her “fixes” have led to less crime.
Yes, murders are down 9.5% from last year, through July 2.
But they soared nearly 40% in 2022 compared to 2019, the year before the bail law kicked in.
Auto thefts in that period rose a mind-blowing 253%, and stores are now forced to lock up toothpaste and ice cream to prevent thefts.
Crime in New York is still way out of control, and Hochul’s done next to nothing about it.
If New York needed a gov who bragged about phony achievements, it could’ve stuck with Cuomo.