Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo harshly criticized New York City government in an op-ed on Monday, accusing officials of trying to make people pay for the immigration crisis.
Mr. Cuomo focused his complaints on his implementation of “congestion pricing,” which imposes a $15 toll on motorists entering lower Manhattan, even though he supported the state law during his tenure.
“Congestion pricing is a policy designed to encourage people to use public transportation,” Cuomo wrote in an op-ed for the New York Post. “This is an important goal and was passed in 2019, but implementation has been delayed until now.”
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Then-Governor Andrew Cuomo spoke at a daily media briefing in New York City. (Gina Moon/Getty Images)
The policy was intended to force New York City residents to use public transportation such as the subway, but New Yorkers are trying to avoid the system due to growing fear of violent crime.
In his op-ed, Cuomo argued that restoring trust in the city’s public transit system requires increased police presence and a crackdown on crime, but he criticized inaction by “progressives.”
“That simple logic is disrespectful to today’s self-defined ‘progressives.’ “Cries to ‘defund, disband, and disarm’ the police are politically powerful, and many politicians have been intimidated,” Cuomo wrote. “While police reform has certainly been needed and continues to be needed, as evidenced by the murder of George Floyd, the answer is not to abandon public safety.”
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New York police officers walk through the Mount Eden subway station as they investigate a mass shooting on a platform in the Bronx. (New York City Police Department, Associated Press)
“Think of the absurdity of it. This plan leaves city taxpayers to pay for the MTA and the immigration crisis! It’s outrageous. So why send more people to Florida and other states?” I wonder if it is being taken away,” the former governor concluded. “We understand that these are difficult political issues that politicians would rather avoid, but democracy could disappear in silence and destroy New York City in the process.”
Cuomo served as governor of New York from 2011 to 2021, but submitted his resignation after several women accused him of sexual harassment.
He has been a Democratic stalwart throughout his tenure and rose to national prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Then-Governor Andrew Cuomo speaks at a news conference at the New York State Fair Grounds in Syracuse. (N. Scott Trimble/Syracuse Post-Standard, via AP)
Fox News Digital’s Jamie Joseph contributed to this report.
