DA Alvin Bragg brushes off concerns on crime: ‘Off to keep Manhattan safe’

Embattled Manhattan District Lawyer Alvin Bragg dismissed New Yorkers’ issues about rising crime Wednesday — a day after Democrat Kathy Hochul received the governor’s race, saving him from the chopping block.

“Manhattan voters have spoken but once more,” Bragg advised The Put up earlier than dashing into his workplace at 1 Hogan Place. “Off to maintain Manhattan secure.”

Hochul raked in 82% of the vote in Manhattan in Tuesday’s gubernatorial election in opposition to Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin, who promised in addition soft-on-crime prosecutors like Bragg — one thing a governor has the ability to do underneath Article XIII of the state structure.

The Lengthy Island congressman additionally vowed to scrap the state’s controversial 2019 prison justice reforms, which prohibit judges from setting bail in most prison instances.

Bragg has been the poster boy for the lenient state bail reforms since taking off in January.

He raised eyebrows when he issued his notorious “Day 1 memo,” annouincing that he would drop some misdemeanor instances, not search bail for many defendants and downgrade sure felonies to misdemeanors.

Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg might have saved his job with Kathy Hochul’s election win.

Steven Hirsch for NY Put up

Throughout his first 10 months in workplace, Bragg, a former civil rights lawyer from Harlem, has seen main crimes spike by 30.5% within the borough over the identical interval final 12 months.

The citywide common is 29.6%, statistics present.

Crime is especially rampant within the Midtown South Precinct, whose confines are a hub for metropolis employees, residents, and vacationers and embody Occasions Sq., Penn Station, and Macy’s flagship retailer in Herald Sq..

Murders are up 14% (24 from 21) from 2021, whereas burglaries jumped 45% (2,476 from 1,710), grand larceny is up 53% (9,648 from 6,295) and theft soared 32% (1,785 from 1,356). in keeping with the info.

Kathy Hochul repeatedly downplayed New Yorkers’ worries about crime within the weeks main as much as the election.

James Keivom for NY Put up

Within the weeks main as much as the election, Hochul repeatedly downplayed the crime wave within the Huge Apple and ignored pleas from Huge Apple Mayor Eric Adams to roll again the reforms to assist quell the spiking crime within the metropolis.

Adams, a retired NYPD captain, lobbied lawmakers in July to strengthen bail legal guidelines and requested Hochul to schedule a particular session of the legislature to deal with his issues.

Hochul denied the request and mentioned she would wait till January — and after Election Day.