After spending his entire career demonizing and defunding the police, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio now said he’s going to “flood the zone in Times Square” with law enforcement. Even the leading Democrat in his party’s primary, Eric Adams, is running a campaign on strict law-and-order. While radical Democrats have attempted to push through Andrew Yang and Kathryn Garcia, New Yorkers have had enough of Democrats undercutting the police.
Mayor de Blasio promised a crackdown on shady activity in New York including an investigation into illegal street vendors. They have been affiliated with at least two tourist shootings over the last few months. The enforcement of street vendors was taken out of the New York Police Department’s hands back in January and given to the city’s Consumer and Worker Protection agency. As predicted by de Blasio critics, the switch only led to more problems and more crime.
“There’s going to be a huge amount of police presence plus civilian presence from Consumer Affairs and other agencies. We’re not going to tolerate illegal vending. That’s the bottom line. So, something like that will in fact be removed,” de Blasio told reporters.
One officer told reporters that he blamed the state for disbanding their peddler units and now there’s mayhem in the streets like never before. He described it as “no different from drug dealers fighting for corners in the ‘80s and ’90s.” Another cop adds that there have been peddlers rampant all over the city, including Times Square, 125th Street, and Canal Street. “Is this what politicians really wanted?” He asked.
Another source cautioned that street vendors are much more dangerous than people “trying to make a buck.” He said they are committing low-level crimes and acting aggressive towards tourists, but are committing the most serious crime of all.
“These street vendors, while on the surface are committing what seems like low-level infractions, are carrying guns. They’re committing crimes while committing the most serious of underlying crimes — which is carrying a gun,” a source shared.
While De Blasio has promised to “beef up” police presence, New Yorkers are still seeing crime rates spike and aggressive street vendors like never before. James Williams, a street cleaner with the Times Square Alliance, described street vendors as “scammers” who intimidate mostly foreigners and white guys with CDs. Another local shared that the vendors are trying to get in people’s wallets and are using “gangster” methods to scam tourists.
While de Blasio is unable to run for reelection because of term limits, he tried to joke that he may consider a second act in comedy. The Mayor was alongside Caroline Hirsch, founder of comedy club Carolines on Broadway, and had announced that the New York Comedy Festival would return to NYC Nov 8-14. He tried to prompt laugher with an awkward comment about things he’s done on TV in the past but the joke fell flat.
“I just want to volunteer, I have an incredible new act where I just eat food live. … It’s kind of like modern art and comedy together. Will you give me an audition? I really think I’ve figured out my next act. Get it? Get it? That was funny, wasn’t it? See what I did there?” De Blasio said.
Other people in the room forced laughter but the comment was awkward. De Blasio has been publicly mocked for using food to talk about politics during press conferences. De Blasio ate pizza at an earlier press conference to break down how ranked-choice voting works and even tried to promote the COVID-19 vaccine with a French fries giveaway. He ate a burger and fries on TV while discussing the news.
De Blasio’s incompetence has created a cesspool of crime and violence in the city. The last thing he should talk about is the performing arts. Comedy is about telling jokes, not being one.
