NY Voters were very dissatisfied with the status quo.

0:00 Speaker 1 With us today is the called Galinis and she is the contributing editor at the Manhattan Institute and as well as the journal and contributing in the New York Post. Nicole, so many things are going on in our world. What do you want to talk about this morning today?

0:20 Speaker 2 Well, I mean everyone’s still talking about the election. I think the results of the election for New York State in New York City are still shaking out, with the locally elected Democratic politicians still having to come to terms with the fact that voters are very dissatisfied with the status quo, particularly in and around New York City. I mean,

0:44 for Trump to raise his share of the vote in Manhattan from nine percent to eighteen percent over eight years, you know, that is a significant sign of unhappiness with the turn to the progressive strategy and tactics of criminal justice for one thing, and several other issues.

1:06 Speaker 1 Well, they call it progressive. I think it’s more regressive than progressive. I mean, Nicole, we saved America. What happened last week, and now we have to save New York. What do we have to do to save New York.

1:21 Speaker 2 Well, I think the state legislature would be very wise to go back and revisit some of these changes to the criminal justice system. They’ve made small changes, but certainly not enough. And on their own measures, they’re failing. You know, they wanted to ease up on criminal proscution and enforcement because they want to keep people out of jail. We

1:44 now have more people in jail than we did four years ago because we’re not stopping small crimes. The small crimes are escalating until someone is killed and then the alleged killer goes and sits on Riker’s Island. If you’re not stopping the small crimes, you are getting more people in jail on serious crime charges. And if you’re a

2:08 Manhattan voter, you can see the big changes in public safety on the streets and on the transit. I mean, we just had an open air strangled strangling murder in Times Square. You know, this per poor woman walking around Times Square randomly targeted and strangled right on the sidewalk.

2:26 This is our fifth avenue in the in the eighth avenue area around Times Square this year.

2:33 Speaker 1 I mean, you you can’t be anywhere with all those people around.

2:39 Speaker 2 Right, And this is this is a big increase in homicides and in other series crime in Manhattan over the past four years, you know, since right before COVID, when these criminal justice laws were changed, we’ve had a quint houppling of the homicide rate on the subways. So these are big changes in people’s perception and reality of public safety.

3:04 And you know, I think there’s a little bit of a change and that some of these elected Democrats are saying, Okay, we have to listen to what the voters are saying. But unfortunately the governor is still very weak. She’s not good with with dealing with the legislature, and she seems focused on other things right now.

3:23 Speaker 1 Well that is I can’t believe that the governor the words she said the day before the election. I still can’t believe it.

3:32 Speaker 2 Well, it’s not wise. I mean, no matter who you support, you have to work with the winner. So you know, all of saying Trump is un American, and uh, you know, the mayor, despite his problems, he took a smarter approach and being more conciliatory even before the election.

3:53 Speaker 1 I can’t believe the Leticia James and I know Tish for many years, but she would say, did you what she said at the election? Right?

4:02 Speaker 2 And it’s this didn’t work I mean the cases that were brought against Trump, the criminal and the civil cases in New York State and in Manhattan. These backfired. I mean, if you want to beat Trump, you have to beat him at the ballot box, and you have to talk about what the voters are worried about, which they didn’t do.

4:26 Speaker 1 Understood, I understand. You have a new book.

4:30 Speaker 2 Yes, I have a new book. Long it came out on election Day. Actually so long, long time in the making, so I hope people will will consider reading my new book. It’s a history of transportation and transit in New York City.

4:45 But that may make it sound boring. I mean it’s not boring. You know, if you’re interested in politics and the politics of how things change in New York for better and for worse, About the rise and fall of the automobile as a way of getting around in New York City, about crime on the subways, you know, bike lanes,

5:03 bust lanes, pedestrian plausas. Whether you are for or against these things or somewhere in between, it’s just a history of how all this stuff happened and kind of a blueprint of getting things done in New York City. You know, if you want to change the political temperature. If you if you want, if you have a goal and you

5:24 have an activism movement toward achieving that goal, this is how other people have been successful in the past. And so if you want to succeed, follow some of the lessons that I lay out in the book Understood.

5:38 Speaker 1 And the name of the book is New.

5:40 Speaker 2 York Ahead Movement, New York’s long war to take back its streets from the car.

5:50 Speaker 1 And there’s Nicole Galinis and it’s at Is it available at Barnes and.

5:56 Speaker 2 Nobles And yeah, some of the Barnes and Noble have it. They have it on the Upper west Side, upper east side, Atlantic Avenue for some reason. They don’t have it at Fifth Avenue yet. And all your smaller bookstores on Amazon, yep, so anywhere you want to buy it.

6:13 Speaker 1 Well, I look forward to reading it and maybe I’ll give you a book party at w ABC.

6:20 Speaker 2 Oh, yes, that would be wonderful. John, Thank you.

6:22 Speaker 1 Well, thank you so much for coming on and keep praying for New York because New York needs to make a comeback. I know. Thank you so much.

6:33 Speaker 2 Yeah, talk to you, jameson Bye.