New rules for detaining shoplifters.

0:00 Speaker 1 What is this Sunday morning is Governor Hockle of the great State of New York. And she has done some remarkable things lately and two months lost citizens to know Governor Hockel, you’ve been working very very hard. Tell us about the great things that are happening.

0:19 Speaker 2 Well, good morning, John and I and I appreciate this opportunity to once again speak to your listeners who are very concerned about the same issues that keep me up at night. And my number one job is to keep people safe, to deal with public safety, to make the investments to have enough police officers on our streets, to

0:38 invest in anti gun initiatives. But we worked very very hard, with me convening a group of state, local and federal officers to be tracking and sharing information. We’ve done an amazing job driving down gun violence and shootings and murders.

0:53 But John, I’m not going to rest until people stop committing even the retail theft. And this is what I now at our Crime Analysis Center a few days ago, was this concerted effort never done before in any other state, where I’m pulling together the same teams that help us drive down the gun violence and dedicating that energy, those

1:13 resources our money to trying to stop this whole specter of the small bodegas that are being robbed, all the way up to the luxury stores on Fifth and Madison, no matter where you go. We’re starting to see a spike in retail theft, and we’re going after the online resellers.

1:30 When you have an organized group John that’s got young people out there, you know, sweeping the shells and loading it up. Now they’re selling it online, so we think there’s more responsibility there that they can help eradicate this problem.

1:42 So we’re doing everything we can. More money for DA’s, more money for police officers. But I know that’s a big concern of people and mine as well, and I’m taking it very very seriously.

1:52 Speaker 1 It’s a very big concern because of the violence. And some of these criminals have been arrested seventeen times, twenty times, and they’re not being put away into jail, and some of them are not. They shouldn’t be allowed to live amongst civilized human beings, and our assembly and our state senates should realize it that have to pick a number

2:16 five crimes, ten crimes, twenty crimes, twenty five crimes at some place I think it’s important that the New York State takes care of it so more people are not leaving.

2:29 Speaker 2 Have something to that, John, You are so right on that point. And I wanted to say one more thing that after we change the bail laws from the way they had been watered down in the past administration with the legislature, and that’s last year we spoke about this.

2:46 I held the budget up one month late because I said, I’m not leaving albody this year until we take meaningful reforms to fix the bail laws, give the discretion back to the judges, make sure that more rhymes are covered for bail, including hate crimes which had been removed. You can believe that with the rise and hate crimes we’re experiencing,

3:07 but also when someone does steal once, twice, three times, once it gets to that level, the judges do have the discretion. The das have the ability to hold these people. It’s called harm on harm. Once you’ve done it once, you are now in a different category if you still have an open case pending. So that’s what’s frustrating to me.

3:29 We change the law, and I’m seeing different application of this from upstate to downstate. So I need everyone downstate where we’re having the major problem. To be aware that the power is there for the das and the judges to do the right thing. And I just did with District Attorney Melinda Katz from Queens who has who’s standing

3:51 there with me. Our other das are standing with me on this initiative. So I need the legislature to support more penalties for people who assault retail workers. I want to get that changed in the law, as well as the money I’m putting for stores to buy cameras and our joint operation to do this coordination. I have a holistic,

4:11 broad based approach, but I do need the legislature to get it over the finish line, and that’s I think that’ll make a big difference once we can get this done during this session.

4:20 Speaker 1 Well, we all agree with you. The other big item that is coming up and it looks like it’s going to be shoved down everybody’s throat, is what the MPa is doing. They plan to raise subway prices another twenty percent because they’re losing I think seven hundred million dollars a year from crime that people don’t never paid, never paid,

4:42 they just walked in. And in addition, congestion pricing is going to happen at the same time, so it’s the consumers are going to be hit up.

4:54 Speaker 2 John, No increases go up without coming through me. Let me just be very clear. Last year, our MTA, because of disinvestment in the past, had to be basically saved. It was heading off the cliff, the fiscal cliff, and so I created a whole mechanism to bring in more money for the operating costs of the MTA. Part of it,

5:16 I demanded that they find savings. Four hundred million dollars in savings. We had some money from the state. We have money dedicated from future Cristino proceeds which will not come for a few years, but that money partially is going to go there to help them. And we also allowed for just a very modest increase in fairs which

5:34 had not been raised. And sometimes we’re not going to any major increases to bail out the system any longer. We cannot keep doing that. So I’m going to keep working with the MTAs to find efficiencies and say we’re trying to encourage people to take the trains and subways.

5:51 That’s how we’ll deal with the crisis we have where the streets are so crowded, and I live in the city. I live in Manhattan and to walk the streets and first of all, have all this chaos which we have with all the bikes and the motorized vehicles that the bicycles, that’s one thing, but all the congestion has resulted in

6:08 a slower response time when you or any of your neighbors would need some police officers to respond or firefighters. And that’s one of the challenges we have with these intensely congested situation we have in places like Manhattan. So that’s one of the problems we’re trying to get at make it easier for law enforcement and first responders to

6:28 get on the sites. We don’t lose anyone’s life because they were jammed up in a traffic situation, which is the likes of which you don’t see anywhere else in the world.

6:36 Speaker 1 Now you brought up the road bikes and so cross the streets, Governor, I live in Manhattan all my life. You take your life in your hand, even to get out of a taxi cab because these bikes are going both ways. So if the whole street is going one way, some of them are going the other way and end

6:54 up hittings. What I’ve said to some of the police officers is if they’re going to room and putting people’s life in danger, then maybe they should confiscate the bike.

7:05 Speaker 2 Well, John, this is a real problem we have in our city as so many people are relying on people to deliver their groceries and deliver their dinner and deliver everything now, which is really one of the outgrowths of the pandemic where people just relied on ordering online or calling up and having everything delivered. But that being said,

7:24 this is a quality of life issue in our city, and the quality of life in New York City for the people for what they’re paying in taxes. And I’m not raising taxes this year once again, John, you can tell all your listeners that I’m fighting that. But for what we pay, we deserve to have outstanding quality of life,

7:40 and it’s compromised when you have to worry about getting hit by one of these bicycles and these motorized vehicles. So here’s what we need to do. We need the city council to step up and do what they can do to manage this. Local law enforcement and others to enforce it. If they need a law change in our

7:56 state legislature. I am very happy to promote that because public safety also includes not just not getting shot, not just getting your apples your phone stolen out of your pocket when you’re on the subway. It also means you’re not going to get hit by one of these errant motorists or bicyclists anything else.

8:13 Speaker 1 Who we have a better minute left you would like to get off your chest that you think all.

8:20 Speaker 2 Well, one thing, John, is I know there’s a lot of concern about our police officers these days, and you and I have seen each other at various events to support the police and their efforts, and they have a real challenges out on the streets, and that attack in Times Square a few weeks ago still shakes to me

8:37 by core that our men and women in uniform have to worry about whether or not someone is going to assault them. And I’ve been very clear that you do not have the right to lay your hand on a police officer in the state of New York, but if you do, there will be consequences, and the a’s need

8:55 to make sure that they’re going before a judge and saying that this is a crime. It’s a crime we don’t tolerate. We need to have bail so these people are not put back out on the streets right afterward as has happened. And I’m proud of the bail law changes we made, but again they have to be enforced

9:13 and followed because we do not want the wild West out there. We want our law enforcement bill to do their jobs. We want people to feel safe and John, as you and I have spoken about many times, that is my number one priority. So I appreciate the opportunity for people to hear that directly from me. As you know,

9:28 I’ve been married to a guy who is a federal prosecutor United States attorney for thirty years. My son is a prosecutor, and we believe in criminal justice and giving people their just stay in court and making sure that all their rights are followed and never trampled on by anyone in law, law enforcement, or in the court system.

9:46 That is important, but also we have to make sure that those who are sworn to protect us are also protected on our streets.

9:53 Speaker 1 Revnor Hoko, thank you so much for coming on this Sunday morning. Thank you for your helping consumer, helping business people, and we look forward to some additional talks, and God bless you, and God bless you yours.

10:06 Speaker 2 Thank you very much. Great to talk to you again this morning.