"The migrant crisis has become quicksand"

0:00 Speaker 1 With us this morning is Borough President Vito Ficella, and so many things are going on in our city, our state, our country, and uh, he wants to get it off his chest on Easter weekend. Well, happy Easter, mister Borough President.

0:18 Speaker 2 A happy Easter, John to you, Margo and your family. It’s a very soil day for so many people around this country, in the world. So it’s great to be with you today.

0:29 Speaker 1 Thank you, Thank you. What you know lately, so many things are happening. What what bothers you the most about the last week’s events?

0:42 Speaker 2 You know, it’s it’s almost like important important, and you know some of the things that just continue to resonate, at least for me. And I think the people of the city of Staten Island are just a growing crisis when it comes to migrants and crime. Those are very important to people. They want to just live safely and freely.

1:05 And the migrant crisis has become quicksand you know, you hear reports how it’s getting worse, not better. Uh, it’s a financial boondoggle. Billions of dollars that come at the expense of ordinary taxpayers who want that money spent wisely.

1:21 And I think the most important thing that happened in the last week. Perhaps this year is the execution of that young police officer and the devastation it did to his family, to the people of this city. And I would hope that people of conscience would step forward and say, we need to do something to end this, you know,

1:42 revolving door of career criminals who can pray on indercent people, especially police officers. So something has to give. Perhaps this day is a day of reflection where people say, can’t we can’t keep moving in this direction?

1:58 Speaker 1 Agree percent. I mean, the crime situation is still, you know, it’s uncontrollable because some of the people that are should be in jails, should be in mental institutions, should not be allowed to walk around in the streets. And I’m not saying a person that steals a lord for Brett.

2:20 I’m saying professional criminals that have been arrested ten, twenty thirty times. And that’s all we want de Seaster Sunday. What we want is peace for all twenty million Americans in New York State and eight and a half million Americans in the five boroughs of New York. I mean, I just don’t understand that, Vito, how can stuff like

2:48 this happen and nobody stands up and say this is wrong.

2:54 Speaker 2 So very well put, John, and I think it really takes a question of honor and courage to do the right thing. And many years ago there was this whole financial movement of one percenters, right, ninety nine percent occupy walls Street all that there actually isn’t different one percent, And that’s the one percent that wreak havoc on the

3:12 ninety nine percent of people who just want to live their life and peace and security and raise a family, go to work, go to a ballgame, whatever the case may be. And that one percent disrupts and creates havoc for ninety nine percent by violent crime. You know, the guy who killed the police officer, arrested more than twenty times.

3:32 You know his cohort of how many felonies, and the list goes on. And now you have I know you recently said that if somebody steals something from your store, you know, stop them. But you have stores like CBS and Walburin’s. Their policy is let people go because they know there’s no consequence of somebody stealing. And that’s not

3:52 to say that somebody who’s emotionally disturbed shouldn’t get help. They should get help. It’s morally right to give them the hope they need and at the same time get them off the streets and out of the subways where all they do all day long is hurt and sometimes kill innocent people. So that’s the that’s the path forward.

4:12 And I think perhaps elections have consequences. We know that maybe those become the issues that that people say, all, right, where do you stand? You know, where do you stand on these things? And then and vote accordingly.

4:26 Speaker 1 I agree with you one hundred and ten percent. Anything else you want to tell, uh, well, all your constituents, all your your your friends in America on Easter Sunday, do we I just had Cardinal Dolan on and he needs or everybody needs help.

4:46 Speaker 2 You know, Cardinal Dolan is a true leader, and not just among Catholics, but he’s the essence of a good person, an essence of a leader, an essence of somebody who finds good in other And that’s what we should continue to do. Find good in others, find out where our similarities overlap. You know, grant are always going to have differences,

5:05 but they can be minimal and be dealt with. But we need to get our city, state, and country back on track, and good people need to stand up and say enough is enough. And you know it’s the same mentality.

5:19 By the way, for example, we were going once again to the Court of Appeals perhaps for this non citizen voting lawsuit. We wanted to trial court, wanted the Pelt Division just basically grants non citizens the right to vote in municipal elections. We think that’s wrong. We have open borders that continue to allow very often gang members to

5:43 come and stay in this city and cause have it, the same people and the same mentality are making those decisions, so we need to change that. Perhaps November we finally will.

5:54 Speaker 1 Thank you so much Rito for sella happy Easter to your entire family, and we’ll catch up again real soon.

6:03 Speaker 2 Thank you so much, Thank you, John, God bless you, Margot and your whole family, and God bless in the United States. Love bless