In the wake of a November 18 Manhattan stabbing spree by a habitual criminal that left three people dead, New York Congressman Ritchie Torres has targeted New York Governor Kathy Hochul as the “New Joe Biden,” for allowing the murderer’s early release. Michael Ruiz of Fox News reports that Congressman Torres, a Democrat, was referring to 51-year-old Ramon Rivera, who had eight priors, before the state’s Department of Corrections released him early from the psych ward at Bellevue Hospital for good behavior, somehow forgetting that while there he assaulted a corrections officer.
“These tragedies are preventable but neither the city nor the state seem to possess the political will to prevent them, despite having the tools to do so,” Torres wrote. “The state refuses to grant the mayor the legal authority he needs to prevent dangerous people from roaming the streets. The city refuses to hold DOC accountable for the early release of a demonstrably dangerous criminal who went on a stabbing spree,” said Torres.
NYC Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, also chimed in, blaming that stabbing spree on Hochul, demanding that state lawmakers restore consequences for crime and give city police greater power “to institutionalize people.”
On November 21, a Danish tourist was slashed in the face with a knife on the upper west side of the city. The attacker was deranged 25-year-old Joshua Zinberg whose mother turned him in. No word on whether Zinberg has been arrested before. The attack was random.
Congressman Torres and Mayor Adams are correct in holding Governor Hochul responsible for allowing Rivera and Zinberg to roam the streets. The Department of Corrections is an executive branch agency serving at the Governor’s pleasure. But they should not be comparing her to President Biden. It’s Governor Gavin Newsom that she shares a compassion for criminals and disinterest in law-abiding citizens.
