Cuomo Says He is Open to Discussions and Evidence that are Critical of Bail Reform

By Yehudit Garmaise

     If New York City said, “Look, we think the bail law is a problem, that would be a major discussion,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo told a reporter today who asked him whether “dangerous individuals who have had several arrests over the last few months” should have a different standard for judges to determine bail than other criminals without recent records.

     “If [City Hall] says, ‘We have looked at the numbers and bail is an issue, then tell us how and what,” the governor said at a press conference. “There is no assemblyman or senator who would say, ‘We are not going to have a discussion about bail laws if you believe and have evidence that they are causation of crime."

     “Of course," the governor said, "that is a conversation [we] would have.”

     Gov. Cuomo’s bail reform of January 2020 has been relevant to the Jewish community because anti-Semitic hate crimes were spiking at that time, and perpetrators were immediately released without bail, only to attack more Jews, many times in Brooklyn, the next day.

     The governor went even farther, saying that he is “open to doing whatever we need to do to facilitate addressing New York City’s crime problem.”

     Other issues that the mayor mentioned that might be problems causing the city’s spike in crime are disclosure laws, enforcement laws, or discipline laws.

     Although Gov. Cuomo professed willingness to rethink bail laws and other issues of the criminal justice system, he said, “But New York City needs to address its crime problem.”

    Safety and sanitation should be the priorities of the mayor of New York City, said former New York City Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, the governor point out.

    “As a mayor, your responsibilities are: you run the police department to keep the city safe, and you run the Sanitation Department to keep the city clean: Those are the two fundamentals,” said Gov. Cuomo, who pointed out that other civic issues, such as education are subject to state regulation. 

      But, as for ideas that can reduce crime, “Are there additional suggestions where we need state alterations or modifications?” Governor Cuomo asked. “Tell me. If they said that they have ideas: I am open, but ultimately, safety and sanitation are the city’s responsibility.”

      The governor said, that if he were a New York City voter, his question for every mayoral candidate would be, “What are you going to do about crime: specifically? Not “Yes, crime is a problem, and we have to address it,” but, “Tell me what exactly what you would do to reduce it.”

 (Kevin P. Coughlin / Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo)