Former Republican Gov. George Pataki said Tuesday that the city’s quality of life was declining under Democrat Mayor Bill de Blasio.
The GOP presidential candidate spoke about his views on New York during an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” where he said he feared that crime would get worse because of the current policing tactics. He compared the state of the city to the late ’80s and early ’90s, when it was inundated with “squeegee men,” except, “instead of squeegee men you have topless women. That’s the new squeegee men of the 21st century.”
“We’re seeing a decline in the quality of life for the moment. I hope de Blasio gets his act together and comes to his senses, but I’m not optimistic,” Pataki said.
The former governor gave some suggestions on ways the mayor can improve the city and a reporter asked if he go back to older policies, including an expansive use of stop and frisk.
“I would do that, quality of life crimes matter,” he said.
Representatives for the mayor’s office didn’t return immediate messages for comment. Pataki also bashed his GOP rivals for their immigration policies and said he wouldn’t support deporting children born in America whose parents are undocumented immigrants.
Pataki’s remarks come days after his New York City counterpart, former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, complained that the homeless problem is getting worse in the Big Apple.
“Do you know when people lived on the streets and didn’t use bathrooms inside? It’s called the Dark Ages,” he told WNBC 4 after he had to deal with a homeless person near his Upper East Side home.
