GOP gubernatorial hopeful Lee Zeldin aligns himself with NYC Mayor Adams in push for bail law action
Republican gubernatorial hopeful Lee Zeldin still wants to bond over bail despite Mayor Adams brushing off a budding bromance.
The Trump-boosting Long Island congressman again openly embraced the city’s Democratic mayor Thursday as both men call on the state Legislature to beef up New York’s criminal justice laws — an effort that does not appear to be gaining traction with most Dems in Albany.
Zeldin, challenging incumbent Dem Gov. Hochul in the November general election, said he and Adams are on the same page when it comes to overhauling the state’s cashless bail system and calling on lawmakers to convene a special legislative session.
“I strongly support the mayor’s call for a special session,” Zeldin said during remote presser. “Common ground should be found, Republicans and Democrats working together to make the streets of New York safe again.”
Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) running as the Republican candidate for New York Governor. (Brittainy Newman/)
The Legislature, working with Hochul, baked provisions into the state budget this spring that gave judges more discretion in setting bail, especially in gun-related criminal cases and charges against repeat offenders.
It was the second time the Dem-led Legislature has approved changes to bail reforms enacted in 2019, meant to limit pretrial incarceration for people accused of most nonviolent offenses.
Under current law, cash bail is only allowed in serious violent criminal cases and certain unusual misdemeanors — and Adams said Wednesday that such restrictions are “off the rails” and results in a spiral of “catch, release, repeat,” echoing rhetoric used by Republicans like Zeldin, who repeatedly link rising crime to bail reforms.
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“Mayor Adams is crying out as the elected mayor of New York City, on behalf of millions of New Yorkers who do not feel safe in their city,” Zeldin said after bizarrely comparing the city’s subway system to the Las Vegas Strip.
A day earlier, Adams shot down any chance of the pair becoming bipartisan bosom buddies.
“Congressman, you can’t claim to want to keep New Yorkers safe while opposing common sense gun safety laws, as you have throughout your entire career,” Adams tweeted, referencing Zeldin’s record of voting against gun control bills in Congress.
On bail, the duo have similar priorities, including giving judges the power to set bail or keep criminal suspects locked up pending trial if they are deemed “dangerous.”
New York City Mayor Eric Adams (John Minchillo/)
The lack of daylight between the GOP’s candidate for governor and the Dem mayor has unnerved some Democrats in Albany, who argue there’s no data to corroborate the claim that the state’s criminal justice reforms are to blame for crime spikes during the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s sad Mayor Adams has joined the ranks of right-wingers who are so grossly demagoguing this issue,” said Queens state Sen. Michael Gianaris, the chamber’s deputy Democratic majority leader. “He should focus less on deflecting from his own responsibility for higher crime and more on taking steps that would actually make New York safer.”
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There’s little indication that the governor or lawmakers are planning to heed requests for a special session amid the dog days of summer.
Hochul said Tuesday that there have been “no discussion” with legislative leaders about convening a special session and suggested she believes the reforms enacted in the budget this spring are sufficient.
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said that his conference simply doesn’t “think it is necessary.”
In this image taken from video provided by WHEC-TV, David Jakubonis, left, brandishes a sharp object as he attacks U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin, right, as the Republican candidate for New York governor delivered a speech in Perinton, N.Y., Thursday, July 21, 2022.
Earlier Thursday, the upstate man charged with allegedly attacking Zeldin at a campaign rally last week was ordered to remain behind bars by a federal judge while he undergoes a mental health evaluation.
Lawyers for David Jakubonis, the Iraq War veteran charged with lunging at Zeldin with a kitty-shaped brass knuckle-like keychain at a VFW post near Rochester, argued that he was drunk and under the impression the congressman was disrespecting vets.
The 43-year-old was initially changed with attempted assault by a local prosecutor with ties to Zeldin’s campaign and released hours after his arrest.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul listens to speakers during a news conference in New York, Thursday, July 21, 2022. Hochul and other officials met with democratic party representatives as part of city's bid to host the 2024 Democratic National Convention. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) (Seth Wenig/)
Zeldin argued that had Jakubonis been held on bail following his initial arraignment he could have been put in touch with veteran services rather than released.
“I would even say a release of someone on cashless bail quickly isn’t just a disservice to law abiding citizens and the criminal justice system ... but in so many other cases we’re seeing people just aren’t getting help,” he said.
