Democratic Socialist Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York has jumped on a tweet sent by former NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton that went viral earlier this week.
In the tweet, Bratton - who worked under outgoing Mayor Bill de Blasio - shared a photo of several homeless people sleeping on a New York City subway train.
'You know why NY's 'recovery' isn't happening? This photo today on the E Train at 6:45am at 42nd & 8th says it all,' he wrote on Wednesday.
'Why should working people & tourists be subjected to this? How's it fair to those who need services? Imagine the cops' frustration with no support to deal with it!'
Ocasio-Cortez joined many others on the left in slamming the tweet for showing insensitivity to homeless people and pointing out how much of the city's budget the police takes up, effectively continuing her call to defund the NYPD.
'Of course they're frustrated,' she tweeted in response.
'It's not policing's job or purpose to address housing, provide healthcare or counseling, or solve the reasons people sleep on the subway. Maybe if we shifted some of that $11B/year spent on robo dogs to housing services we could get somewhere.'
Democratic Socialist Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York has jumped on a tweet sent by former NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton that went viral earlier this week
Ocasio-Cortez, who supported Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the 2020 primary and has been quoted as saying that in 'any other country, Joe Biden and I would not be in the same party,' has been a staunch backer of defunding the police.
She has previously said in the wake of Democrats losing elections in 2021 that the so-called 'woke problem' was 'made up' to try and push the left away from fighting for racial injustice and election reform, which she claims could help them win.
'One dangerous aspect of thinking there's a 'woke problem' is that Dem chances for re-election or majorities in House, Senate, & WH [White House] rely on the racial justice issue of voting rights,' the New York representative has tweeted.
'Dems distancing from racial justice makes protection of voting rights less likely, ensuring losses.'
Ocasio-Cortez is also behind the Green New Deal, which former President Donald Trump called 'completely crazy' and would 'completely shut down American energy.'
It called for ensuring that future infrastructure bills in Congress address climate change and meet 100 percent of the United States' power demands with 'clean, renewable, and zero-emission energy sources.'
The second-term Congresswoman has vigorously fought for the 'defund' movement.
Ocasio-Cortez said in June 2020 she's 'actively engaged in advocacy' for a 'reduction of our NYPD budget and defunding a $6billion NYPD budget that costs us books in the hands of our children and costs us very badly needed investment in NYCHA [New York City Housing Authority] and public housing'.
AOC has also supported several other policy solutions for police reform, including an end to qualified immunity that shields officers from legal accountability and to the transfer of military equipment to police departments
The NYPD's budget is set to rise again from $5.22 billion to $5.43 billion in 2022.
That's an increase of over $200,000, but still down from the $6 billion 2020 budget for the police.
The police budget represents about 5.5 percent of the city's total spending on programs for 2022.
The city's Department of Homeless Services (DHS) has a budget of $2.15 billion, up about $100,000 from last year's $2.05 billion.
The budget for homeless services has decreased from $2.18 billion in 2019 under the outgoing Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration.
The city's DHS budget makes up about 2 percent of New York's social services budget.
NYCHA's budget is set to go up from about $2.6billion to $2.8billion in 2022.
Bratton's tweet went viral and drew various reactions.
Actor Ethan Embry went after Bratton's record in multiple cities, writing: 'Good time to talk about how Bill is responsible for the horrid practice of rounding up the poor of NYC at night and forcefully bussing them to Connecticut. He also used the same illegal practice when transferred to Los Angeles, bussing LA's poor to Bakersfield and Barstow.'
Former SportsCenter anchor Kenny Mayne said Bratton's words would make him consider charity gifts over the holiday season, writing: 'Thanks boss. We give year round to orgs doing the hard work regarding homelessness and food insecurity issues. Always recommend @UpliftNorthwest and @NWHarvest. But this is a timely reminder we should think of & support other places including the great NYC—and we will.'
Comedian Paul F. Tompkins tweeted: 'That's weird, I never thought other people not having their own place to live was something that I was being 'subjected to' but then I also don't think the answer to this situation is 'cops'.'
Some, however, were on Bratton's side of the discussion.
Fox News' Charles Gasparino piggybacked on Bratton's statement, tweeting: 'Well said.'
Journalist Judith Miller gave a warning: 'Hope the incoming mayor is reading this!'
The incoming mayor, Eric Adams, has hired Keechant Sewell as the new police commissioner, who is set to become the first black woman to hold the post after being tapped for Bratton's old position on Wednesday.
She will be charged with the daunting task of reversing the violent crime that has plagued the city.
Adams takes office on New Year's Day.
Sewell is joining the department during a time when murders, rapes, felony assaults, and grand larcenies are on the upswing.
During the week ending December 19, there were 11 murders in the city, a 37 percent year-over-year increase. Rapes increased 32 percent after 37 people were victimized during the same period.
Overall, murders are up 2.7 percent, rape is up 3 percent, and overall crime is up 5.7 percent in the city over last year.
Already this year, 464 people have been murdered in the Big Apple, and 1,450 others have been raped, according to NYPD data. Another 13,308 New Yorkers have been robbed and 22,104 have been the victims of felony assault.
Keechant Sewell speaks to the media at the Queensbridge houses in Long Island City after being named the next police chief of New York
Through December 12, crime remains on the rise across the board in New York City, up 5.7 percent overall
Shooting incidents and victims are already up by a fair amount from 2020 with a week still remaining in 2021
The Bowery Mission, a charity that helps the unhoused in the city, claims that one in every six people in New York City is homeless, a total of nearly 80,000, adding that among adults, homelessness is at an all-time high.
They also claim that at least 2,400 people sleep on the New York City streets every night.
That extends to the youngest New Yorkers, as nearly one in every three children in the city live below the poverty line.
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