A City On The Edge - The Victim Of Radical Extremists

It’s been a long day; your mind and body punished with the residue of the journey you're on and the path you’ve taken. You welcome the soft comfort of a bed, and as you slip between the sheets and lay your head on the pillow, you hope that sleep will come soon and without any needless interruption. You hope to awake the next morning with strength and resolve, ready to face life’s adversities. Some of us, however, before surrendering and drifting off to that other realm, we take time to reflect on the events of the day just passed, and what tomorrow will bring. 

This is especially true when you have much to think about, and you reside in a place that is considered by many and especially its residents, to be unruly, dangerous, violent, and at times even godless. Often I have asked myself, where, when, and why did things get so complicated and go so wrong. And this begs the question, what is the problem in the city that never sleeps? Is the rest of the nation even aware of the mayhem? Do the local newspapers and outlets in other cities and towns across America even report on it, are they concerned and do they really care?

New York City, the Big Apple, the Mecca of postmodernism, the financial and advertising capitals of the world, Wall Street, Madison Avenue, Broadway, the Freedom Tower, Empire State Building, and Times Square, the Crossroads of the World, to name just a few of its many landmarks and highlights. But for all its attraction and storied history, there are extensive and serious problems that have beset its efforts to survive and remain vibrant and relevant. We hope and pray it will find its way.

Firstly, an in-depth analysis of New York City’s difficulties would require a volume, so I will leave out any sordid details and concentrate on some specifics only, and the one element that has caused most, if not all, of the crises we face. Politics has always been a larger-than-life aspect of the city’s history - Tammany Hall, the Rockefellers, Fiorello LaGuardia - these and others were traditional Republicans and Democrats. 

However, the city, and by extension the state, has over the past 20 years become a haven, dominated by a most radical and extreme element of the Democrat Progressive movement. It’s as though someone opened up a Pandora’s Box and let loose a powerful, ruthless, and relentless genie, and not one that grants wishes. 

The mayor, city council and its speaker, the various agencies, the governor, state legislature, its Senate and House, all are under complete control of Democrats, mostly Progressive, with few Republicans in minor roles. Through its dominance, it has created a majority rule that will not accept or tolerate any attempts to change its agenda and mandates. Earlier in this writing, I asked ‘when, where, and why did things get so complicated and go so wrong?” There are many reasons, but following are some of the most relevant reasons why a city can fail, and its residents suffer, from reckless, sometimes criminal, and unabated political, social, and cultural corruption.

> Mayor Adams faced criminal charges and was indicted for accepting gifts from a foreign entity. The Trump administration believed Adams, like himself, was the victim of a vengeful Biden administration’s Lawfare. President Trump pardoned the mayor, while his own Democrat party, however, is demanding that he resign. The mayor has become a pawn in a political tug-of-war between the White House and the city and state Democrats. 2025 is an election year and the mayor says he will run for reelection, but his favorability among the electorate is at an all-time low. The problem is, those who have come forward and announced their intentions to run for the office of mayor are part of the radical progressive Democrats.

> Governor Hochul is one of the most incompetent, recalcitrant, and hostile political figures in the country. She lacks strength and resolve, and is beholden to the state legislature and the most radical elements of her party. She is incapable of governing and is in disfavor with a majority of New Yorkers. She can also be contemptible toward those who do not share her liberal progressive philosophy. And like her predecessor, she once proclaimed “All you pro-lifers and conservatives, you’re not welcomed here in New York, so why don’t you get out?”  

> The Bale Reform Law, passed and implemented by then-Governor Cuomo and Democrats in 2019, has created a surge in violence and crime unseen in recent memory. Repeat offenders who prey on innocent citizens are released without apology or punishment by judges who claim their hands are tied. Some have been arrested and released numerous times, even for felonies. 

> The mentally impaired and your traditional criminal element roam the streets and the subway system, assaulting and in some cases killing their victims. Over the past several years, more than a dozen commuters have been pushed off the platform onto the train track. Assaults on police officers have increased, and the perpetrators will usually be found walking the streets again soon thereafter.

> Beginning in 2022 a massive wave of illegal migrants, over 160,000, have arrived by bus from Texas, a gift to a sanctuary city from Governor Gregg Abbott. At the time Mayor Adams welcomed them, but soon he came to accept the fact that the billions of taxpayer dollars spent on their food, medical, educational, and housing needs could not be maintained. Most were placed in some of the city’s finest hotels; violence ensued, drugs were distributed, and there were sexual assaults. The overflow were sent all over the city to homeless shelters and vacant city-owned buildings. 

The migrant crisis has created a climate of anger, derision, and fear among city residents. Protests and demonstrations broke out, residents demanded migrants be removed from their neighborhoods as tensions increased, causing clashes between residents and migrants, and the feckless politicians were nowhere to be found. Today, about 65,000 still remain in the city, and things have only gotten worse. For this reason, among other quality-of-life issues, hundreds of thousands of New York residents have fled the city.

> Defund- and anti-police movement is embraced by most Democrats, especially the radical progressives. Since 2013, during the past two Democrat mayoralties, thousands of police officers have either resigned or taken early retirement. The force is being decimated and has decreased in number from approximately 39,000 to 32,000 in that time and recruitment is down considerably. The criminal element knows this, and takes advantage with their nefarious activities in areas where law enforcement has decreased.

These are what I believe are some of the most pressing issues facing New York. Will the lights go out on Broadway? Will the city that never sleeps ever return to its glory days? Will someone come along with the strength and tenacity to deal with the radicals and beat them into submission, politically, socially, and culturally, and rejuvenate the city and maybe even bring about a new renaissance? Let us hope and pray.