Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo heavily criticized the government of New York City in an op-ed Monday, accusing officials of trying to make citizens pay for the migrant crisis.
Cuomo centered his complaints on the implementation of "congestion pricing" – a $15 charge for motorists driving into Lower Manhattan – despite having supported the state law himself while in office.
"Congestion pricing is a policy designed to incentivize people to use mass transit," Cuomo wrote in the New York Post op-ed. "It is an important goal; we passed it in 2019 but implementation has been delayed until now."
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While the policy was intended to coerce New York City residents to use public transportation such as the subway, rising fear of violent crime has made New Yorkers double down on avoiding the system.
Cuomo claimed in his piece that an increased police presence and crackdown on crime would be necessary to restore trust in the city's public transportation – but blamed "progressives" for inaction.
"That simple logic is impolitic with today’s self-defined 'progressives.' Cries to 'defund, disband and disarm' the police are politically powerful, and many politicians are intimidated," Cuomo wrote. "While certainly police reform was and is necessary as evidenced by the George Floyd murder, the answer is not to abandon public safety."
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"Just think of the absurdity: The plan is for city taxpayers to pay for the MTA and for the migrant crisis! It’s outrageous. Then we wonder why we are losing population to Florida and other states," the former governor concluded. "I understand these are difficult political issues that politicians would rather avoid, but democracy dies in silence and it can kill New York City in the process."
Cuomo was the governor of New York from 2011 until 2021 – he submitted his resignation after several women accused him of sexual harassment.
He was a Democratic Party heavyweight throughout his time in office and rose to national prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fox News Digital's Jamie Joseph contributed to this report.
