NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — New York City's recent crime statistics should be viewed "in context" to avoid mass "hysteria," Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said this week.
In a Zoom conversation on Tuesday, Ocasio-Cortez and Rep. Jamaal Bowman discussed the recent surge in crime across the five boroughs, the New York Post reported.
"We are seeing these headlines about percentage increases," the congresswoman said. "Now I want to say that any amount of harm is unacceptable, and too much, but I also want to make sure that this hysteria, you know, that this doesn't drive a hysteria, and that we look at these numbers in context, so that we can make responsible decisions about what to allocate in that context."
While the NYPD reported no percent change in murders year-over-year in May, robberies were up by 46.7% compared to May 2020, shooting incidents were up by 73% and felony assaults were up by 20.5%.
Mayor Bill de Blasio on Monday said he planned to boost the NYPD's presence in Times Square following a shooting over the weekend that injured a 21-year-old bystander.
