Governor Cuomo Receives the Endorsement of Leandra Feliz in The Bronx
Cuomo stands in solidarity with Leandra Feliz and NYPD Inspector Kevin Taylor, discussing his public safety plan and the importance of hiring 5,000 new police officers to make New York City streets safe
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, candidate for Mayor of New York City, stood alongside Leandra Feliz, mother of 15-year-old Guzman-Feliz, a victim of gang violence, who was killed in the Bronx in 2018, and retired NYPD Inspector Kevin Taylor. Together, Leandra endorsed Cuomo for Mayor, as they stood in solidarity and memorialized Lesandro Guzman-Feliz, discussing the importance of public safety.
A transcript of the remarks is below:
Thank you very much. First to Leandra, thank you for going through that again. I think the loss of a child must be the most unimaginable pain that anyone could experience. Fifteen years old — we can't even imagine. I hope that what we did with Camp Junior somehow brought a sense of peace, that there was some good that came, and thousands of children have been helped by Camp Junior. It's a sad reality that sometimes society needs a tragedy to open its eyes and wake up and actually act.
Camp Junior was a great project. Fresh Air Fund — we want to thank Ruben Diaz Jr., who was the borough president at that time — did a great job. We want to thank all of them. And Camp Junior goes on as a testament. I also want to thank Kevin Taylor and Dennis Porter, who were with the NYPD at that time, and have been very helpful to Leandra to this day, helping her work through it — and that is above and beyond.
We're getting close to an election for Mayor of New York. And we talk about a lot of things during an election, but now it's time for focus. And what we're doing is, we are electing the Mayor of New York, right? This is about the job interview to be the Mayor of the City of New York. And the question is: who has the experience and the qualifications and the knowledge to be the Mayor of New York?
One of the top priorities has to be public safety. That, in my mind, is the foundation. Because if people don't feel safe in the city, nothing else really matters. So public safety has to come first.
I have a very aggressive plan to hire 5,000 police officers, which is not going to be easy. We have a very high attrition rate right now, losing people from the police department. It's hard to find people to apply for the jobs. The morale is down in the police department. The relationship between the police department and the community is not good. So we're gonna have to turn that around and work to get those 5,000 police.
It's not just about police. We also need precision policing, which we know works — specialized units for domestic violence, mental health, substance abuse. A specialized unit for homeless mentally ill, which is a specialization all unto itself. I spent years working on that issue. And you need people who are really trained in that issue to handle it.
But the basic feeling is that if we can restore public safety and people feel safe and comfortable, the confidence in the city will return. And if the confidence returns, that's the best thing you can do. Once the confidence returns and people feel like the city has a future, then they invest in their homes, they invest in their businesses, then they invite people to visit.
And public safety, I believe, will drive the confidence. But again, this job is not an easy job — Mayor of New York. And you have to know what you’re doing. And you have to have the experience and the wisdom and the knowledge to do it.
You know, in the old days, there used to be “help wanted” signs — “help wanted, no experience necessary.” Remember those signs? You never see those signs anymore. Right now, you need experience in almost every job. The only place where, in this election, you would see that sign is outside of City Hall: “Mayor of New York needed — no experience necessary.”
Of course, you need experience. Of course, you need to know government. Of course, you had to have gone through these situations before, so you know how to deal with it. It's one of the most complicated, difficult cities on the globe. And ability matters. It really does.
Let me end where we started — Leandra, thank you very much for your comments. We're sorry for your tragedy. Camp Junior will continue, and Leandra visits Camp Junior every year, and I hope that brings you and your family some peace.
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