Sliwa uses shooting to attack Blaz
Republican mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa accused Mayor de Blasio of asking cops to “stand down” when it comes to fighting violent crime and said the mayor has “done nothing” in response to a recent shooting that sent two men to the hospital.
Sliwa, who’s running against Democratic nominee Eric Adams, the Brooklyn borough president, appeared outside the Frederick Douglass Houses on the Upper West Side on Tuesday to sound off on the city’s response to a nearby shooting that took place the day before.
“You go into Frederick Douglass, and you see the number of elderly people. They’re going into solitary confinement,” Sliwa, the founder of Guardian Angels, said. “They can’t leave their homes out of their morbid fear of becoming a crime victim. So why are we worried so much about criminal rights when the rights of the elderly especially have been violated?”
Sliwa is considered a long shot for mayor given the city’s overwhelmingly Democratic majority and Adams’ sizable fund-raising advantage thus far. But he’s a household name, has been campaigning actively and is positioning himself as a law-and-order candidate even though his opponent is a retired police captain.
The shooting Monday evening, which took place on W. 105th St. near Columbus Ave., sent two men to the hospital — the intended target and an 81-year-old bystander who was sitting outside a barbershop at the time.
The gunman got away in a black sedan, according to one witness.
Police said they don’t yet know what motivated the shooting and have not arrested any suspects.
Sliwa said Tuesday that he and the Guardian Angels would patrol the area and would try to help the NYPD identify suspects.
“Please give us more police,” he said, addressing the mayor. “Hire more police.”
A spokesman for de Blasio did not immediately respond.