Queens Village Eagle, January 2021, Cover Story by Alex Amoroso
Eight long years of ineffective and pathetic leadership are finally coming to a close. Most New Yorkers can agree that the de Blasio administration has been a disaster for New York City. While de Blasio was elected to work for the advancement of the people of New York, he worked for nobody but himself. Instead of working for New Yorkers he engaged in petty squabbles with other politicians. Instead of working to remedy New York’s floundering public school system, he promoted overtly racist policies that deepened the racial divisions in our country. He proudly spat on New York’s finest and presided over the sharpest increase in crime in decades. He allowed the homeless and needy to aimlessly wander the streets. He oversaw the decimation of New York’s economy and the flight of thousands from our city. It is safe to say de Blasio, his acolytes in the city council, and his financial enablers have run this city into the ground after decades of painstakingly trying to bring it back to life.
New York was not in a good place after the 2008 recession. In eight years de Blasio accelerated trends that Mayor Giuliani and Mayor Bloomberg spent twenty years trying to avoid. People are fleeing New York in droves. Everyday New York City loses a net average of 300 people, and the reasons for this flight from New York are evident. Our schools are failing, one in every four students fail to graduate high school on time. Barely 60% of our children are proficient in English and mathematics. Instead of allocating the necessary resources such as updated textbooks, school supplies, technology, critical school renovations and increased staff numbers, de Blasio and his goon Chancellor Carranza try to implement forms of neo-segregationist and racially discriminatory policies targeting White and Asian students with laser beam precision. Instead of trying to uplift struggling students from impoverished backgrounds, the mayor chooses to bring down students who are not.
Currently there is an exploding homeless population. Over 50,000 New Yorkers are homeless, many of them children. Many go not knowing when their next meal will be. Many are facing substance abuse or have mental health issues that are going untreated. While shelters, charities, and nonprofits desperately need funding, de Blasio sees it more fit to disperse people, many struggling with mental health and substance abuse issues, in hotels across residential neighborhoods praying that the problem will magically disappear. Instead of providing substantive solutions such as rent controls, rezoning, the deregulation of the construction industry to remedy New York’s chronic housing shortage, de Blasio and the Democrats at large run and hide from our problems or engage in a propaganda war hoping we will not realize.
For decades New York City struggled with crime. At one point New York City was one of the most dangerous cities in North America. Just when New York was finally getting its crime pandemic under control de Blasio came in and unravelled a half century of work in months. Instead of encouraging our men and women in uniform he used his microphone as mayor to spew hatred and venom at police. His words gave terrorist the green light to attack and murder those who are sworn to protect us. Infamously in 2017 as one of New York’s finest, Officer Miosotis Familia lay dying in St. Barnabas Hospital, de Blasio thought it was more important to be in Germany rioting with his fellow anarchist, socialist and communist. In 2020 as these same radicals pillaged their way through New York and the rest of the country, destroying everything in their wake he did not denounce them for looting, assault and the spread of coronavirus, he openly gave them his blessing.
The failure of de Blasio’s economic agenda has destroyed New York’s already stumbling economy. His model of discouraging business, lack of infrastructure investment, tax and spend, spend more than you have, and spend on programs and projects the city does not need has been a disaster. When people fleeing New York City are asked why they are fleeing, the number one reason is the high taxes. It is one thing to tax at high rates in exchange for meaningful social programs and tangible results, but we do not get that, instead our money disappears. These high taxes are causing the rich to leave the city and even the state. 50% of New York City’s taxes come from 1% of New York’s population. This flight of the upper and middle class has not only caused the inflation of New York’s deficit, it increases the tax burden on everyday New Yorkers who are already strapped for cash.
New York is better than this. New York can do better. It is time for New York to turn a new leaf. Many say New York is dead, however I would strongly disagree. Being the eternal optimist that I am, New York is not dead. New York is the greatest city in the world. The capital of the world cannot die. If New Yorkers band together and work to elect principled leaders with real ideas, real solutions and who want to work for we the people, New York will be able to find herself back on track.
Alex Amoroso is a Young Republican currently attending Queens High School for Language Studies, a Catechism Teacher at Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, and member of the Queens Village Republican Club. Alex is planning to run as a Republican candidate for New York City Council in District #23. He can be reached at alexamoroso4nyc@gmail.com
