NEW York Governor Kathy Hochul has been slammed for saying she’s made subways safer just hours after a woman was set on fire and burned alive on the train this weekend.
The governor posted a smiling selfie on the train on Sunday, saying that crime has decreased in New York City after she deployed the National Guard earlier this year.
Hochul smiling with subway riders in her ‘self=congratulatory’ post[/caption]
“In March, I took action to make our subways safer for the millions of people who take the trains each day,” Hochul wrote in the post, which was shared on X and Instagram.
She added, “Crime is going down, and ridership is going up.”
Social media users were quick to blast her for sharing the claims eight hours after the news of the subway rider’s death was reported.
At around 7:30 am on Sunday, a man set a sleeping woman on the F train in Brooklyn on fire and watched as she burned to death.
Fellow lawmakers slammed Hochul for the post, Congressman Ritchie Torres among them as he referred to another brutal crime from the weekend.
“Two hours ago, Kathy Hochul took a victory lap for making subways ‘safer,’” Torres wrote on X.
“She congratulates herself on the same day two subway riders were stabbed in Queens (one in the face and one in the chest) and another was barbarically burned alive.
“Has there ever been a more tone-deaf Governor in the history of New York?”
Melissa DeRosa, who served as secretary under former governor Andrew Cuomo, slammed Hochul as ignorant.
“[Two] people were murdered in the subway today,” DeRosa wrote.
“The governor of the state of ny is a tourist who can’t even bother to read a newspaper while she’s in town.”
In the comments of Hochul’s post, social media users replied with graphic footage of the immolation.
Others said the timing of the post was out of touch while the subways run rampant with crime.
“An innocent woman was set on fire and murdered on the train this morning. And a man killed someone who tried to rob him on the train last night : I wouldn’t describe the subways as being safe but that’s just me,” one Instagram user commented.
Make no mistake: any crime is one too many, even with subway crime going down.”
Kathy Hochul
“Wasn’t a women set on fire today as well? You have the nerve to say it’s safe,” another wrote.
“Sorry Kathy your private subway car closed off by your security detail doesn’t count.”
Others called for the governor’s resignation.
“You need to resign. This job is not for you,” one slammed.
“Please resign and leave New York and never go back into politics,” a second advised.
Hochul took office in August 2021 as the first female governor of New York.
HOCHUL’S RESPONSE
Two hours after her puffed-up post, Hochul somberly acknowledged that the New York Police Department arrested someone for Sunday’s disturbing murder.
“A suspect is now in custody for the horrific incident on the F train,” Hochul wrote.
Sebastin Zapeta, a 33-year-old man from Guatemala, was arrested in connection to the crime.
Cops said the alleged suspect threw a lighter on the woman, who hasn’t been identified, and watched as she quickly went up in flames.
“Our brand-new security cameras helped law enforcement find the suspect and arrest him,” she said, once again pointing to her efforts to increase subway safety.
“Make no mistake: any crime is one too many, even with subway crime going down. We are continuing to surge personnel and resources to make our subways safer.”
Hochul’s office hasn’t responded to The U.S. Sun’s request for comment.
The scene where a woman was lit on fire on Sunday morning[/caption]
Hochul making an announcement about train safety on December 18[/caption]
