Hecklers tried to disrupt a Friday appearance by Republican gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin in Manhattan — but their shouts failed to silence his anti-crime broadsides against Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul.
During a news conference near the scene of the Thursday morning rape of a tourist jogging in Hudson River Park, Zeldin said, “It is important that we are doing everything in our power to make our streets and our subway safe.”
“Now, unfortunately, Kathy Hochul doesn’t want to be here talking about these issues,” he said. “She wants to send her supporters to make sure that we aren’t talking about fighting crime.”
Zeldin also blasted Hillary Clinton for accusing Republicans of trying to keep voters “scared” while she campaigned for Hochul with Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday night.
In response to a question from The Post, Zeldin said Clinton and Hochul should be telling New Yorkers, “I understand your concerns. I want to do absolutely everything in my power to be able to fix it. Here are my solutions and I’m committed to getting it done.”
“But instead, a strategic decision was made by them, that they didn’t want to talk about crime, that they wanted to talk about other issues,” he said.
“Why is it that the polls are close? What you are hearing right now is why the polls are close. Last night, when you listened to that rally, that is why the polls are close.”
Although the small band of protesters from the progressive “Rise and Resist” group made noise throughout Zeldin’s 20-minute appearance, he managed at one point to get them to change their tactics.
When Zeldin said, “They want to drown out the conversation,” the activists instead started cheering and clapping.