U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy offered some blunt advise on how New York’s governor should address the subway system during a weekend visit to the other side of the Hudson River.
On Saturday, Duffy joined New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and Congressmen Tom Kean for a tour of the troublesome sinkhole problem plaguing Interstate 80 and the surrounding communities in Morris County.
The latest sinkhole to pop up last week has extended the eastbound and westbound lane closures of I-80 in Wharton, resulting in frustratingly long traffic delays and significant slowdowns to local businesses in the area. Officials are hopeful that repairs could see at least two westbound lanes reopened in a week’s time, but the east side will likely be closed down for another six to eight weeks.
Following the tour, Duffy fielded a few questions from reporters alongside the New Jersey governor, including one focused on transportation matters back in the Empire State.
“Talking about safety, Secretary Duffy, you called MTA a homeless shelter in New York City and have threatened to cut funding. If you cut funding, do you have any concerns that safety could decrease and crime could increase further?” one reporter asked of the transportation secretary.
Duffy, in his response, laid any perceived blame over subway safety at the feet of Gov. Kathy Hochul.
“Well, crime rates are still up 56% since 2019, and so in 36 hours [Hochul] could clean up the subways,” Duffy said. “Send law enforcement in, kick out homeless, get rid of the drugs.”
“This is not hard. We’re not sending rockets into space,” he added.
Near the end of his response, Duffy delivered a colorful message to the governor of New York.
“If you want people to take the train, take transit, then make it safe, make it clean, make it beautiful, make it wonderful. Don’t make it a s–hole, which is what she’s done,” he said. “She could fix it, and she chooses not to.”
When reached for comment, a spokesperson for Hochul did not respond directly to Duffy’s Saturday comments. Instead, the spokesperson referred to comments the governor had made at an event a day prior.
“We don’t have to be at war over this. I think sometimes people have to be played as certain political actors, but our President is a New Yorker. He understands that we don’t exist without a highly functioning, effective, safe subway system,” Hochul said Friday.
“So if they want to help us make it even safer — despite the fact that we’re down 24 percent in crimes from last year, down 29 percent since 2019, down 50 percent since 2001 — I think we can do better. Send us my money and we’ll continue to do that.”
