Republicans are already hammering Democratic rivals over the controversial bill passed by the City Council Wednesday that would require street cops to file reports on millions of minor interactions with the public.
In the special election to replace expelled ex-Rep George Santos, GOP congressional candidate Mazi Pilip came out swinging Thursday, trying to hang the measure around the neck of Democratic opponent Tom Suozzi.
“Suozzi is part of the progressive Democratic Party that is encouraging crime and not protecting the American people,” Pilip told The Post.
Pilip, an Ethiopian native who served in the Israeli military, is facing off against Suozzi in the Feb. 13 special election to succeed the expelled ex-Rep. George Santos in the 3rd Congressional District covering Long Island and parts of Eastern Queens.
It will be a nationally watched race, a bellwether to see which party wins control of the House of Representatives in the 2024 fall elections.
Pilip referred to legislation the Council passed Wednesday that would force cops to file reports for every street stop encounter they carry out — even the low-level ones.
Mayor Eric Adams opposes the measure and has threatened to veto it.
“This is the agenda of the Democratic Party, of Gov. Hochul, Suozzi. It’s chaos. They’re creating a mess,” Pilip, a Nassau County legislator said.
“This proposal takes power away from law enforcement. It makes it more difficult for police officers to do their job. It’s unnecessary. It creates another layer of bureaucracy and doesn’t help anyone.”
The Suozzi campaign said Pilip’s attack smacks of desperation.
“Mazi Pilip has a dismal record on addressing crime. Since she has been in office Nassau County has seen a 41% increase in crime, while when Tom Suozzi was County Executive Nassau County enjoyed historic lows in crime,” said Suozzi campaign senior advisor Kim Devlin.
“To try to attach Suozzi to extremists in any political party is absurd and should be seen as the desperate act it is by his inexperienced opponent,” added Devlin.
Suozzi, considered a moderate Democrat, previously served in Congress but relinquished his House seat to run a Democratic primary against Gov. Kathy Hochul.
But Hochul — who took over as governor after Andrew Cuomo resigned in August 2021 under the threat of impeachment amid sexual misconduct accusations he denies — crushed Suozzi in the primary.
Suozzi ran to the right of Hochul on public safety during that campaign — accusing her of being soft on crime.
Meanwhile, Nicole Malliotakis (R-Staten Island/Brooklyn) rapped her potential Democratic rival in the 2024 elections, Councilman Justin Brannan, for voting for the police reporting bill.
“The out of touch City Council, including Justin Brannan, keeps ignoring law enforcement’s warnings and New Yorkers’ concerns about crime and instead passes bill after bill that further erodes public safety and quality of life,” Malliotakis said.
She said the Brannan and the Council want “understaffed NYPD to push paperwork instead of patrolling our streets…. it’s clear City Council Democrats have gone from defunding our police to dismantling the department.”
Brannan shot back, “I enjoy living rent free in Nicole’s head but if she really cared about New York City she’d worry less about me and get a bill done to fix our country’s broken immigration system. The 118th congress is on track to be one of the most unproductive in modern history,” Brannan said.
“Nicole needs to focus on doing her damn job.”