“Hochul will not clean the subway,” Philipp Pendel, 53, told The Post at the 72nd Street subway station on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. “Me and my mom are on food stamps, but I still won’t let her take the subway by herself,” she said. “If she needs to go somewhere, I’ll ride the subway with her or we’ll pay for a taxi. It’s expensive to pay for a taxi, but it’s better than letting her take the subway.” Zeldin — a onetime longtime Republican candidate who is now at odds with Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochsul after running on a tough-on-crime platform — has pledged to make fighting crime a top priority if elected. And it’s a message that resonates even with the city’s longtime Democrats. MP Lee Zeldin has vowed to make tackling crime a top priority if elected. Incumbent James Cavomb Gov. Kathy Hotchul shrugged off concerns about crime, saying recent events have caused a sensation. Douglas Healey “I’ve always been a Democratic voter, but I’m willing to give Zeldin a chance to see if he can fix crime,” Rachel Rosando, a 43-year-old medical assistant who lives near Harlem, told The Post. outside Manhattan’s 96th Street Station. “Crime was bad before Hochul, and it’s still bad. I don’t think Hochul caused the crime problem, but I don’t think she can fix it,” Rosado said. Earlier Monday, Hochul dismissed concerns about crime when asked about them at a campaign stop and accused Zeldin of “overblowing” the key issue. “He’s been hyperventilating, trying to scare people for months, and New Yorkers are doing it. All legitimate media organizations have called him out for what he is doing, which is fear-mongering,” Hochul told reporters. When asked about the quote, Rosado said real New Yorkers know crime is an issue and accused Hochul, a Buffalo native, of being “dishonest. Rachael Rosado, a longtime city Democrat, said she is voting for Zeldin because she is concerned about crime.Matthew McDermott “People who live and pay taxes in New York know that crime is a real problem for us,” said Rosado, who relies on the subway to get around. “There is no fear. It is clear that there is crime everywhere.” While transit crime is 4.2% lower than it was before the pandemic, it’s up more than 40% this year compared to 2021 — and when low ridership numbers are factored in, commuters are more likely to be victims of crime than they were in the past, the data show. The scene of a fatal stabbing at the 176th Street Station in the Bronx. Christopher Sadowski Chris Coluzzi, 59, planned to vote for Hochul, but said he’s now on the fence because he’s frustrated with her inability to take metro crime seriously. “Hochul won’t admit we have a real problem. It cherry-picks gun violence statistics and ignores the real problem with subway crime,” Coluzzi told the 72nd Street Station. “I’ve been in New York for 23 years and this is the first time I’ve felt unsafe on the subway, with all the random punches, cuts and pushes. … It sounds crazy, but every time my wife takes the subway, I say goodbye to her like it’s the last time.” The moment a man was recently pushed onto the subway tracks. DCPI John, who declined to give his last name and works for the city’s Environmental Protection Agency, called subway crime “out of control. “It’s dangerous down here. I don’t care what party they say is blowing it up and making it sound worse, but I know it’s dangerous down here,” said the straphanger, commuting to the Atlantic Avenue subway station. “Hochul isn’t doing anything, how about you switch and choose someone else? I vote for Lee Zeldin.” Metro crime is up more than 40% so far this year compared to 2021. Other commuters polled by The Post said they are concerned about the illegality of crime, but not enough to vote for Zeldin because of his views on abortion, LGBTQ rights and other progressive issues. “I would vote for Zeldin, but I don’t like his views on abortion. It’s a woman’s choice, not his,” said Christina Esposito, 40, a nanny who lives in Astoria. “But if I vote for Kathy, she really, really, really needs to deal with subway crime … I take the subway every day and it makes me nervous,” Esposito said. “I’m a tough cookie, but I don’t feel safe on the subway.” But Kathryn Sell, 37, said she was more afraid of crossing the street with a pram than taking the subway. Kathryn Sell said she’s not worried about metro crime and plans to vote for Gov. Hotchul. Matthew McDermott “I would never vote for Lee Zeldin because of his positions on abortion, bail reform, and transit funding. They’re very right-wing,” said Sell, who lives in Harlem. “I always vote straight Democrat. I would never vote Republican. I didn’t even vote [Mayor Eric] Adams because I would consider him a Republican.”
