Compassion’s Misguided Approach is Threatening NYC: Rep. Ritchie Torres

Rep. Ritchie Torres (NY-15) isn’t worried about upsetting the political establishment — even those wearing the same Democratic jersey — because he believes “80% of New Yorkers agree” with his views on quality of life issues.

Earlier this month, Torres shared a video showing a person urinating on the 7 train.

“A mentally disturbed individual is publicly urinating in the subway, defiling a public transit system that loses $700 million annually due to fare evasion,” Torres expressed on X, questioning, “Why do we accept this? New York can do better than what a failing system provides.”

In previous eras, a politician posting a video of someone urinating wouldn’t typically garner much consideration — yet this subway rider must have felt relieved that Torres spoke out.

Finally, a politician is voicing a basic truth: That our city, regarded as the greatest in the world, has come to accept woefully inadequate conditions in our subways and on our streets.

Someone in power is prepared to confront and diagnose the issue, rather than suggesting that the patients are imagining their symptoms.

“The lesson learned from the last election is that the American people aren’t foolish — gaslighting simply doesn’t work,” Torres told me this week.

Regarding his forthright tweeting approach, he aims to convey a specific message: “We don’t have to accept what is unacceptable.”

This advocates for cleaner, safer trains; taking a firm stand against fare evasion; and addressing the severely mentally ill populating our streets to reduce random violence.

Moreover: Electing new leadership that resonates with reality — as opposed to far-left interest groups.

“We’re experiencing a pendulum swing back to a rational center,” Torres remarked. “As Democrats, we can no longer afford to view public safety and quality of life as strictly Republican issues. These are fundamental responsibilities of government.”

Our great city has wasted almost two decades of law and order by fostering what Torres describes as a “perversion of compassion” within our policies. This perspective places priority on criminals and violently unstable individuals over law-abiding citizens.

Torres, a former city councilman who entered the US House of Representatives in 2020 and was reelected in November, has gained national attention for his vigorous defense of Israel following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks.

“I aspire to extend the moral clarity I’ve demonstrated regarding Israel to a broader array of issues, such as public safety, because there is a demand for public servants willing to articulate what people are thinking, feeling, and believing,” he said.

In essence, it’s about returning to a Big Apple that thrived on grit and honesty.

Torres’ solution? New leadership. This involves replacing Kathy Hochul — whom he refers to as the “a creature of a broken system” — with someone new. He has not held back in criticizing our governor, claiming she has constrained Mayor Adams in his attempts to maintain safety in New York.

“What we need now more than ever is a disruptor of the status quo,” Torres declared.

Could that disruptor be Torres himself, who has already indicated intentions to run for either mayor or governor? “It can be,” he replied.

The Bronx-native is addressing crucial issues effectively — most recently highlighting that the MTA, often lamenting its financial woes, is spending $1 million to analyze the psychology behind fare evasion instead of simply enforcing the law.

“Fare evaders are rational actors,” Torres noted, “and if you indicate to them that there are no consequences for illegal actions, they will have a distorted motivation to break the law.”

“Once you adjust the incentives, you will modify behavior.”

Regarding the mentally ill in our city, Torres remarked that allowing them “to suffer on the streets and subways of New York is cruelty disguised as compassion” — adding that Ramon Rivera’s fatal stabbing spree of three innocent people in Manhattan last month, weeks after he was released from Rikers, was “avoidable.”

Regarding the recent Daniel Penny trial, where the Marine veteran was acquitted in the death of Jordan Neely after he used a chokehold to protect F train passengers, Torres believes it revealed how the “failures” of the city and state “are a matter of life and death.”

“The death of Jordan Neely was not ‘a modern-day lynching,’ as the far left claims. To me, it was the tragic outcome of a broken mental health system that threatens the well-being and safety of New Yorkers,” he asserted. “Jordan should never have been allowed to wander the subways. He should have been admitted to a mental health facility.”

Torres certainly appears suited for higher office. If he continues delivering honest messages, he’ll undoubtedly attract support from fatigued New Yorkers.

“We have the resources to solve this issue,” he stated. “What we lack is the political resolve.”