Gov. Kathy Hochul said she laid down the law to embattled Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, telling him that “safety and justice must go hand-in-hand” during a private meeting Friday afternoon.
The sit-down in Hochul’s Manhattan office came after she put Bragg on notice earlier this week that she had the power to remove him from office over his controversial, soft-on-crime policies.
“My highest priority is protecting the safety of New Yorkers,” Hochul said in a prepared statement afterward.
“I reiterated my belief that safety and justice must go hand-in-hand.”
Hochul also said she would “continue to work with all of our District Attorneys, Mayor [Eric] Adams, the NYPD and every New Yorker who is working to restore our sense of security and enforce our laws.”
Meanwhile, a source within the business-advocacy group The Partnership for New York City said people close to Bragg had revealed he’s “rethinking” his strategy since getting put on the hot seat by major employers during a virtual meeting with about 75 corporate leaders last week.
Stephen Schwarzman, CEO of the investment giant Blackstone, told Bragg it was difficult to get people to come back to work in person “unless they feel safe, and they don’t feel safe,” sources told The Post.
Bragg has been under fire since shortly after taking office on Jan. 1 and ordering his prosecutors to not prosecute some minor crimes, downgrade certain felonies and not seek bail or “carceral” sentences in cases that don’t involve serious violence.
Earlier Friday, the widow of slain NYPD cop Jason Rivera blasted Bragg in a eulogy at her husband’s funeral, saying that “I know you were tired of these laws, especially the ones from the new DA.”
Both Hochul and Bragg attended the memorial service at Manhattan’s iconic St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
In a statement, Bragg said he and Hochul discussed “our shared vision for public safety and commitment to enforce the law,” including “the importance of accountability, preventing shoplifting by breaking up burglary rings, keeping the trains safe, deterring brazen conduct and reducing gun violence.”