Ex-Democrat governor 'never felt' more 'unsafe' in New York City as crime surges

New York's former Democrat Gov. David Paterson says he has never felt more unsafe in New York City than now, adding that his party has a "blind spot" when it comes to crime. 

Paterson said on "The Cats Roundtable with John Catsimatidis" radio show Sunday that crime is still a top issue for New Yorkers in the 2022 midterm election cycle, and he hoped that candidates would take notice. 

"For the first time in my life—even in the late '80s and '90s when the crime rate was killing 2,000 people a year, I never felt as unsafe as I do now just walking around and God forbid, sometimes we take the subway home from WABC. And you're hearing about an assault on the subway almost every other day," Paterson said. 

He added that a small number of people in the county jails are repeat offenders, getting arrested "20, 30, 50 times," and that that is where the criminal justice system needs change. 

Paterson said New York Democrats have a "blind spot" when it comes to handling crime that could lead to them suffering major losses in the November elections. 

"Mayor Adams says that New York City has a brand—it does have a brand if we don't start adjusting to some of the situations that we're in right now," he said. "That brand is not going to carry the weight and the tremendous allure that New York City has always offered to the country." 

Paterson's remarks were made after the New York City Police Department announced Friday the latest crime statistics, which showed that overall index crime in the city increased by 15.2% for September, Fox News reported.