By Jon Levine and Matthew Sedacca December 31, 2022 11:08am 

City Council Minority Leader Joe Borelli will introduce a bogus bill in the new year designating Times Square a “crime free zone” — to troll his anti-cop, progressive colleagues.

The Staten Island Republican sent a letter around to colleagues last week asking them to sign onto his “anti-crime” bill.

“It is trolling for the purpose of raising awareness of how silly solutions have become the norm to our crime problem,” Borelli told The Post. “This is so silly that I can’t believe I don’t have unanimous support in the Council.” 

The bill is in response to a law sponsored by Speaker Adrienne Adams and several lefty Council members, which was enacted in October and designated Times Square’s boundaries as a “gun-free zone” — despite gun violence being among the bottom-ranking crimes for the area, Borelli said. The city’s gesture helped NYPD determine where to post signs alerting people to the ban.

People standing beneath a Times Square "gun free zone" sign
Borelli’s legislation is responding to his progressive colleagues passing legislation designating the boundaries of Times Square as a gun-free zone.

The Council’s move followed Gov. Kathy Hochul signing legislation barring guns in “sensitive locations,” including Times Square, after the US Supreme Court struck down the state’s stringent laws for obtaining concealed-carry licenses.

In the Midtown North and Midtown South precincts, which include the Times Square gun-free zone, there have been eight shooting incidents for the year through Dec. 25, compared to 4,312 cases of grand larceny, 180 auto thefts, 791 robberies, and 44 rapes, according to NYPD data.  35

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Borelli’s bill has already received bipartisan support. 

Officials designated Times Square's boundaries as a “gun-free zone" this year.
Officials designated Times Square’s boundaries as a “gun-free zone” this year.

“It’s an honor to stand with Minority Leader Borelli and help lead us into a bright, crime-free future for Times Square,” said Councilman Robert Holden (D-Queens). “After all, if signs can fix the gun issue, why not just put signs up to fix crime too?”