Updated: Apr. 25, 2023, 9:37 a.m. | Published: Apr. 24, 2023, 2:24 p.m.
By Kristin F. Dalton | kdalton@siadvance.com
Borough President Vito Fossella, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, representatives from Councilmen Joe Borelli, David Carr, and Mike Reilly, and Assemblymen Michael Tannousis, Sam Pirozzolo, and Charles Fall’s offices held a press conference on Monday, April 24 at the Great Kills train station to discuss the recent stabbing and influx in violent crime. (Staten Island Advance/Kristin F. Dalton)
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – Borough President Vito Fossella called a stabbing at the Great Kills station of the Staten Island Railway (SIR) on Friday and other recent incidents of violent crime the direct result of the “turnstile concept of justice.”
Fossella, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-Staten Island/Brooklyn) and representatives of Councilmen Joe Borelli (R-South Shore) and David Carr (R-Mid-Island), and Assemblymen Michael Reilly (R-South Shore), Sam Pirozzolo (R-Mid-Island), and Michael Tannousis (R-East Shore) held a press conference Monday at the train station calling for changes to bail reform and raise the age laws they claim are the reason for skyrocketing violent crime on Staten Island and throughout the city.
On Friday, April 21, a 51-year-old male suffered a stab wound to the back at the Great Kills train station, according to the NYPD.
The violent incident is believed to have started over a dispute between the victim and another male aboard a 2:36 p.m. train from St. George to Tottenville, according to a MTA spokesperson. The argument spilled onto the platform, where is victim was stabbed.
One of the suspects is a 13-year-old girl and the other two are 14-year-old boys, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation. They have not formally been charged in connection with the incident yet, as detectives are waiting to interview the victim further.
“Where’s the consequences for these violent actions? Where are the parents of these young people when something like this happens?” Fossella said.
Malliotakis alleged more violent crimes are being committed by young children – under the age of 18 – as a gang recruitment act because there are less consequences due to the “Raise the Age” law, which effectively changed the age a child can be prosecuted as an adult to 18 years old. Prior to that, New York was one of two states that previously held 16-year-olds criminally responsible. The law, which transferred the teens to family court for misdemeanors, went into effect for 16-year-olds on Oct. 1, 2018 and 17-year-olds on Oct. 1, 2019.
“Our message to our state legislators – who didn’t vote the right way – is that there are obviously fixes that need to be done if they’re not going to do a full repeal [of the bail reform and raise the age laws],” Malliotakis said.
“It has to be really frustrating for the NYPD when they make an arrest, and the perp is out before their shift is even over,” she continued.
Said Ian Yanda on behalf of Assemblyman Michael Tannousis. “Make no mistake, this increase in crime is the direct result of laxed criminal laws and the coddling of criminal conduct by our legislature and criminal justice system. While we are taking on the fight in Albany to change these laws, our community must come together to condemn this type of conduct and ensure it does not become normalized in our own neighborhood.”
Fossella and Malliotakis, while standing on the Tottenville-bound platform where the stabbing took place, said they will continue communication with the MTA and Staten Island Railway officials about security cameras at train stations and how frequently the assistance intercom boxes are checked to ensure they’re working properly.
Said Reilly, “By turning the criminal justice system into a revolving door, Albany Democrats haven’t just emboldened violent adult criminals, they’ve also instilled in some of our youth the belief that violent crime goes unpunished, especially when you consider the lack of punitive disciplinary procedures within our schools. Gangs exploit this loophole in New York’s Raise the Age law by recruiting young people to act as agents of their reign of terror.”
Assemblyman Charles Fall said, “Public safety remains a pervasive problem in public transit and throughout our communities in Staten Island. Reforms need to be meaningful and effective. We cannot continue to normalize incidents such as this Great Kills man being stabbed while riding the rapid transit train. The alleged suspects must be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law in order to send a message that this will not be tolerated.”