New York City Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez pushed back on a statement issued by New York City Mayor Eric Adams on the death of a man riding the subway, saying Mr Adams reached “a new low” with his response.
Mr Adams issued a statement on Wednesday, as reported by the Gotham Gazette journalist Ben Max, in which the mayor addressed the death of an unhoused man on a New York City subway.
“Any loss of life is tragic,” Mr Adams’ statement began. “There’s a lot we don’t know about what happened here, so I’m going to refrain from commenting further.”
“However, we do know there were serious mental health issues in play here which is why our administration has made record investment in providing care to those who ended it and getting people off the streets and subways, and out of dangerous situations,” the statement continued.
The unhoused man, identified as 30-year-old Jordan Neely, died after being placed in a chokehold by a subway passenger – something Mr Adams did not address in his statement.
The incident began on Monday (1 May) after Mr Neely allegedly expressed verbal frustration to fellow passengers on the train.
An unidentified passenger then placed Mr Neely in a chokehold.
An autopsy conducted by the medical examiner’s office ruled Mr Neely’s death a homicide and the manner of death as “compression of neck”.
They noted that any criminal culpability and charges would be left to law enforcement to pursue
“This honestly feels like a new low,” Ms Ocasio-Cortez said on Twitter on Wednesday in response to Mr Adams’ statement.
“Not being able to clearly condemn a public murder because the victim was of a social status some would deem ‘too low’ to care about,” Ms Ocasio-Cortez added.
A video, taken by freelance journalist Juan Alberto Vazquez and shared online, shows the passenger holding Mr Neely down with his arm around Mr Neely’s neck as other passengers attempted to restrain Mr Neely’s arms.
After police were called, Mr Neely was taken to a hospital but died.
In his statement, Mr Adams called on elected officials and advocacy groups to “Join us in prioritizing getting people the care they need and not just allowing them to languish.”
Ms Ocasio-Cortez called out Mr Adams for being hypocritical.
She tweeted, “The last sentence is especially rich from an admin trying to cut the very services that could have helped him.”
The reference may have been to Mr Adams’ policy change to forcibly remove people experiencing homelessness from subways who seem to be in a “psychiatric crisis”.
Additionally, Mr Adams’ latest budget proposal will cut funding to the Department of Homeless Services (DHS).
In a statement provided to The Independent, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said they are investigating the matter.
“As part of our rigorous ongoing investigation, we will review the Medical Examiner’s report, assess all available video and photo footage, identify and interview as many witnesses as possible, and obtain additional medical records. The investigation is being handled by senior,e experienced prosecutors and we will provide an update when there is additional public information to share,” a spokesperson for the Manhattan DA said.
