Former New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, during a Friday interview on the “Cats Roundtable” on WABC 770 AM radio, voiced his concerns over the declining quality of life in New York City, attributing it to various factors such as subway crime, a shortage of police officers, and the city’s handling of the migrant crisis.

Kelly, who has served as police commissioner under two different mayoral administrations, shared insights from a conversation with a visitor from London. “I met a man from London a couple of weeks ago. I asked him what he thought about New York. … He said, ‘It looks like there’s nobody in charge.’ That’s exactly my feeling.”

From migrants milling around outside the Roosevelt Hotel — or, as it has been dubbed, the migrant intake center — or the “mentally deranged” homeless people on the street, or the rampant crime, the quality of life in New York City has “really deteriorated,” the Big Apple’s former top cop added.

“We know subway crime is still very much an issue, and it’s keeping people off of the subways,” Kelly said.

He linked recent violent incidents, including a random murder on the D train, to the broader concern of declining subway ridership and skepticism about initiatives like the $15 congestion toll in Midtown.

Kelly expressed particular pessimism about the city’s future, especially in the short term. “It’s a bad time,” he stated, lamenting the ubiquity of scooters and the impact on pedestrian safety. “Scooters are everywhere. They’re on the sidewalks. They’re going through red lights. You have to look 360 degrees before you cross the street.”

The recruitment and retention of police officers emerged as another critical concern for Kelly, who observed a troubling trend following the death of George Floyd.

“The cops are working hard. The police department is way short of police officers,” he said. “They can’t recruit officers. People don’t want to become a cop these days. They know the restrictions. They know that police officers have been demonized and vilified throughout the country, but certainly in New York as well.”

Kelly was equally critical of the city’s approach to managing protests and the recent consent decree affecting police operations.

“The city just agreed to a consent decree, which is absolutely ludicrous. It ties the hands of police officers trying to police demonstrations,” he argued, questioning the leadership of Mayor Eric Adams, a former police captain, in agreeing to such terms despite recognizing them as a “bad idea.”

On the topic of the migrant crisis, Kelly condemned the city’s financial response, specifically the decision to provide prepaid credit cards to asylum-seekers, which he described as “ludicrous.” He called for more decisive action from the mayor, suggesting that the current approach was overly influenced by political considerations.

Kelly also critiqued the state’s gun control measures, particularly the law preventing licensed gun holders from carrying firearms in “sensitive locations.” He dismissed the effort as “phony,” arguing that it ultimately serves the interests of criminals rather than enhancing public safety.

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