\n
![](\"https:\/\/thenypost.files.wordpress.com\/2020\/02\/28730849.jpg?quality=90&strip=all\")
<\/p>\n [ad_1]
\n<\/p>\n
Support for New York\u2019s controversial bail reform is collapsing amid media reports of defendants being released and\u00a0committing more crimes, a survey said Monday.<\/p>\n
A solid majority of state voters \u2013 59 percent \u2013 now say that the elimination of cash bail for most misdemeanor and \u201cnon-violent\u201d felony crimes is bad for New York, the Siena College poll found.<\/p>\n
Only 33 percent of respondents said the law enacted Jan. 1 is good for New York.<\/p>\n
The support nosedived further since a Siena survey last month \u2013 when 37 percent said bail reform is good and 49 percent said it was bad.<\/p>\n
After the law was approved last April, 55 percent of New Yorkers said bail reform was good and 38 percent said it was bad.<\/p>\n
Opposition to the law has increased across the board.<\/p>\n
Democrats still favor the law by a narrow 49 percent to 44 percent. But the number of Democrats opposed jumped 10 points from January, when 34 percent said the law is bad.<\/p>\n
The number of registered independents or unaffiliated voters who gave bail reform a thumbs down jumped from 56 percent in January to 66 percent in February.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, opposition from Republicans increased from 78 percent to 85 percent.<\/p>\n
Resistance has grown among minorities, the strongest backers of bail reform.<\/p>\n
Now 44 percent of Latino said bail reform is good and 48 percent said it\u2019s bad. Last month, 49 percent said it\u2019s good and only 30 percent said it\u2019s bad \u2013 meaning opposition surged by 18 percentage points.<\/p>\n
A majority of African American voters \u2013 53 percent \u2013 support bail reform. But opposition increased from 27 percent in January to 40 percent in Monday\u2019s survey.<\/p>\n
\u201cSupport for the new bail law \u2013 which took effect in January after passage as part of the budget last year continues to plummet. In April, New Yorkers thought the new law would be good for the state by 17 points. Last month, voters said the new law is bad for the state by a margin of 12 points. Today, that margin for thinking the law is bad for New York has bulged to 26 points,\u201d Siena pollster Steven Greenberg said.<\/p>\n
Former Gov. David Paterson, one of New York\u2019s most prominent black leaders, on Sunday said the bail law has to be tweaked.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t want people sitting in jail for 18 months because they can\u2019t afford $200 bail, but at the same time, you don\u2019t want anyone coming out on bail who\u2019s a danger to society,\u201d he said. \u201cWe want to make sure that if [someone] has a record of being violent, they can\u2019t commit any further crimes before they are tried for the one before the court.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the Democratic-controlled state Assembly needs to bend a little.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou just need to Assembly members to understand, we\u2019re not killing bail reform, we are taking the parts of it that are already demonstrating that we went too far out of the legislation,\u201d he told host John Catsimatidis on AM 970\u2019s The Cat\u2019s Radio Roundtable on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Voters are also evenly divided on the law allowing illegal immigrants to get a New York driver\u2019s license \u2013 with 48 percent in support and 48 percent opposed. Democrats, black and Latino voters continue to strongly support it, as independents and white voters oppose it and Republicans strongly oppose the law.<\/p>\n
A majority of New Yorkers favor legalizing the recreational use of marijuana with 55 percent in support and 40 percent opposed. Those numbers have been fairly constant over the past year.<\/p>\n
Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the Legislature again will consider legalizing weed after failing to do so last year.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n