City Council members who last year approved onerous restrictions on NYPD tactics are hypocritically crying foul now that violence is on the upswing, critics in their own districts charged on Wednesday.
The lawmakers stood on the City Hall steps this week to complain that, while overall crime is down citywide, violent incidents have spiked in pockets, particularly in low-income communities.
But some city residents said the council members were two-faced for demonizing and micromanaging the NYPD — and now demanding law and order.
"The primary job of the police is simply to prevent crime. The City Council shouldn't interfere with that," said Nick Poulous, 27, who works in Union Square in the district of Councilwoman Rosie Mendez, a participant in the anti-crime press conference.
"When politics get in the way of preventing crime, that's a problem. It's a tricky situation, but politics shouldn't interfere with the police."
Raphael Estevez, 25, who resides near Union Square, chimed in: "The City Council should worry less about pointing the finger and more about actually taking action, and the police should get more involved not less."
Some of the same members highlighting the crime spike approved a bill last year that ushered in more police oversight by creating a brand new inspector general for the NYPD.
They also called for more accountability in the form of a bias-based profiling bill, which opponents said would open up individual cops to lawsuits.
But in the face of horrific acts of violence — including a man who was killed during an argument over a parking space in Jamaica, Queens, and the fatal beating of a 68-year-old man walking home in the East Village — lawmakers are suddenly talking tough and calling for an increase of 1,000 cops.
The council members, who are part of the Black, Latino and Asian Caucus, insist their advocacy was aimed at getting community groups more involved in stemming the tide of violence — not handcuffing the police.
"Stop and frisk has no correlation . . . with an increase in any crimes," Councilwoman Mendez said. "We need more police officers."
Caucus co-chair Andy King (D-Bronx), who cited eight murders in his district to date compared with only one last year, didn't respond to a request for comment.
But he claimed Monday that he doesn't believe the limits placed on policing have played any role.
Additional reporting by Aaron Short
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