New York governor shades San Francisco about crime; Mayor Breed responds

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Shots were fired by New York Governor Kathy Hochul during a recent interview on MSNBC. Her target? The city of San Francisco.

During an exchange when talking about crime concerns in New York City, Hochul said that city would "never be San Francisco."

The comments have caught the attention of local leaders.

"It's also inaccurate and unfair," said Jim Wunderman of the Bay Area Council.

Wunderman and his organization are calling on Hochul to apologize.

And it's not just the Bay Area Council that took issue with Hochul's statement. San Francisco Mayor London Breed says she's also disappointed.

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"At the end of the day, to take what you see online and use that to try and develop some sort of opinion about San Francisco when that's just seconds of the time versus every single day, is just not a fair assessment," Breed said.

Breed also questioned whether crime rates in her city were as high as in the Big Apple.

"If you look at the data, we're probably pale in comparison to New York," said Breed.

The Bay Area Council says it acknowledges the problems facing San Francisco - including crime and homelessness.

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But they argue New York faces similar challenges and should be working together with places like San Francisco to combat them.

"If it came from Governor Abbott or Governor DeSantis, I suppose we would take it more in stride. But it coming from Governor Hochul in New York was really shocking and I think uncalled for," said Wunderman.

However, despite the shade, Mayor Breed says there's no hard feelings.

"My hope is that, you know, she'll come visit and see for herself rather than what she sees in a video."

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