'Absolutely Ridiculous' Delaying NYPD At Columbia: LI Congressman

WASHINGTON, DC — There is calm at Columbia University after police were called to the grounds Tuesday night in riot gear. More than 100 people were arrested, multiple outlets reported.

Police breached the campus' Hamilton Hall, which had been taken over earlier in the day.

The response by the NYPD was overdue, Congress Anthony D'Esposito (R-Island Park) said.

"It should have happened a couple of weeks ago," he told Patch. "The president of Columbia and the administration there allowed this to go on and allowed the continuation of hate-filled speech and attacks on Jewish students, I think is absolutely ridiculous."

D'Esposito maintains that Columbia President Minouche Shafik should be gone from the school, by her own choice or not.

"Members of the NYPD were put in danger because of a situation that she allowed to escalate, to a point that she couldn't control," he said. "She actually had students leave campus because she didn't have the ability to keep them safe, because [Shafik] was pandering to these far-left, hate-filled lunatics."

For several days, Pro-Palestine students formed encampments on the university's lawn. The NYPD is expected to keep a presence at the school until May 17, two days after commencement ceremonies.

Not only does D'Esposito, a former NYPD detective, think that's a good move, he hopes Mayor Eric Adams and police brass are "adding up all the money this is costing the city and they send the bill over to Columbia. And if Columbia doesn't pay it, the president of the school should pay it out of her pocket," he said.