Former Gov. George Pataki has bemoaned conditions in New York City, saying progress has been interrupted under the administration of Mayor de Blasio.
The Republican White House contender says he hopes the Democratic mayor "gets his act together."
Pataki said Tuesday on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" that "things are getting worse" in the city.
He said there are homeless people "lying all over the place." Hinton says de Blasio is rectifying "decades of neglect by previous administrations."
Pataki also says the police "have been told to back off."
He said there should be a focus on quality of life improvements.
Mayoral spokeswoman Karen Hinton says that "with all due respect" to Pataki, his comments are "complete and utter nonsense."
Hinton says the city's quality of life "has never been better."
