What’s next for New York City and its residents, considering the turmoil with NYPD and the leftist Mayor Bill De Blasio?

The despicable actions and words of the hard-left Mayor have destroyed all of the gains made by former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and now, regardless of whether the left recognizes it, the city is near being in crisis.

The death of Eric Garner at the hands of police during his criminal activity sparked a whole new mantra of “I can’t breathe.” The circumstances of his death will be eternally debated, irrespective of the facts.

A local store owner had called police saying Garner was outside of his store illegally selling “loosies,” individual cigarettes that do not capture tobacco taxes, thus undermining the store’s profits.

From the videos shown on several media outlets, it appeared he was taken down to the sidewalk with a choke hold and forcefully restrained to be cuffed. Considering the man weighed 350 pounds, suffered from asthma and heart trouble, undoubtedly he felt like he couldn’t breathe. On the other side of the coin, how are five police officers supposed to know his health status? Obviously he was 6-foot-3 and obese, but the rest of it?

Newsmax and Wall Street Journal reported that Garner had a history of 30 arrests, starting at age 10. On the day of his death, he was “out on bail after being charged with illegally selling cigarettes, driving without a license, marijuana possession, and false impersonation.”

Facing his 31st arrest, why would Garner not know the drill? Had he obeyed orders by law enforcement at the onset, he’d be alive. Does a reasonable person mouth off to police and resist arrest? Would you?

Spare us the “racist” name-calling. Does any sensible person think that had Garner been of any other ethnicity and caught performing an illegal act, he or she would not have been duly arrested?

No one I know of believes Garner should have lost his life with the last arrest, but consideration must be given to his role in the event. Garner was not an example of innocence. To what point were his crimes going to escalate?

I guess we found out.

This event culminated in the uber-arrogant Mayor De Blasio not backing his police department and even publicly stating that he warns his own son, Dante, about the cops (harming him). Mrs. De Blasio is black, and Dante is a young man of color.

Irrespective of De Blasio knowing he is unwelcome at the funerals of policemen, the maniacal mayor shows up anyway. When he appears in unwanted territory, policemen and -women turn their backs on him. As the left goes, De Blasio believes he is insulted, as do his supporters. Apparently the message is: “I can turn my back on you, but how dare you do that to me?” Tragically, the former part of that statement results in policemen losing their lives, while the latter is simply a form of protest – ironically the same intellect of “protest” De Blasio promotes.

The loss of life was proven when Police Officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos were assassinated in broad daylight, in full uniform, sitting in their police car. They were working extra duty in a housing project area where violence had escalated for the residents.

Liu was a groom of a mere two months, and Ramos was working an extra shift in an area not usually his territory, to earn money to put his older son through college. He was also studying to be a pastor. His wife and 13-year-old son survive him.

They are not calling for destructive demonstrations under the guise of “protest.”

So, back to the original question: What’s next?

Today in NYC, traffic citations dropped 94 percent, parking violations dropped 92 percent; low-level crime arrests are down 94 percent; and drug arrests down by 84 percent, with overall arrests down 66 percent.

Unlike Mayor De Blasio, the Police Benevolent Association is highly concerned for its officers. It has called for only making arrests if it’s “absolutely necessary.”

The mayor put on a good show for the public in announcing a meeting between him and the heads of the five police unions. Apparently nothing fruitful came out of that song and dance. However, De Blasio just can’t stop himself from slapping his police department’s face at every turn.

De Blasio just re-appointed Judge Laura Johnson to another year’s term. Johnson released two reputed gang members who posted police death threats online. Not only was this freedom granted days after the executions of Ramos and Liu (their assassin posted his intent online, too), but one gangster had already missed a court date and has a warrant out for his arrest.

Both gang members were set free without bail.

The law-abiding people of New York City ought to be very, very scared.

Betty Arenson has lived in the SCV since 1968 and describes herself as a conservative who’s concerned about progressives’ politics and their impacts on the country, her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She says she is unashamed to own a gun or a Bible, couldn’t care less about the color of the president’s skin, and demands that he uphold his oath to protect and follow the Constitution of the United States in its entirety.