“I’m someone who has benefited
from New York City as much
or more than anyone.
I moved here as a 21-year-old
student who knew nothing
about anything, and I have had
the kind of life and career
I could only have dreamt of.
That’s what New York City
has meant to me
and so many other people.
New York City is an incredible
place where dreams come true,
and it can still be that place
with the right leadership
steering us in a
better direction.
I’m running for mayor because
our city is badly wounded.
We’re in a crisis,
and I think I can help
us get out of it faster
than any other candidate.
I’m socially
distanced, all right.”
“The first thing we have to do
to help New York City recover
is let people know that
New York City is open
for business.
By that, I mean our
schools are open.
Our companies are open.
Our restaurants and bars
and theaters and Broadway,
by the time I take
office, will be open.
We have to get back some of
the 66 million tourists who
helped support 300,000 of the
600,000 jobs we’re missing,
as well as all the commuters
who are missing from Midtown
and other parts of the city.
When a commuter doesn’t
come into the city,
it’s not just that company.
It’s the security guards,
the cleaning staff,
the food truck
operators, the retailers,
everyone that’s missing that
person coming into the city
and doing what they
did pre-Covid.”
“Would you accept an
endorsement from
Governor Cuomo?”
“My goal is to help get
New York City heading in a
better direction.
And we need everyone under
the sun as a partner who
wants to help New York City.
And so if Governor Cuomo were
to offer me his endorsement,
I would accept it.
I think it would be
positive for New York City.
And it would be a clear signal
that the city and the state’s
interests are aligned.”
“What is the single most
important step the next mayor
can take to make up for
educational losses sustained
during the pandemic?”
“No. 1, we have to
get our schools open,
and then we have to get our
families back into schools.
Right now, unfortunately,
even the families
that are opting
into school are
falling along racial lines
where whites and Latinos are
more likely to have their
kids heading back to school
whereas Blacks and
Asians are not.
And the data shows that
in-person instruction
is actually more like twice
as good as online instruction.
So we have to get
our schools open,
and then get our
kids physically back
into school, which is
not going to be easy.
It’s going to be
a big challenge.
We have to commit
ourselves to it.”
“Do you support
year-round school?”
“I think as a
temporary measure,
we should be extending the
school year and
extending hours.
And so year-round school
should be something
that we consider to try
and help our kids recover
from learning loss.
We also have to know
that many of them
are going to come back
to school struggling
with trauma and abuse.
We need to dramatically
increase our investment
in social workers, in
mental health workers,
in guidance counselors
at the school level.”
“Since voters can rank
up to five candidates
on the ballot, whom would you
pick as your second choice?”
“My second choice would
be Kathryn Garcia.
She’s a disciplined operator
with great experience,
and I hope that she’s a
partner in my administration.
Kathryn, if you’re
watching this, Kathryn,
let’s team up.
We’re going to do it.
We got to do it for the city.
I would have supported a
version of the Amazon deal.
New York City has
to be a place where
businesses, big and small,
feel like they can invest.
And Amazon was ready to create
26,000 high-paying jobs which
would have resulted in
an additional 100,000
or so service jobs out
of Long Island City,
an area that’s been wanting
for development for quite
some time.
Now, there were problems
with the process.
The subsidies, maybe,
were excessive.
But you cannot let an employer
at that scale walk away.
It was a mistake for that
deal not to go through.
And a lot of New Yorkers
wish we had those 26,000 jobs,
right now.”
“The first memory I have of a
mayor of New York City is
Ed Koch, his smiling face
on my TV set as a kid.
And so he has been my
favorite my entire life.
And as I’ve grown older, I’ve
appreciated the fact that he
became mayor in a really
difficult time for the city.
And his optimism and
spirit helped lead people
to believe in
New York City and invest
in New York City
in a time when
people questioned whether
New York City was
the city of the future.
Unfortunately, we’re in
a time like that now.
And we need someone who’s
going to cheerlead for
New York City and is
excited about the city,
and will help people
have that same sense
of optimism about
our city again.
We are still the
city of the future.
Let’s go, New York City!
So Ed Koch.”
“What is the most important
police reform you would
pursue as mayor?”
“Cultures change from the top.
We need a civilian police
commissioner who’s not
of the N.Y.P.D. culture to help
our police force evolve.
We know that there is a
consistent problem with
the police’s treatment
of people of color.
And as a numbers
guy, you can see it
in the hundreds of
millions of dollars
we spend every year
settling civil lawsuits
against abusive cops.
It’s the worst use
of public funds.
We have to change the culture.
And again, we need the
right kind of leader.
We need someone who’s not from
the N.Y.P.D. culture to help
the culture move
forward and evolve.”
“Do you believe the phrase
‘defund the police’ helps
or hurts the police
reform movement?”
“I think the ‘defund the
police’ slogan, unfortunately,
seems very absolutist.
If it were something
more nuanced,
like channel more resources
to mental health interventions
and substance abuse counseling,
and education and jobs
and health care and other
things in communities,
that’s where most
New Yorkers are.
That’s where we need to go.
They’re certainly are
many, many interventions
that right now are being
answered by an armed police
officer that would be better
addressed by a mental health
professional, a social worker
or a substance abuse counselor.
And that’s where
we need to invest.”
“Do you think New York
is becoming less safe?
And if so, what is the first
action you would take to make
the city safer?”
“Unfortunately, I do think
that New York City is getting
less safe.
And the numbers bear that out.
And we have to turn
this around as quickly
as possible.
One thing we can do
immediately is be much more
stringent in the way we’re
enforcing our firearm laws.
But bigger picture,
the best way
we can actually make our
cities safer and more secure
is by getting people
back out on the streets
and on the subways because
a well-lit street where
the restaurants open and
people are walking around
is a lot safer than
a darkened street.
A subway car that’s filled
with dozens of people going
to school or work is a lot
safer than an empty
subway car.
To get our city feeling safer
again and being safer again,
we need to reignite the engine
of New York’s economy and see
to it that people are enjoying
our city in the way that we
always have.”
“What is your favorite
New York City restaurant?”
“My favorite New York City
restaurant is Corner Slice
in Hell’s Kitchen.
They make pizza on top of
bread that’s like
focaccia bread.
So if that sounds delicious
to you, Corner Slice.
Check it out.”
“Bagel order?”
“My bagel order is a
whole-wheat bagel with
scallion cream cheese,
and lox if I’m hungry.”
“New York City park?”
“My favorite New York
City park is Central Park.
Don’t judge.
But it is — Central Park.
It’s enormous.”
“Sports team?”
“My favorite sports
team is let’s go Mets,
ever since ’86.”
“Broadway show?”
“My favorite Broadway show of
recent vintage is ‘Hamilton.’
Wow, was that a great show.”
“Mayor de Blasio has
been criticized for his
late-morning workouts
at the Park Slope Y.
What is your fitness routine,
and would that change
as mayor?”
“My fitness routine has been
to ride a bicycle around
and try and work out or
exercise or play basketball
several days a week.
I’m hoping that stays
exactly the same as mayor.
But one thing I
would like to do —
and I hope everyone’s
cool with this —
is I would like
to install just
a very, very simple
outdoor basketball
court on the grounds
of Gracie Mansion
because I have two young
boys, and I would love just
to be able to go
outside and just
shoot some hoops with them.
And then if you come
visit me in Gracie,
which I would encourage
you to do, then
maybe we could just
shoot some hoops too.
You know?
It’s going to be a
very small investment,
and it will stand the
test of time hopefully.”
Source: Elections - nytimes.com
