“I’ve been able to
be in a business
where I have led and managed
budgets that are larger
than most state budgets.
How are you?
I’ve been able to knock
down doors and make certain
that others, especially
those who look like me,
have the opportunity.
So I’ve been able to create
more opportunity and more
wealth than all the other
candidates combined.
I have leadership that
meets the moment of crisis
with a proven
track record.
There’s no reason —
what am I going to change?
It’s kind of a tough nut.
What — my hair?”
“If you were
mayor in 2019, would
you have supported the deal to
build an Amazon headquarters
in Queens?”
“I would have supported HQ 2.
Why would I have done that?
It would have created schools
and infrastructure and jobs,
the economic multiplier
of which, especially today,
would be in the hundreds
of billions of dollars.
I would have been
supportive of, and
made certain that I would
include the community
from the outset, because
the thing that was lacking
was the community involvement.
We need to make certain that
our communities are involved
in each one of these
projects because their lives
are the lives that are
going to be most impacted.”
“And what do you
say to residents
who are afraid of rezoning
because they
fear gentrification,
they fear they
could be pushed out?”
“Residents are afraid of
rezoning because they
fear gentrification.
Well, gentrification is real.
We need to have more equitable
distribution of housing
across the five boroughs.
We need to make
sure that we include
the residents, the
current residents,
the historic residents
into decisions
that get made about what
takes place in their homes.
None of us would want
to have what takes place
in our homes prescribed
by people who
are not inside of our homes.
And so we need to make
certain that we’re inclusive,
and that they get a seat
and a voice at the table.
We need to grow our way
out of this pandemic.
The first thing
that we need to do
is to have a vision of
what this city ought to be,
what the potential is.
The first thing I would
do is my economic plan,
the largest, most
inclusive economic comeback
in the history of this
city — 500,000 jobs.
Go big, go small,
go forward, focusing
on the
small businesses
who are the
lifeblood of this city.
The best New York City
mayor in my lifetime
would probably be
David Dinkins and then
Mike Bloomberg because
I think David Dinkins had
the vision to bring
this city together.
What did he call it,
the gorgeous mosaic?
We need that kind of mindset
and that kind of
leadership today.
I think Mike was very
effective at leading
and managing the city,
ineffective in other ways
for which he’s apologized.
Stop-and-frisk is not
something for which he’s
going to be
applauded in history
or even today, he’s
apologized for that.
So we recognize that.
But he was an effective
manager of the city,
an effective
leader of the city.
We need a C.E.O.
And he was an
effective C.E.O.”
“What is the single
most important step
the next mayor can
take to make up
for educational losses
during the pandemic?”
“Today, the lives
of our children
are determined
by their ZIP codes
because we have inequities
in the educational system.
We need to address that.
And that means specifically
for those children who
have been out of school,
who didn’t have access
to tablets, who
didn’t have broadband,
we need to make certain
that summer education
is available.
If you look at my
plan, summer education
is at the core of this.
Now, parents may
decide to opt out,
but we need to make certain
that we give the opportunity
for our kids to catch up.”
“Since voters can rank
up to five candidates
on the ballot, who would you
pick as your second choice?”
“You know, I’m still
mulling that over.
It’s such a serious decision
at such a difficult time
in our city’s history.
We need to have somebody
who’s got a proven track
record of leadership who can
bring this city together.
I need to continue to
think through that.”
“What is the most
important police reform
you would pursue as mayor?”
“I’m not for defund.
I think that language is
a divisive narrative when
we need to come together.
I’m for better
policing, and my plan
would include the
following: One,
I would appoint a deputy
mayor for public safety.
Two, I would have chain of
command accountability.
And three, I would
create an emergency
social services bureau, 24
hours, seven days a week,
given that four to five
out of the 10 calls
that go into 911, have to
do with mental health issues.
And I would invest
in community policing
and in community centers.”
“Many voters are concerned
about the recent uptick
in violent crime.
Do you think New York
is becoming less safe?”
“I think there is a
perception that New York is
becoming less safe.
In many of
our neighborhoods,
we see the horrible acts of
violent crimes, gun violence.
We need to address
this immediately.
And so a highest
priority would
be to return that sense of
safety, the reality of safety
to every street.
We need to make sure that
we invest in the
high crimes units.
We need to make sure
that we address the iron
pipeline, which is where
the guns get manufactured
and how they end up in
the top 10 precincts
where we experience most
of the criminal activity.
And we need to invest
in our neighborhoods.
So we need to make sure that
we have safety and justice
at the same time — we need
to strike that balance.”
“Would you accept
an endorsement
from Governor Cuomo?”
“I accept endorsements
from all New Yorkers
who care about their city
and love the city the way
that I do.”
“But some of the candidates
have called on him to resign.
Others have said he
should step aside
while the investigation
takes place.
Even after everything
that’s happened,
you would still
campaign with him?”
“You know, one of the things
that I recognize here
is that we have
a system of law.
And the attorney general,
Tish James,
who is quite
accomplished and quite
effective and well-respected,
has set up a process.
And I want to see how
that process evolves.
And based on whatever
the course of the process
turns out to be, that’s the
process that’s in place.
We need to respect the
American jurisprudence
system, especially
that one led by
Attorney General Tish James.”
“There are proposals
to build a seawall
to protect New York City
from a future
Hurricane Sandy
and rising sea levels.
Do you think building a
seawall is a good idea?”
“Well, building a seawall
begins the conversation.
We need to prepare for
the 100-year flood that
comes every five years.
We need to make sure that the
plans, the advertisements,
the press releases
that we’ve generated,
actually, we actually do
something about them.
And so you need to look
at Hunts Point and Red Hook,
and Coney Island and City Island
and Lower Manhattan,
which is part of my
overall go big, go small,
go forward comeback plan.
Investing in
infrastructure and climate
would be one of the
highest priorities
as we invest in
infrastructure.
So, yes, seawalls
should be part of that.
Wind and turbines,
and solar would also
be part of that.
City government has a
clear, unequivocal role
in combating systemic racism.
Before I left my day
job, I wrote the foreword
to a study that identified
the years of systemic impact
in the economy, in
education, in health care
and in the criminal
justice system.
That study
demonstrated, analyzed
that the result of the
systemic inequities
in those categories
had had a $16 trillion
impact on the U.S. economy,
and the government took
a lead there.
The government needs
to take the lead now
because what that
study also identifies
is the impact of when
we began to address it.
It’s $5 trillion of impact,
positive on the U.S. economy.
So unequivocally,
yes, the government
needs and must take
a leadership role
in combating
systemic inequities.”
“What’s your favorite
New York City restaurant?”
“Melba’s or Red Rooster.”
“Favorite bagel order?”
Lox, cream cheese,
toasted everything bagel.”
“Favorite New York City park?”
“There are two: West 4th
Street Park, down in the cage,
and Central Park.
I used to play basketball
at West 4th Street.
That’s how you get
introduced to this great city,
if you got some game.”
“Favorite sports team?”
“My favorite New York City
sports team
is probably
the Orlando Magic,
which is where our son plays
basketball in the N.B.A., but
I would say probably
the Yankees.”
“Favorite Broadway show?”
“‘Fences,’ August Wilson.
In the 2020 presidential
primary, I supported
now-Vice President
Kamala Harris, whom
I introduced to
New York City, so I’ve
known her for a long time.
We’ve been friends
for a while,
and she’s very good
friends with my wife.
So we know, Kamala and
Doug and their family.
Am I good at this?
I’m going to go into
the movie business.
I feel pretty good.”
Source: Elections - nytimes.com
