“I’m running as a progressive
who knows how to manage
the hell out of this city.
I bring a set of
experiences that
are needed at this moment
of time in our city.
I’m currently the
New York City comptroller.
I know every city
agency inside out.
I’ve done the audits.
I’ve done the investigations.
I know where the
money is being wasted.
And I know the programs
that aren’t working.
And I could literally go
into City Hall on Day 1,
and begin to transform
this city and bring it back
stronger than ever before.”
“What is the single most
important step the next mayor
can take to make up for
educational losses sustained
during the pandemic?”
“Our children are going to
need the extra help to make
up for learning loss
in this pandemic.
But we also have to equalize
education opportunity.
Two initiatives — my N.Y.C.
Under-Three Child Care program
would subsidize quality
child care for every child.
And second, we need to put two
teachers in every classroom
because our kids are going
to need that extra help,
that extra support.
Private schools
have two teachers.
Parent associations that
can afford two teachers
put them in the classroom.
It’s time for every kid in
every neighborhood in every
school to have two
teachers in the classroom.”
“Do you support
year-round school?”
“I support making sure that
we give every child in every
neighborhood in
every community
a quality education.
I do not support
year-round schooling today.
But I do support giving
kids the extra tutoring,
the extra resources
that they need.
My nine-year-old
and seven-year-old
are adamantly against
year-round school.
And I side with them.”
“The next mayor will inherit
an economy that has been
devastated in many
ways by the pandemic.
What is the first thing
you would do to help
New York City recover?”
“We have to deal with the
systemic economic challenges
that this virus exposed.
We can’t open our city
the same way we closed it.
We have to recognize that in
our hardest-hit communities,
where there was
tremendous loss of life,
we have to reinvest
in these neighborhoods
to repair the damage
that Covid brought.
And the way we open the
economy, first and foremost,
is investing in our
small businesses.
My plan is to invest
$1 billion in stimulus money
to give the kind of grants,
from $20,000 to $100,000,
to businesses so they can
restock their shelves,
hire employees, pay back rent,
making sure that they have
a chance to make it.”
“Would you accept an
endorsement from
Governor Cuomo?”
“I would not accept an
endorsement from
Governor Cuomo.
I actually think
he should resign.
And so I would not
accept an endorsement.”
“What is the most important
police reform you would
pursue as mayor?”
“I will put forth a community
safety plan that meets
the challenges of reducing
police interaction
in communities of color, but
at the same time recognizing
that we have an ability
to keep our city safe.
They’re not
mutually exclusive.
We can do both.
Forty percent of 911 calls
are not for crimes.
Yet, we send the police to
answer mental health calls
and wellness calls
in our communities.
I would stop that.
Mental health
professionals should
be sent out to deal with
mental health challenges.
And we should reduce
police responsibilities
so we can focus them
on the dangerous crime
in the neighborhoods where
we know the shootings are
taking place.
I also believe we need
real police accountability
and transparency.
We need to reform the C.C.R.B.
so that we discipline the cops
that go rogue.”
“Who was the best New York City
mayor in your lifetime?
Tell us why.”
“I loved Ed Koch’s
New York moxie.
And I loved his
affordable housing plan.
But I loved the social justice
component of the
Dinkin’s mayoralty.”
“There are a number of
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?”
“I don’t believe that
the seawall, as proposed,
would actually mitigate the
challenges of storm surge
and the climate
crisis that we’re in.
What I would like to propose
is making sure that we’re
actually investing
in the green economy.
Part of what I was
able to do as comptroller
is not just divest $4 billion
from fossil fuel, which
was the largest public pension
fund divestment in the
United States, but I also
doubled the green investment
in our economy so that we
can build the next generation
of green jobs and
make our communities
environmentally sound.
My goal as mayor is
to put a solar panel
on every roof, an electric
battery in every basement,
because we need to create
healthy and new
energy sources.
And that’s exactly my plan
when I’m mayor of New York.”
“Whom did you support in the
2020 presidential primary,
and why?”
“I supported Elizabeth Warren.
I kind of like candidates
who have plans.
And because I have big
plans, Elizabeth Warren
appealed to me as
a woman who could
address a lot of the
economic challenges facing
our country.
And I was proud
to support her.”
“I would not have supported
the Amazon deal in 2019
as presented to the
community and to the city.
We literally woke up one
day and found an agreement
between the governor,
the mayor and Jeff Bezos
with almost no consultation
in the neighborhoods.
That is not how you do big
economic development projects.
And I would approach
this economic development
differently, as I have
as a borough president.
Look, I was able to build
three university expansions —
Columbia, N.Y.U. and Fordham.
I did it through
the lens of what
the community needed as well,
and created that balance.
And that’s what we have to get
back to, whether it’s Amazon
or other development projects,
we’re going to have to make
sure included in these
projects is real affordable
housing, really make sure that
we’re investing in education
and economic opportunities,
not just for the wealthy,
but for everybody
in the city.”
“Since voters can rank
up to five candidates
on the ballot, whom would you
pick as your second choice?”
“I think that’s best
left for the voters.
I think candidates
should focus
on getting No. 1 votes,
and voters should explore
all the qualifications of all
of us and rank accordingly.”
“If you were mayor now, for
how long would you extend
the eviction moratorium
and why?
And how should the city
deal with the cases when
the moratorium has ended?”
“I believe there’s nothing
more important than keeping
our people in their homes.
And if we do not
continue this moratorium
until we come through with
a rent relief package that
will make people whole, we
will cause even further pain.
And I’m not going to do that.
My plan would be to
use that stimulus
money to create an
economic package
to do a couple of things.
First, we do have
to cancel rent,
meaning we have to pay
back that rent to the small
building owners who’ve
carried our tenants.
The way we do that is to
make their mortgages hold,
defer rent, and then
work with the banks,
the mortgage holders and
tenants to make sure we come
up with a plan that doesn’t
cause mass evictions.
I do think we can get there.
So I do think we should move
toward a car-free Manhattan.
Part of what the
next mayor has to do
is think about how we can
reimagine our streets.
I intend to be the street
mayor of this city.
And I want to be
the bus mayor.
I want to lay down 35 miles
per year of protected
bus lanes.
I think we can build
protected bike lanes, 350 miles
within the next five years.
There’s no reason that we
should continue to operate
in the superhighway,
Robert Moses era.
It’s time to transition.
My plan to address
transportation is bold.
But it’s serious
and it’s doable.
And the way we think
about reducing car traffic
is by closing
streets permanently,
making sure that
those open streets we
had during the pandemic are
there permanently afterwards.
We should move retail
and restaurants
into the streets, model
a lot of what we can do
after Copenhagen and Paris.
But the car culture, it
has to come to an end.
These fossil-fuel-spewing
vehicles should be a thing
of the past.”
“What is your favorite
New York City restaurant?”
“My favorite restaurant is
Amber Sushi on the
Upper West Side.”
“Bagel order?”
“An everything bagel, cream
cheese and chives, lox.”
“New York City park?”
“Central Park.
But also, growing up
in Washington Heights,
I have a love for
Fort Tryon Park.”
“Sports team?”
“The New York Jets.
God help me.”
“Broadway show?”
“My favorite Broadway
show is ‘Hamilton.’
There we go.
That was easy.”
Source: Elections - nytimes.com
