“New York City really needs
someone who has strong
leadership skills and
understands how to get
the job done.
We are facing overlapping
crises, a public health
crisis, an economic
crisis, a crisis
about our
socio-emotional health.
I get stuff done.
And I’m excited to roll up my
sleeves and do the hard work
to bring us back
strongly out of Covid.
I’m so happy
we’re not on Zoom.
You have no idea.
The first thing I would do
to help New York City recover
from the pandemic is really
make sure we are investing
in our small businesses and
that we are bringing back
the things that differentiate
us from the rest
of the country —
art, culture, restaurants.
When they’re strong, that
means offices are strong.
And that means that
tourism comes back.
That’s how we
come out of this.”
“There are proposals to
build a seawall to protect
New York City from a future
Hurricane Sandy amid rising
sea levels.
Do you think building a
seawall is a good idea?
And what is one additional
thing you would do to address
the effects of
climate change?”
“Climate change is here.
In eastern Queens,
so many trees
came down that they
lost power for a week
during a heat wave.
This is why I have
a robust climate
plan that looks at protecting
all 520 miles of coastline,
not only through building
hard infrastructure,
but also thinking about
soft infrastructure, things
that mitigate wave activity.
But we can’t only prepare
for the last emergency.
If Hurricane Sandy had been
on a slightly different tide
cycle, we’d be talking
about impacts in the Bronx
and in northern Queens.
In addition, it’s
not just storm surge.
It will be high heat.
It will be heavy rainfall.
We have to make
sure that we are
decarbonizing the economy.
We have to make sure
that we are turning food
into compost.
We have to make sure that we
are electrifying our
school buses.
That is how we get this done.
We have to have
everything on the table.”
“Would you accept an
endorsement from
Governor Cuomo?”
“No, I don’t think so.
Should the governor
weigh in on this race,
I do not anticipate
his endorsement
due to the fact that I have
called for him to step aside.
Systemic racism must be
combated by all institutions,
and that includes
city government.
Two of my priorities are
around education and housing.
In education, we
need to get rid
of screens for gifted and
talented four-year-olds.
Everyone is gifted and
talented when they’re four,
and precious.
We need to ensure
that we are working
with parents to eliminate
screens in middle school.
In housing, we
have not actually
instituted the
Fair Housing Act
in a way that is making it
so that, particularly when
we build new housing, that we
are opening it up to anyone
in the city of New York.
You know, I
actually have to say
that Mayor Bloomberg was
the best New York City mayor
in my lifetime.
And it is really because
I appreciated his focus
on the data.
His changes in public
health actually lengthened
our lifespans.
There were, of course,
some tragic decisions,
particularly around
stop-and-frisk.
But I believe that when you
look at how he approached it,
that it’s really important
in the city of New York.”
“If you were mayor in 2019,
would you have supported
the deal to build an Amazon
headquarters in Queens?”
“New York City has to be a
city that’s growing, that’s
open for business.
We need jobs in this city,
and we need good
jobs in this city.
If I had been mayor in 2019, I
would have supported the deal
with Amazon.
I would have brought the
community together with
Amazon, with the government,
so that collectively,
we could have come out
with the best option
for everyone.”
“What would you have said
to longtime residents who
opposed neighborhood rezonings
because they fear they’ll be
pushed out?”
“Rezonings allow us to house
more families in the city
of New York.
That means we work
with communities
to ensure that we are
not displacing residents.
That we are ensuring that
we are protecting them.
That we make sure that
we are providing them
with legal support
should their landlord
take aggressive action.
But I know that rezonings
mean homes for families.”
“What is the most important
police reform you would
pursue as mayor?”
“Trust is at the core
of public safety.
The most important
police reform
that I would
pursue as mayor is
to ensure that we have
very clear and transparent
discipline for our officers.
We also need to make
sure we are actually
achieving culture change.
And by that we have to
instill new training programs,
and make sure that we are
promoting those officers who
are rebuilding trust
with communities.
We need to make sure that
we’re embedding mental health
professionals with our
officers for any emotional
disturbance call.
They have to have all the
tools to make sure that
that ends safely.
During the 2020
presidential primary,
I supported Joe Biden.
And I supported him
because I really
believe in his policies.
And I also thought
he could win.
And literally, the most
important thing to me was
that we beat Trump.”
“What is the single most
important step the next mayor
can take to make up
for educational losses
as a result of the pandemic?”
“New York City students
have suffered through a year
of Zoom school or hybrid
learning or opening
and closings.
There are several things
we all know need to happen.
One is we are going to have to
look at each child to see how
we can design programs
to catch them up
for the learning
that they’ve lost.
But the second big
piece is we know
that they have suffered
trauma, that one in 1,000
has lost a parent or
guardian to Covid, that they
are going to have
socio-emotional needs.
And we need to be
able to support them.”
“What is your favorite
New York City restaurant?”
“My favorite New York City
restaurant is Outerspace
at 99 Scott, which you know,
is owned by my sister.”
“Favorite bagel order?”
“Everything bagel, open-faced,
cream cheese, lox, tomato,
onion and capers.”
“Favorite New York City park?”
“Prospect Park.”
“Favorite sports team?”
“New York Yankees.”
“Favorite Broadway show?”
“‘Les Mis.’”
“Thinking about improving
public transportation,
would you focus more on
modernizing the subway
or expanding bus-only lanes?”
“We need to invest in
fast-forward in
our subway system.
But we also need to
expand our bus
and our select bus service.
I love the
technology that turns
the light green for
a bus and allows
it to zip right through.
We’re gonna have to do both,
because we know that we can
expand buses much more quickly
than we could put together
a new subway line.”
“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 used to
be that I would go around 5:30
in the morning.
It’s not been as routine as
it should be since Covid.
But I’ve always
gotten up early
because I like to be at the
office — latest by 8.
You know, so when
I went to the gym,
I liked to use
free weights and I
liked to go on the elliptical.
Actually, I don’t like
to go on the elliptical.
But I know that I need
to go on the elliptical
for the aerobic piece.
But I don’t particularly
enjoy that.”
“Since voters can rank
up to five candidates
on their ballot, whom would
you pick as your
second choice?”
“I think I actually said some
place if I had a No. 2,
I would not be doing this.
But —
I get shit done.
“You should say that.
Can we say that on camera?”
“Are you allowed to say
that in your newspaper?
It’s a family paper.”
Source: Elections - nytimes.com
