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      Andrew Yang Is Quarantining After Aide Tests Positive for Virus

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Coronavirus OutbreakliveLatest UpdatesMaps and CasesU.S. Travel BanVaccine InformationTimelineAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyAndrew Yang Is Quarantining After Aide Tests Positive for VirusMr. Yang, who had been vigorously campaigning for New York City mayor, will halt all in-person events.In a departure from other mayoral candidates, Andrew Yang held several in-person events to kick off his campaign last week.Credit…Mike Segar/ReutersJan. 19, 2021Updated 5:34 p.m. ETLess than a week after his vigorous launch into the New York City mayor’s race, Andrew Yang said on Tuesday that he was halting in-person events and quarantining because a campaign staff member had tested positive for the coronavirus.Mr. Yang, the former presidential candidate, had been seemingly everywhere in recent days, meeting with elected officials across the city and riding the subway and bus to campaign events. His whirlwind appearances have been in sharp contrast to the mostly virtual campaigns that his rivals have been conducting.Mr. Yang will enter quarantine for at least eight days, his campaign said in a statement.“This morning, we learned that a member of the campaign staff received a positive result on a rapid Covid test,” the statement said. “Since that time, Andrew has tested negative and is not experiencing any symptoms.”The news is likely to raise questions about Mr. Yang’s decision to hold so many in-person events during a second wave of coronavirus cases in New York City. It will also force him off the campaign trail at a time when he had been grabbing attention for his frenetic schedule of public appearances and interviews with journalists.On Monday, Mr. Yang attended an event at the Rev. Al Sharpton’s headquarters in Harlem to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday. He spoke without a mask before a large crowd that included many of the other mayoral candidates.At least two of those candidates have had to quarantine recently: Scott Stringer, the city comptroller, and Maya Wiley, a former counsel to Mayor Bill de Blasio. Eric Adams, the Brooklyn borough president, has separately received criticism for holding in-person fund-raisers.The staff member who tested positive was with Mr. Yang for most his four-borough campaign kickoff on Thursday, a tour that drew many onlookers as well as a pack of reporters. After announcing his campaign at Morningside Park in Manhattan, Mr. Yang attended a food distribution event in the Bronx; had lunch in Queens with Donovan Richards, the Queens borough president; and did a walking tour of the Brownsville neighborhood in Brooklyn. Mr. Yang did not visit Staten Island.Chris Coffey, a spokesman for Mr. Yang, said the campaign planned to restart its events after the quarantine period.“We plan to keep up safe, in-person, outdoor campaigning,” he said. The staff member who tested positive was not at Mr. Sharpton’s event on Monday.The Coronavirus Outbreak More

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      On King Holiday, New York’s Mayoral Hopefuls Vie for Attention

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      AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyOn King Holiday, New York’s Mayoral Hopefuls Vie for AttentionWith the Rev. Al Sharpton playing host in Harlem, the crowded field of Democratic candidates tried to sell themselves and inspire a battered city.Eric Adams, the Brooklyn borough president, emphasized his long-held ties to New York City, as a former police officer and as an elected official.Credit…Jose A. Alvarado Jr. for The New York TimesJan. 18, 2021, 7:22 p.m. ETIt was something of a familiar scene: One by one, the candidates running for mayor of New York City took a turn at the lectern at the Rev. Al Sharpton’s headquarters in Harlem to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday.Eric Adams talked about being a Black police officer and invoked another officer’s memory: the one who saved Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s life after a stabbing in 1958.Raymond J. McGuire talked about how his goal was to get the Black community more than just “crumbs” when it comes to economic empowerment.And Andrew Yang recalled how he campaigned in Georgia in the U.S. Senate races with Martin Luther King III, who is now Mr. Yang’s campaign co-chairman.For three decades, lawmakers and would-be public servants have turned out at Mr. Sharpton’s National Action Network in Harlem on the third Monday in January to spend a few minutes speaking about Dr. King’s legacy and to court the Black vote, trying to draw church-like shouts of approval from one of the toughest assemblages north of 110th Street.But this year’s ceremony felt different. The country was days removed from a riot on Capitol Hill aimed at overturning the results of an election in which Black voters played a pivotal role in delivering a victory for the Democratic candidate.New York City — once the center of the coronavirus pandemic and still reeling unevenly from its effects — is five months away from holding its most consequential mayoral primary election in a generation.The gathering at the National Action Network in Harlem has become a must-attend event for many political hopefuls.Credit…Jose A. Alvarado Jr. for The New York TimesWith much of the mayoral campaign being conducted virtually, the Sharpton event was the first public gathering of many of the candidates, and many acknowledged the precarious moment, pledging to enact sweeping policies such as police reform, universal basic income and equity bonds for every child in New York City that would uplift the lives of the city’s most vulnerable.“We are ending in 48 hours the most bigoted and racist presidential term in our lifetime,” Mr. Sharpton told the audience.The candidates, he said later, have a tough road ahead with the myriad problems facing the country and the difficulties awaiting whoever is elected to succeed Mayor Bill de Blasio.“People feel vulnerable,” Mr. Sharpton said. “So we have to have a mayor that makes you feel comfortable that they understand that your basic existence is at stake.”In spite of the high stakes, the race for mayor is still a messy and amorphous affair. There are established politicians such as Mr. Adams, the Brooklyn borough president, and Scott M. Stringer, the city comptroller. They have both collected massive war chests and a string of important endorsements.There are wild card candidates like Mr. Yang, the former presidential candidate who attracted a storm of attention, both good and bad, when he entered the race last week; Maya Wiley, the former MSNBC commentator who bolstered her campaign by meeting fund-raising goals; and Mr. McGuire, a former Wall Street executive and favored candidate of the business community who raised $5 million in just three months.Andrew Yang has snared Martin Luther King III to become his campaign manager.Credit…Jose A. Alvarado Jr. for The New York TimesMr. Yang, the first mayoral candidate to speak, said that universal basic income, the proposal he is most associated with, was based on the beliefs and teachings of Dr. King.“It was what he was fighting for, what he was assassinated for, a universal basic income,” Mr. Yang said to polite applause.Mr. Yang added that Dr. King was a revolutionary thinker whose memory “has been sanitized.”Maya Wiley, a former MSNBC analyst who was counsel to Mayor Bill de Blasio, became the third mayoral candidate to qualify for public matching funds.Credit…Jose A. Alvarado Jr. for The New York TimesMs. Wiley said the country “stands at a crossroads” and was “staring down the face of white supremacy.” Falling back on her initial introduction as a police reformer she said that “we the people will tell you the police department what the job is and what the rules of the road are.”Mr. Adams told the crowd that he had been fighting for the Black community in New York City for decades, even when he was a police officer seeking to reform the department from within. He also recalled how a Harlem police officer, Al Howard, once came to Dr. King’s aid after he was stabbed in 1958.“I am not new to this, I am true to this,” he said, drawing some of the loudest applause of the day.Mr. Sharpton spoke highly of Mr. McGuire, defending his background in business and saying that he had secretly financed the efforts of activists to fight for civil rights and against police brutality.“A lot of us resent the stigmatizing of Black success,” Mr. Sharpton said. “Don’t beat a guy up because he’s successful in a city where we tell every white kid to be successful. He shouldn’t be subjected to a double standard.”Mr. McGuire leaned into his support from the business community and Wall Street background, saying that he was here to fix the city’s crisis in a way that benefited those who have not always shared in its economic success.“We’ve been outside for so long that they give us crumbs and want us to feel full,” Mr. McGuire said. “I’m not interested in crumbs. I’m not interested in cake. I’m interested in the bakery.”The Rev. Al Sharpton disclosed that Raymond McGuire had given Mr. Sharpton’s group some financial assistance when it was struggling.Credit…Jose A. Alvarado Jr. for The New York TimesThere were no clear winners among the candidates. Dianne Morales, a nonprofit executive and perhaps the most progressive candidate in the race, said the current tensions the city and nation are seeing are part of the ongoing struggle to realize Dr. King’s vision of a “radical redistribution of political and economic power.”Zach Iscol, a former Marine, spoke of how his combat experience had shaped him; Shaun Donovan, a former federal housing secretary under President Obama, suggested providing $1,000 “equity bonds” to every child in New York City, a proposal last heard from Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey during the presidential campaign.Loree Sutton, the former veteran affairs commissioner, slightly flubbed the melody and some lyrics when she led the crowd in a rendition of “We Shall Overcome,” but the crowd persevered, carrying her to the end of the song.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Rivals Mock Andrew Yang: 5 Takeaways From the Mayor’s Race

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }N.Y.C. Mayoral RaceA Look at the RaceAndrew Yang’s Candidacy5 TakeawaysWho’s Running?AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyRivals Mock Andrew Yang: 5 Takeaways From the Mayor’s RaceAndrew Yang’s visit to a “bodega” drew digs from other contenders, and his entry in the New York City’s race seemed to shake up the contest.Andrew Yang’s entry into the mayoral race last week prompted criticism from his rivals.Credit…James Estrin/The New York TimesEmma G. Fitzsimmons and Jan. 18, 2021, 5:00 a.m. ETAndrew Yang made a big splash last week as he entered the mayor’s race, adding a jolt of energy to a campaign season that has been relatively staid and polite until now.Other campaigns pounced on Mr. Yang, questioning his authenticity as a New Yorker and his commitment to the city. While their digs highlighted some of his weaknesses, they also illustrated how the candidates view Mr. Yang as a threat.The campaigns also released their fund-raising figures last week, showing which candidates are in the strongest financial position, while a former Wall Street executive known for a #MeToo complaint entered the lesser-known Republican field.Here are some key developments in the race:The knives are out for YangEven before Mr. Yang entered the race, he had already faced social media ridicule for a remark he made to The New York Times explaining his decision to leave New York City for his weekend home in the Hudson Valley early in the pandemic.That was before the bodega incident.A day after Mr. Yang held an in-person campaign launch in Morningside Heights, he posted a video on Twitter about his love for bodegas — a safe stance that few would challenge. But Mr. Yang recorded the video in a spacious, glistening store that few New Yorkers would consider a bodega.The video brought Mr. Yang more ridicule — and 3.7 million views by Sunday afternoon.Rival campaigns took other swipes at him. After Mr. Yang finished a walking tour of the Brownsville neighborhood in Brooklyn, the campaign of Eric Adams, the Brooklyn borough president, said: “Eric doesn’t need a tour of Brownsville. He was born there.”The campaign manager for Maya Wiley, a former counsel for Mayor Bill de Blasio, knocked Mr. Yang’s swerve from the presidential campaign trail to the New York mayor’s race: “Maya is running — not as a backup plan — but because she’s dedicated her entire life to improving, empowering and lifting up New Yorkers.”Mr. Stringer’s campaign spokesman, Tyrone Stevens, also took a dig: “We welcome Andrew Yang to the mayor’s race — and to New York City.”Could Yang’s entry be divinely inspired?The choice of music to accompany a candidate’s official launch or acceptance speech is usually a calculated decision. “Don’t Stop” by Fleetwood Mac was Bill Clinton’s campaign theme song in 1992; Lorde’s “Royals” prefaced Mr. de Blasio’s victory speech in 2013.Mr. Yang arrived at his launch event in Morningside Park in Manhattan dancing to the song “God’s Plan” by Drake, which features the lyrics: “They wishin’ on me/Bad things.”Indeed, Mr. Yang faced a barrage of questions from journalists over why he left the city during the pandemic and why he had not voted in local elections. One key question is whether Mr. Yang views the job as a steppingstone to run for national office again — like Mr. de Blasio who received criticism for his lackluster bid for president in 2019 and several trips to Iowa.Asked by The New York Times if he would commit to not running for president while serving as mayor, Mr. Yang declined to do so. But he said being mayor of New York would be the job of a lifetime.Mr. Yang’s family attended the announcement of his candidacy. He has acknowledged spending much of the pandemic out of New York.Credit…James Estrin/The New York Times“New Yorkers have nothing to worry about,” he said.Mr. Yang made a suggestion: The city should take control of the subway away from the state. There’s only one obstacle: Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who has seized near total control of the transit agency and is not known for ceding power.“Who knows? Maybe he’ll be happy to have the city take it off his hands,” Mr. Yang told reporters gathered on a subway platform, who laughed incredulously at the thought.He spent his first day on the campaign trail crossing four of the city’s five boroughs (sorry, Staten Island). On NY1’s “Inside City Hall” that evening, Mr. Yang disappointed some by saying the city might not be able to close the jail at Rikers Island by the year 2027.“Rikers Island should be closed, but we need to be flexible on the timeline,” he said.A rising star’s endorsement stirs resentmentMr. Yang touted a key endorsement as he hit the trail: Representative Ritchie Torres of the Bronx, a rising star in the Democratic Party who helped to counter criticism that Mr. Yang was out of touch with the city.Mr. Torres and Mondaire Jones are the first openly gay Black men to serve in Congress, and Mr. Torres was being courted by several campaigns. He had met or had conversations with Ms. Wiley, Mr. Adams, Mr. Stringer, Raymond J. McGuire and Shaun Donovan, a former housing secretary under President Barack Obama.Mr. Torres said he gave the losing campaigns a heads-up about his decision even while he was engrossed with the vote to impeach President Trump.“No mayoral candidate endorsed me in my race,” Mr. Torres said. “I did not owe anyone anything.”Mr. Torres said Mr. Yang’s endorsement of a universal basic income would be a victory for the South Bronx district he represents, one of the poorest in the nation. He said that he also likes the fact that Mr. Yang is not a part of the city’s political establishment.The endorsement allows Mr. Torres to align himself with a fellow moderate progressive. If Mr. Yang wins, it would boost Mr. Torres’s standing while giving him a powerful ally in City Hall.Asked about the response to his decision, Mr. Torres said: “Eric Adams was gracious, most were disappointed and one campaign in particular was hostile.”Mr, Yang and Congressman Richie Torres, who has endorsed him, rode the subway to a campaign stop. Credit…James Estrin/The New York TimesSeveral people who were familiar with the discussions said that the McGuire campaign was the one that responded with hostility. Mr. Torres met with Mr. McGuire, a former Wall Street executive, at an event in the Hamptons over the summer, and his campaign believed it had the inside track.Mr. McGuire’s campaign denied being upset about the snub.“Ray is not a politician and doesn’t hold grudges,” his spokeswoman, Lupé Todd-Medina, said. “He looks forward to working with the congressman when he is mayor.”Kathryn Garcia has fans but is short on fundsMany officials who have worked in and around city government think highly of Kathryn Garcia, the city’s former sanitation commissioner, who is running as a proven manager capable of leading the city’s recovery from the pandemic. But she is falling behind in the money race.Ms. Garcia has raised about $300,000 and failed to qualify for public matching funds.Still, the recent filings revealed that Ms. Garcia received campaign donations from a number of high-powered New Yorkers, including Joseph J. Lhota, the former head of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority who ran as Republican against Mr. de Blasio in 2013; Polly Trottenberg, the city’s former transportation commissioner; and Kathryn Wylde, the leader of a prominent business group. Ms. Wylde also donated to Mr. McGuire, who is a favorite among Wall Street donors.Monika Hansen, Ms. Garcia’s campaign manager, said that many city employees back her bid.“Kathryn has the support of the doers in New York City government at every rank,” she said.A lesser-known candidate, Zachary Iscol, a nonprofit leader and former Marine, has raised nearly $750,000 and said he expects to qualify for matching funds soon.Another candidate who worked in Mr. de Blasio’s administration is struggling: Loree Sutton, a former veteran affairs commissioner who has $398 on hand and $6,000 in outstanding liabilities. She said her campaign has experienced some bumps but that she is reorganizing and “is in this race and in it to win it.”A former Wall Street executive joins as a RepublicanThe Democratic primary in June is expected to decide the mayor’s race, with registered Democrats far outnumbering Republicans in New York City. But there is also a Republican primary in June, and a new candidate entered the race last week: Sara Tirschwell, a former Wall Street executive who once filed a #MeToo complaint against her boss.In an interview, Ms. Tirschwell touted her experience as a single mother and a moderate Republican with liberal social views. She highlighted her “managerial competence” as a rare woman who rose to high positions at financial firms.“I think there is a need for a moderate in this race, and it’s not clear that a moderate is going to survive a Democratic primary in New York City,” she said.Ms. Tirschwell, who grew up in Texas, echoed the complaints of many Republicans — and some Democrats — that “Bill de Blasio is probably the worst mayor in our lifetime.” But she did not want to discuss the recent violence in Washington or Mr. Trump’s impeachment.“This race is about New York, and it’s about New Yorkers and the crisis that this city faces, and that is what my campaign is focused on,” she said.Other names that have been floated in the Republican primary: John Catsimatidis, the billionaire owner of the Gristedes grocery store chain; Fernando Mateo, an advocate for livery cabdrivers who was linked to a scandal over Mr. de Blasio’s fund-raising; and Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Cash Is Pouring Into the N.Y.C. Mayoral Race. Here’s Who Has the Most.

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }N.Y.C. Mayoral RaceA Look at the RaceAndrew Yang’s Candidacy5 TakeawaysWho’s Running?AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyCash Is Pouring Into the N.Y.C. Mayoral Race. Here’s Who Has the Most.Eric Adams and Scott Stringer, two of the best-known candidates, continue to far outpace the rest of the Democratic field in raising money.Eric Adams, the Brooklyn borough president, left, has raised the most money so far in the New York City mayor’s race.Credit…Hiroko Masuike/The New York TimesJan. 15, 2021Updated 8:58 p.m. ETFor several months, the New York City mayor’s race seemed to revolve around two presumed front-runners: Eric Adams, the Brooklyn borough president, and Scott M. Stringer, the city comptroller.The two Democrats had name recognition, ties to party leaders and established bases of political and financial support. They had far outpaced the rest of the field in raising money, and were the only two candidates who had raised enough to qualify for public matching funds.Another Democratic candidate, Maya Wiley, may have qualified for the matching-funds program on Friday by meeting the criteria of raising at least $250,000 from at least 1,000 donors, according to her campaign.The contours of the race changed this week with a double jolt of news from two other Democrats: Raymond J. McGuire, a former Citigroup executive, reported raising $5 million in three months, and Andrew Yang, a 2020 presidential candidate, officially joined the race.But the fund-raising numbers, which the city’s Campaign Finance Board released late Friday, offered even more shape to the crowded race, which has more than a dozen candidates.Mr. Adams has raised the most money overall so far, $8.6 million, and will have just over $8 million on hand once matching funds are distributed, his campaign said. He raised $438,000 in the most recent period, with $123,000 of it matchable, and expects a $1 million matching funds payment.Mr. Stringer was expected to have raised at least $8.3 million overall, and to have $7.5 million on hand after raising $458,000 in the latest period, keeping pace with Mr. Adams. Mr. Stringer’s campaign said it expects $1.57 million in matching funds. Ms. Wiley a former MSNBC analyst who served as counsel to Mayor Bill de Blasio, may have solidified her status as a contender by meeting the matching-funds threshold with her latest fund-raising figures. Ms. Wiley raised $715,000, $280,000 of it matchable, qualifying her for $2.2 million in public money, and bringing the total she has raised to almost $3 million, her campaign said.Ms. Wiley’s campaign flooded email inboxes and social media before this week’s deadline with desperate pleas for donations of as little as $10, offering “Maya for Mayor” bumper stickers to contributors and raising questions about whether she would qualify for matching funds.In a message to her supporters, Ms. Wiley celebrated meeting the threshold and said the fund-raising support she received showed that “we gon’ win this race.”.Mr. McGuire, the only mayoral candidate who is not participating in the matching-funds program, raised much of his money from the business community. At least 20 billionaires — including the hedge fund founder John Griffin and Howard Schultz, the former chief executive of Starbucks — appear on Mr. McGuire’s donor list, which also includes people who have been big contributors to Republican candidates. Mr. McGuire had $3.7 million on hand.Because Mr. McGuire has raised so much money, the spending cap for the June primary will probably be increased to $10.9 million from $7.3 million, meaning candidates like Mr. Adams and Mr. Stringer who were close to the spending limit can continue to raise money.The city’s public campaign-finance system is built to withstand that sort of shock because of the emphasis it places on small-dollar donors, said Matthew Sollars, a Campaign Finance Board spokesman.Democratic candidates who failed to meet the matching-funds threshold included Zach Iscol, a nonprofit entrepreneur and former Marine; Shaun Donovan, a former federal housing secretary under President Barack Obama; and Dianne Morales, a nonprofit executive.Mr. Donovan reported raising a total of $1.6 million and had $913,000 on hand. Mr. Iscol reported falling just short of qualifying for matching funds. Ms. Morales said she had missed the threshold by about $70,000. Ms. Morales told supporters that her campaign had raised $340,000 overall and had 4,100 contributors from the city who gave an average of $50. About 30 percent of Ms. Morales’s donors described themselves as unemployed, her campaign said. Ms. Morales’s campaign, which is focused on working-class and poor New Yorkers, expects to qualify for matching funds at the next deadline after a strong showing in raising money in the past week.“If we keep making money the standard for viability then you have to be connected to wealthy networks,” Ify Ike, a senior adviser for Ms. Morales, said. “We are not going to have a billionaire donate to our campaign.”Several other candidates, including Carlos Menchaca, a councilman from Brooklyn; Kathryn Garcia, a former sanitation commissioner; and Loree Sutton, a former veteran affairs commissioner, also failed to qualify for matching funds. Ms. Sutton’s campaign reported a $4,400 deficit.Mr. Yang, who entered the race officially on Thursday, is expected to be competitive with other leading candidates in raising funds. He had 21,000 donors from New York City during his presidential run, giving him a list of potential contributors that he is expected to tap into quickly.Before the pandemic, fund-raising had proceeded at a rapid pace, and face to face. Before he dropped out of the race in November, the City Council speaker, Corey Johnson, held 55 house parties from March 2019 to March 2020. Mr. Stringer held 65 house parties over the same period, including six events in January and February last year.Now, most candidates are holding virtual fund-raisers. Mr. McGuire’s son, Cole Anthony, who plays for the N.B.A.’s Orlando Magic, held a fund-raiser with a teammate, Mo Bamba. Mr. McGuire has had 41 fund-raising events in three months, his campaign said.The Campaign Finance Board could issue almost $5 million in taxpayer money to the three candidates who are accepting, and have qualified for, public funds, according to estimates from the candidates.The board must audit the donations before distributing any money, which it is scheduled to do next month based on the latest filings. Those filings covered money raised from July 12, 2020 to Jan. 11. That would bring the total of public funds to be distributed in the race to close to $14 million. Ioanna Niejelow, Mr. Donovan’s finance director, said was “very different” to be campaigning through a pandemic. Mr. Donovan has been holding hourlong virtual fund-raisers with 50 to 75 people to allow him to interact with attendees.“I know all about grip and grin, and there’s a real beauty to that,” said Ms. Niejelow, a veteran fund-raiser who has worked on campaigns for Hillary Clinton and John Kerry. “But given this environment, virtual has been remarkable in terms of getting out there and having great conversations.”AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Yang’s Rivals in the Mayoral Race Co-opt His Signature Idea

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }N.Y.C. Mayoral RaceA Look at the RaceAndrew Yang’s Candidacy5 TakeawaysWho’s Running?AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyYang’s Rivals in the Mayoral Race Co-opt His Signature IdeaAndrew Yang favors a modified version of universal basic income that would provide payments of about $2,000 to a half million of the poorest New Yorkers. Andrew Yang officially announced his bid for mayor of New York City on Wednesday.Credit…James Estrin/The New York TimesJan. 14, 2021Updated 9:50 p.m. ETUniversal basic income was Andrew Yang’s signature issue in his 2020 presidential run, and it will be a centerpiece of his New York City mayoral campaign, which he officially began Wednesday night with a launch video.But during the months Mr. Yang spent contemplating a run for mayor, his competitors preemptively made his issue their own.Carlos Menchaca, a progressive city councilman, is planning to introduce legislation that would create a targeted universal basic income program in New York City. Eric Adams, Brooklyn’s more centrist borough president, wants to explore universal basic income, too. So does Dianne Morales, a former nonprofit executive running to the far left.In a race of more than a dozen Democratic candidates, with many trying to out-progressive one another, pushing for a guaranteed income program could be viewed as a form of virtue signaling to the left.But it also shows how an issue that was Mr. Yang’s signature talking point on the 2020 campaign trail has gained enough acceptance to be co-opted by other candidates — a development that threatens to undermine Mr. Yang’s central argument for running.The candidates’ embrace of guaranteed income doesn’t mean that a broad-based program is a particularly viable idea for New York City, given the battering its economy has taken in the pandemic, its yawning budgetary needs and the amount of money needed to guarantee income to the city’s adult population of roughly 6.6 million.Mr. Yang acknowledged as much in his campaign rollout. His proposal for the “largest basic income program in the country” is by no means universal. He would target annual cash payments of about $2,000 to a half million of the poorest New Yorkers, in a city of 8.4 million.Mr. Yang said his proposal would cost the city $1 billion a year — a daunting sum given that the city faces budget deficits in the billions of dollars in coming years. He says further expansion of the program would be dependent upon “more funding from public and philanthropic organizations, with the vision of eventually ending poverty in New York City altogether.”His plan for the country was more far-reaching: He had envisioned giving every American citizen over 18 years of age $1,000 a month in guaranteed federal income, or $12,000 a year, a no-strings-attached dispensation he said was made necessary by the increasingly widespread automation of jobs.“I’m identified with universal basic income for a reason,” he said in a recent interview. “I think it’s the most direct and effective thing we could do to improve the lives of tens of millions of Americans who are struggling right now, and anything I do in public life will be advancing the goal of eradicating poverty in our society.”In the interview, Mr. Yang swatted away the notion that his future opponents were trying to steal his signature issue from him. He adopted a more-the-merrier posture.“Frankly, any mayoral candidate who is not making it part of their platform is missing the boat,” Mr. Yang said.Critics argue that a guaranteed income could discourage people from working. Still, the fact that several of the candidates vying to run the economic and cultural capital of the United States are exploring the notion of a guaranteed income does suggest that the concept has gained some momentum.There are now guaranteed income demonstration projects underway in Jackson, Miss.; Santa Clara County, Calif.; and St. Paul, Minn. The terms “universal basic income” and “guaranteed income” are sometimes used interchangeably, but they differ. Many pilot programs are not universal but, like Mr. Yang’s proposal, instead would supply income only to the poorest members of society. Unlike many existing social assistance programs, they would not dictate how recipients spend the money.Natalie Foster, a co-chair of the Economic Security Project, which advocates a guaranteed income, said she has had conversations with more than one New York City mayoral candidate on the topic.“It’s exciting to see it being an issue in the race and not surprising at all, given the momentum across the country,” Ms. Foster said.As a presidential candidate, Mr. Yang advocated giving people a guaranteed basic income of $1,000 a month.Credit…Pete Marovich for The New York TimesThe other candidates touting universal basic income in the mayoral race are largely doing so in less specific terms.Mr. Menchaca said he hopes to include a pilot program in this year’s budget that targets cash grants to low-income New Yorkers. The details of that program have yet to be hammered out.In a recent radio interview, Ms. Morales called for a “universal basic income for people who need it,” and like Mr. Menchaca, suggested the question of how to fund it was something of a red herring, one that often gets asked “when we start talking about prioritizing the needs of the neediest New Yorkers.”She said she would take a look at some of the city’s budgetary “bloating,” including at the New York Police Department, and expressed hope for state aid. In a subsequent email, her spokesman said Ms. Morales thinks a “local basic income” should be funded through a wealth and luxury tax on the “superrich that phases out and does not sacrifice the safety net.”At a recent mayoral forum, Mr. Adams, the Brooklyn borough president, said universal basic income could be an important tool “to get people over this very difficult time, particularly low-income New Yorkers.”Asked for specifics, a spokesman declined to provide further details.Other candidates, including Scott M. Stringer, the city’s comptroller, and Kathryn Garcia, its former sanitation commissioner, said they would prefer to see some version of the idea implemented at the federal level instead.Mr. Yang quit the presidential race in February after failing to gain ground in the New Hampshire primary, but he succeeded in making himself a political celebrity — and casting a klieg light on universal basic income. In various forms, the concept has been implemented in small pilot programs around the country, one of which his nonprofit organization, Humanity Forward, is helping to fund in the Columbia County city of Hudson, N.Y.The general idea of a guaranteed income goes back centuries. Martin Luther King Jr. was a prominent, and early, proponent of the idea in the 20th century, and his son, Martin Luther King III, has continued pushing for it in his father’s stead.“It’s really immoral for us to have people living on the streets in the United States,” said Mr. King, the co-chair of Mr. Yang’s campaign.A new group, Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, is pushing for a federal guaranteed income and counts more than two dozen mayors as members, including Ras Baraka of Newark, N.J., Eric Garcetti of Los Angeles and Keisha Lance Bottoms of Atlanta.By Ms. Foster’s count, there are more than 10 pieces of legislation in Congress that would guarantee an income for families until the current economic crisis is over.“And that is political warp speed,” she said.One of the most prominent universal basic income pilots in the United States — the first program spearheaded by a mayor — is now wrapping up in Stockton, Calif. Since February 2019, the privately funded program has given 125 Stockton residents $500 a month. Recipients like Tomas Vargas Jr. will receive their last payments on Jan. 15.Before he joined the program, Mr. Vargas was working as a U.P.S. supervisor. The monthly checks gave him enough financial security and confidence to start looking for a better job. Now he works as a case manager at a Stockton nonprofit. Instead of living paycheck to paycheck and constantly looking for additional ways to make ends meet, he has time to read stories to his young children at bedtime.The no-strings-attached approach is “the beauty” of the program, he said. “It treats you like a human.”AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      On the N.Y.C. Campaign Trail With Andrew Yang

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      On the Trail With Andrew YangEmma G. FitzsimmonsReporting from New York CityJames Estrin/The New York TimesAs I rode the subway with Andrew Yang, who announced his run for mayor of New York City today, he told me that he believes the city can take back responsibility for the transit system from the state. “The city needs to control its own fate,” he said.Here’s how our morning went → More

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      Wall Street Favorite Raises $5 Million in Race for New York Mayor

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }N.Y.C. Mayoral RaceA Look at the RaceAndrew Yang’s Candidacy5 TakeawaysWho’s Running?AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyWall Street Favorite Raises $5 Million in Race for New York MayorNew York’s business community is coalescing behind Raymond J. McGuire, an ex-Wall Street executive, but the support may turn off some left-leaning voters.At least 20 billionaires have donated to the mayoral campaign fund for Raymond J. McGuire, far left.Credit…Simbarashe Cha for The New York TimesJan. 13, 2021Updated 8:37 a.m. ETAs thousands of restaurants, Midtown office towers and Broadway theaters lay empty last summer, leaders of New York’s business community decided enough was enough: They wrote a scathing letter expressing no confidence in Mayor Bill de Blasio, and intensified efforts to find someone of their liking to replace him.They drafted Raymond J. McGuire, one of the longest-serving and highest-ranking Black executives on Wall Street, to run for mayor, and promised their assistance.Now, three months after announcing his candidacy, that support has come: Mr. McGuire’s campaign will report this week that it has already raised just over $5 million. It was an unusually high sum for such a short period, approaching the fund-raising totals of established candidates like Scott M. Stringer, the city comptroller, and Eric Adams, the Brooklyn borough president.The amount is likely to jolt the race, pushing Mr. McGuire to the forefront of the free-for-all Democratic primary contest, placing pressure on Mr. Adams and Mr. Stringer to keep pace, and damaging the hopes of the other dozen or so candidates still struggling to meet fund-raising minimums to qualify for public matching funds.Mr. McGuire’s donor list reads like an index from corporate America, Wall Street, the entertainment industry and real estate. There are at least 20 billionaires on the list, including owners of sports teams and oil company chief executives. There’s old money dating back to the Ottoman Empire, and new money earned with the kings and queens of hip-hop culture.While the support illustrates the potency of Mr. McGuire’s candidacy, the ties to big business may be anathema to many left-leaning Democratic voters in New York, a city where political pressure has torpedoed efforts to expand Industry City in Brooklyn, and discouraged Amazon from pursuing a headquarters in Queens.Indeed, prominent Republican donors are among Mr. McGuire’s supporters, including Ken Langone, one of the founders of Home Depot, and his wife, Elaine, who each donated the maximum amount of $5,100. Kara Ross, a jewelry designer and the wife of Stephen Ross, a friend and fund-raiser of President Trump who founded Related Companies, also donated $5,100, according to campaign finance data shared with The New York Times.Mr. McGuire also received large donations from James L. Dolan, a major Republican and Trump donor who owns the Knicks and Madison Square Garden; and Richard S. Fuld Jr., the last chief executive of Lehman Brothers, which declared the largest bankruptcy in United States history during the 2008 financial collapse, and his wife, Kathy.Mr. McGuire, a former vice chairman at Citigroup, did not shy away from his support in the business community.“New Yorkers of all walks of life have shown they believe in our movement to lead the greatest comeback this city has ever seen, and everyone will be a part of it, no matter your race or religion, ZIP code or bank account, ideology or orientation,” Mr. McGuire said in a statement this week.Mr. McGuire raised so much money that it will actually benefit the candidates participating in the city’s matching funds program; when a candidate who is not participating in the program — Mr. McGuire is not — raises or spends more than half of the spending cap for program participants, the $7.3 million spending limit for primary candidates may be increased by 50 percent, according to Campaign Finance Board regulations. The change would push the primary spending limit to $10.9 million.Mr. Adams, the Brooklyn borough president, and Mr. Stringer, the comptroller, are the only two candidates who have met the threshold for matching funds so far.Mr. McGuire’s campaign has more than 3,700 donors who gave an average amount of $1,100. About 575 donors contributed the maximum amount. At least 75 percent of donors live in New York City, mostly in Manhattan.Scott Stringer, the city’s comptroller, is one of two mayoral candidates with more campaign funds than Mr. McGuire.Credit…Chang W. Lee/The New York TimesPaul T. Schnell, a partner at the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom who oversees mergers and acquisitions, has known Mr. McGuire for 38 years and counts himself among the business leaders who nudged Mr. McGuire to run for mayor. Mr. Schnell and his family donated a total of $11,700 to Mr. McGuire. As the head of “Lawyers for Ray,” Mr. Schnell held a fund-raiser that raised more than $142,000, much of it from those who work at his law firm.“He’s got a combination of leadership, management and business skills but also great people skills and empathy,” Mr. Schnell said. “He will use those skills to restore the city’s economy and he’s going to do that for small businesses as well as large employers.”Mr. de Blasio has mostly avoided any relationships with business leaders, long priding himself on being a champion of the working class. When asked in December about equity in education, the mayor said that his “mission is to redistribute wealth.”As the 2021 mayoral field began to take shape, it became clear that none of the presumed front-runners seemed interested in working with business leaders, and Mr. McGuire was strongly encouraged to enter the race.A tipping point came last year, when the mayor was asked whether he worried that the wealthy were abandoning the city during the pandemic. The mayor responded, “We do not make decisions based on the wealthy few.”The frustration in the business community has now translated into keen support for Mr. McGuire. He received donations from prominent business leaders such as William A. Ackman, chief executive of Pershing Square Capital Management; Danny Meyer of the Union Square Hospitality Group; Steve Stoute, a former record executive turned marketing executive; and Robert Reffkin, a co-founder and chief executive of the real estate brokerage Compass.Hutham S. Olayan, a member of one of the wealthiest families in the Arab world, gave two donations of $2,500; there were 11 donations from members of the Tisch family and five donations from members of the Lauder family, including maximum donations from Leonard A. Lauder, the philanthropist and chairman emeritus of the Estée Lauder Companies, and his wife, Judy Glickman Lauder; his son William P. Lauder, executive chairman of the Estée Lauder Companies; and his niece Jane Lauder, who is also a high-ranking executive at the firm.Voters are not likely to be surprised that Mr. McGuire, a Wall Street executive, would turn to wealthy friends to raise money, though progressives could make an issue of it, said Bruce Gyory, a Democratic strategist.But with so many people vying for the Democratic nomination, including several progressive-minded candidates, it is not clear how much Mr. McGuire’s business ties will damage his chances, especially with ranked-choice voting allowing as many as five candidates to be chosen.Mr. Gyory said that Mr. McGuire’s credibility in the business world could shore up support among Black voters.“The question is can he take his fund-raising prowess and turn it into support in the Black community in Southeast Queens and the North Shore of Staten Island and create a message that resonates,” Mr. Gyory said. “African-American voters may say, we have a candidate who can compete and we should take a second look.”Mr. McGuire also leaned on his personal business connections. Charles Phillips, Mr. McGuire’s campaign co-chairman and the former president of Oracle who sits on several corporate boards, and William M. Lewis Jr., co-chairman of investment banking at Lazard, are both personal friends. They co-hosted the initial fund-raiser for the campaign, which raised more than $400,000. Both also made maximum contributions.Eric Adams, the Brooklyn borough president, leads all mayoral candidates in fund-raising.Credit…Hiroko Masuike/The New York TimesSeveral well-known people in the entertainment industry also donated money to Mr. McGuire, including the filmmaker Spike Lee and his wife, the producer Tonya Lee Lewis; Mr. Lee provided the narration for Mr. McGuire’s campaign launch video.Others included Michael Ovitz, co-founder of Creative Artists Agency; the ballerina Misty Copeland; Jessica Seinfeld, the cookbook author, philanthropist and wife of the comedian Jerry Seinfeld; Gwyneth Paltrow; Debra L. Lee, the former head of Black Entertainment Television; Valerie Jarrett, a former adviser to President Barack Obama; and the music executive Lyor Cohen.The campaign has approximately $3.7 million on hand, which means that Mr. McGuire has been spending about $442,000 per month to keep his campaign staff of 25 running. By comparison, Mr. Stringer has $5.7 million on hand and has spent just over $429,000. Mr. Adams has $6.6 million on hand and has spent just over $367,000, according to the most recent campaign finance filings.Carlos Menchaca, a councilman from Brooklyn, is one of the mayoral candidates who is not expected to reach the threshold for public matching funds. Mr. Menchaca, who was instrumental in turning back the proposed expansion and rezoning of Industry City, said that New York City is now committed to rejecting “candidates connected to toxic policy around development and Wall Street.”“I’m incredibly confident that New Yorkers will see through these campaigns that have not distanced themselves,” he said. “Viability is not connected to money.”AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Under Attack, Andrew Yang Explains His Family’s Escape From NY

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }N.Y.C. Mayoral RaceA Look at the RaceAndrew Yang’s Candidacy5 TakeawaysWho’s Running?AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyAfter Rivals Pounce, Yang Explains His Family’s Escape From New YorkAndrew Yang said that his family decided to leave the city during the pandemic in part to help his autistic son “adapt to our new normal.”Andrew Yang’s initial explanation of why he left New York City for the Hudson Valley was criticized as insensitive.Credit…Jordan Gale for The New York TimesJan. 11, 2021Updated 7:08 p.m. ETAndrew Yang could be days away from declaring himself a New York City mayoral candidate, but he’s already found himself on the defensive over his decision to spend significant parts of the pandemic in the Hudson Valley.In an article published Monday in The New York Times, Mr. Yang addressed his decision to spend time during the pandemic outside of New York City in a tone that struck some political observers as discordant for anyone hoping to lead a city grappling with catastrophic loss fueled by the pandemic.The moment offered a preview of the challenges that may await Mr. Yang, a former presidential candidate who would be the most prominent figure in the race, but who is a newcomer to the unforgiving landscape and scrutiny of New York City politics.“Can you imagine trying to have two kids on virtual school in a two-bedroom apartment, and then trying to do work yourself?” Mr. Yang said in the initial interview.“Yes, actually I can,” Scott M. Stringer, the city comptroller and a mayoral contender, responded on Twitter, in a reference to his own two young children.Indeed, Mr. Yang’s remarks shattered the sense of relative comity in the mayoral field, at a time when many candidates hope to be broadly acceptable to their opponents’ supporters ahead of ranked-choice voting to decide the June primary. A torrent of barely veiled criticism played out on Twitter.“I spent all of 2020 in NYC, living with THREE generations under one roof, AND running a campaign from home,” Dianne Morales, a former nonprofit executive, wrote on Twitter.Maya Wiley, the former MSNBC analyst and counsel for Mayor Bill de Blasio, posted a video of eerily empty streets, save for the sirens, a scene familiar to New Yorkers who were in the city in the spring. And the Brooklyn borough president, Eric Adams, another mayoral contender, said that “at this pivotal moment in our city’s history, we deserve better than out-of-touch politicians.”Mr. Yang was in New York last spring as the city shut down, he has said, and he has been back and forth between the city and the Hudson Valley since. But he also allowed that he spent “more time upstate than in the city over the last number of months” as he also spent time as a presidential and Senate campaign surrogate.In a statement Monday afternoon, Mr. Yang sought to give more personal context around the decision to spend significant time in New Paltz, N.Y., rather than his apartment in Hell’s Kitchen. He has signaled that his campaign would center on anti-poverty themes, and he nodded to that ambition as he alluded to the charitable and nonprofit work he has done in the city.“Every New York parent has struggled with educating our children in a time of Covid,” he said. After schools shut down, “we took our two kids, including my autistic son, to upstate New York to help him adapt to our new normal. Evelyn and I know how lucky we are to have that option, which is why I’ve committed the past several years of my life to lifting up working families and eliminating poverty.”Mr. Yang is hardly the only New Yorker to spend time outside the city over the last year. Some wealthier New Yorkers who had the option to leave did so, at least temporarily; the vast majority of city residents remained.Nor is he the only possible mayor to have a home outside the city. The former mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, for instance, spent many weekends at a waterfront estate in Bermuda.But a number of seasoned New York political figures signaled that Mr. Yang’s living arrangement over the last year may give voters pause.“We all stayed here and fought for New York,” said the Manhattan borough president, Gale Brewer. “The people I respect are the people who stayed here.”Hank Sheinkopf, a longtime Democratic consultant, added, “This is not an auspicious beginning to an upset mayoral race. He’s upset people as opposed to winning an upset mayoral race.”Leah D. Daughtry, a veteran Democratic Party strategist with close ties to New York politics, said she did not believe his remarks or his location last year were “disqualifying” — but they do create a “larger hurdle.”“Anybody who’s running for mayor, no matter their name recognition, is going to have to demonstrate to people that they understand the problems of folks” in the five boroughs, she said. “It’s not like anyplace else.”AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More