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      N.Y.C. Mayor Candidates Court Unions and Latino Voters

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }N.Y.C. Mayoral RaceWho’s Running?5 TakeawaysCandidates’ N.Y.C. MomentsAn Overview of the RaceAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyCourting Unions and Latino Voters: 5 Takeaways From the N.Y.C. Mayor’s RaceEric Adams won three big labor union endorsements, confirming his status as a top contender, and Loree Sutton dropped out of the race.Eric Adams is lining up coveted labor union endorsements.Credit…Michael M. Santiago/Getty ImagesEmma G. Fitzsimmons, Dana Rubinstein, Andy Newman and March 15, 2021Updated 10:56 a.m. ETLabor leaders are throwing their weight behind Eric Adams in the New York City mayoral race.Mr. Adams, the Brooklyn borough president, has won three major labor endorsements in the past two weeks, cementing his status as one of the top candidates in the crowded Democratic primary field.As Mr. Adams rose, Loree Sutton, one of the first women to join the race, dropped out, and the campaigns pushed to qualify for public matching funds. Andrew Yang, the former presidential candidate, announced over the weekend that he had raised an impressive fund-raising haul.Here is what you need to know:Adams wins key labor endorsements.Mr. Adams is making the case that he is the candidate for working-class New Yorkers.“We are building a blue-collar coalition that will deliver results for the New Yorkers who need them the most,” Mr. Adams said last week.He has received support from three unions: Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union, which represents about 85,000 building workers in New York; the Hotel Trades Council, which has nearly 40,000 members in the hotel and gaming industry; and the District Council 37 Executive Board, the city’s largest public employees union, representing 150,000 members and 50,000 retirees.The string of endorsements shows that some Democrats believe Mr. Adams has the best chance of beating Mr. Yang, who has been leading the field in recent polls.While Mr. Adams has secured some of the city’s most coveted labor endorsements, Maya Wiley, a former counsel to Mayor Bill de Blasio, was recently endorsed by another major union, Local 1199 of the S.E.I.U. The powerful United Federation of Teachers has not yet picked a candidate.Scott Stringer, the New York City comptroller, had been a contender for the 32BJ endorsement, according to the union president, Kyle Bragg.“But this is more than just about friendships,” Mr. Bragg said, adding that the union had to consider who had “the strongest path to victory.”Sutton’s long-shot bid comes to an end.Loree Sutton, left, has left the mayoral race.Credit…Jose A. Alvarado Jr. for The New York TimesFor Loree Sutton, the retired Army brigadier general who withdrew from the mayor’s race on Wednesday, the turning point came in late February when a state judge rejected a lawsuit seeking to limit in-person petition-gathering during the coronavirus pandemic.Candidates must gather a certain number of signatures in person in order to get their names on the ballot.“I just would not go out and do in-person petition-gathering under these circumstances,” Ms. Sutton said. It was, she said, a matter of “public health principle.”Her mayoral bid was always a long shot. The former commissioner for the city’s Department of Veterans’ Services, she had little in the way of political experience or name recognition. She was running as a law-and-order moderate in a Democratic primary that tilts left.Some advisers had encouraged her to run as a Republican, but doing so would have felt inauthentic, she said. Centrism, she argues, remains an essential part of the Democratic Party.But early on there were signs that her brand of moderation would be unwelcome.She was excluded from an early Democratic forum because she had argued that protesters should be required to obtain city permits.She campaigned on the importance of public safety and rejected calls to defund the police, a posture that seemed out of step with many of her competitors.“Some of the worst atrocities in human history have taken place under the misconception that somehow we can create a utopian society,” she said.In the end, Ms. Sutton pulled out of the race, having raised only $200,000.She has yet to decide whom she will endorse, but she was complimentary of Kathryn Garcia, the former Sanitation Department commissioner, who is running as a pragmatist. And she has not ruled out running for office again someday.“It’s the journey of a lifetime,” she said.Candidates debate how to fix public housing.Kathryn Garcia argues that private management of some buildings in the city’s public housing system can be effective.Credit…Brendan Mcdermid/ReutersAt a mayoral forum on housing on Thursday, a tenant leader at a city public-housing complex, Damaris Reyes, challenged the candidates: “I want to know if you will commit to preservation of public housing, and how you will repair trust and empower resident decision making.”The 175,000 apartments in the city’s public housing system have been sliding into disrepair for decades, with the price tag for replacing leaky roofs, old heating systems, broken elevators and other problems now estimated at $30 billion to $40 billion.But the city’s proposal to fund the repairs by using a program that would hand over management of tens of thousands of apartments to private developers has been greeted with skepticism. Many New York City Housing Authority residents fear their apartments would be privatized, leading to rent increases and evictions.At the housing forum, hosted by the local news channel NY1, two candidates with experience running housing systems said the city’s plans provided a realistic platform.Ms. Garcia, who served as interim commissioner of NYCHA in 2019, said the blueprint would let the city leverage federal money that was already available. She said she could win over skeptics by taking them on tours of the Ocean Bay complex in Queens, where a private landlord has been making repairs. “You know who the best spokespeople are?” she asked. “The people who have actually had their apartments renovated.”Shaun Donovan, who ran the city’s department of housing preservation under Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and who served as President Barack Obama’s commissioner of housing and urban development, said that partnering with the federal government provided “the only pathway where we can truly get to scale.”Mr. Donovan’s plan also calls for the city to kick in $2 billion a year and includes job-training programs for NYCHA residents who would be hired to do much of the work, he said. Mr. Yang has promoted his own $48 billion — and entirely federally funded — “green new deal” for NYCHA. To combat NYCHA residents’ “massive trust deficit,” the city should “make NYCHA residents the majority of the board of NYCHA itself,” he has said.Public money comes rolling in.Andrew Yang has been a potent fund-raiser.Credit…Mark Lennihan/Associated PressSix candidates now say they have qualified for public matching funds, and a seventh may qualify soon.At the latest donation deadline last week, Mr. Yang proved that he is a strong fund-raiser. He reported that he had met the matching-funds threshold by raising more than $2.1 million from 15,600 individual donors in the 57 days that he has been in the race. Mr. Yang’s campaign said it expects to have raised $6.5 million once public dollars are received.“With 100 days left, we have built the foundation and energy to win,” Mr. Yang’s campaign managers said in a statement.To qualify for public matching funds, a candidate must raise $250,000 from at least 1,000 New York City residents. Those donations are matched at either an $8 to $1 rate or $6 to $1 rate, depending on which plan the campaign chose for a maximum of $1,400 to $2,000 per contributor.Mr. Donovan reported meeting the threshold, which would bring his total raised to $4 million. Ms. Garcia reported meeting the threshold by raising over $300,000 in matchable contributions. Dianne Morales, a former nonprofit executive, said Monday she had qualified for matching funds as well, raising about $320,000 in matchable contributions.The fund-raising leaders have also continued to rake in public dollars. Mr. Adams and Mr. Stringer, the only two candidates who have received matching funds so far, reported having raised a total of more than $9 million each once matching funds were factored in. Ms. Wiley, who announced that she had met the threshold last period before an audit from the Campaign Finance Board determined that she had not, declined to release fund-raising figures. Her campaign was waiting on a ruling Monday from the board.Raymond J. McGuire, a former banking executive who shook up the race when he raised $5 million in three months, is not participating in the public funds program. His campaign said he had raised another $2.6 million since the last filing period.According to campaign finance rules, if a nonparticipating candidate raises or spends more than half of the $7.3 million spending limit, the spending cap could be increased by 50 percent. Matthew Sollars, a spokesman for the board, said a determination on an increased spending cap would be made late next month.A candidate looks for the Latino vote.Scott Stringer, the city comptroller, has a Puerto Rican stepfather.Credit…Richard Drew/Associated PressLittle known fact about Scott Stringer, who is white and Jewish: His stepfather moved to New York from Puerto Rico as a toddler, his stepfamily is Latino and, partly on that basis, he hopes to win over Latino voters in the mayoral election.“Buenos días a todos,” Mr. Stringer said on Sunday in Upper Manhattan, as he formally kicked off his “Latino agenda,” not far from the Washington Heights neighborhood where he grew up. His stepfamily joined him and lauded his record, character and intelligence. “Scott is simpático,” said Carlos Cuevas, Mr. Stringer’s stepbrother, a lawyer.Mr. Stringer’s effort to highlight his family to identify with a particular constituency is not a novel one. Mr. de Blasio relied heavily on his African-American wife and biracial children in his 2013 run for mayor. At a forum about Jewish issues, Ms. Wiley, whose father was African-American and mother was white, made a point of noting that her partner is Jewish and the son of Holocaust survivors.The Latino vote — which is far from monolithic — is coveted, representing about 20 percent of the New York City electorate.The mayor’s race has several candidates of Latino descent: Ms. Morales and Carlos Menchaca, a councilman from Brooklyn, both of whom are Democrats, and Fernando Mateo, a Republican. None responded to requests for comment on Mr. Stringer’s Latino voter push.The same day Mr. Stringer was rolling out his agenda, his competitor Mr. Yang made his pitch to Spanish-language viewers of Telemundo.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      The A Train and the Macarena: 5 Highlights From the Mayor’s Race

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }N.Y.C. Mayoral RaceWho’s Running?5 TakeawaysCandidates’ N.Y.C. MomentsAn Overview of the RaceAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyThe A Train and the Macarena: 5 Highlights From the Mayor’s RaceCandidates sparred over their subway smarts and did some virtual dancing, while the former sanitation commissioner got support from influential women.When Andrew Yang wrote on Twitter that he was “Bronx bound” while on the A train, the criticism was immediate.Credit…Brendan Mcdermid/ReutersJeffery C. Mays, Dana Rubinstein and March 8, 2021, 5:00 a.m. ETWhile Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s troubles dominated the headlines, the bevy of candidates running for New York City mayor trudged onward, dutifully showing up for yet more online forums and occasionally taking swings at their opponents’ foibles.The city’s new ranked-choice voting scheme is supposed to make the mayoral race nicer, since candidates are vying not only for first place, but also for second, third, fourth and fifth place, too. In such a scenario, it doesn’t pay to alienate a competitor’s supporters.That friendliness was on display after the Hotel Trades Council, a powerful union, endorsed Eric Adams, the Brooklyn borough president.Andrew Yang’s co-campaign managers made a point of saying nice things on Twitter. But the bonhomie didn’t last long.Adams and Yang spar over subwaysWhen Mr. Yang wrote on Twitter that he was “Bronx bound” while on the A train — a line that ends in Upper Manhattan — he gave new life to criticism that he lacked expertise about the city he hopes to govern.“Someone get Andrew Yang a subway map,” the New York Daily News wrote.The ribbing didn’t end there. The next day, Mr. Adams, who has placed second behind Mr. Yang in most polls, posted a photo of himself on Twitter suggesting that he knew how to get to the Bronx by subway.Chris Coffey, Mr. Yang’s co-campaign manager, quickly responded: “Did your car and driver meet you in the Bronx?”Mr. Coffey pointed out that Mr. Yang had switched from the A train to the D train at 125th Street and traveled to 167th Street in the Bronx to tour small businesses with Vanessa L. Gibson, a councilwoman from the borough who is running for borough president.It wasn’t the first time last week that Mr. Adams had targeted Mr. Yang for criticism. The two men are also sparring over universal basic income, Mr. Yang’s signature proposal from his run for the Democratic nomination for president.Mr. Yang introduced a version of the plan for New York City that calls for providing 500,000 of the city’s poorest residents with an average of $2,000 per year, and would cost about $1 billion.Speaking Friday at a virtual event hosted by the Association for a Better New York, Mr. Adams touted his plan to boost the city’s earned-income tax credit to provide 900,000 New Yorkers with up to $4,000 per year.Mr. Adams never mentioned Mr. Yang’s name but his language was caustic: He referred to his opponent’s proposal as “UBLie” and “snake oil,” and said the city did not need “empty promises” from “hollow salesmen.”Mr. Adams’s criticisms are a sign that he’s worried, Mr. Coffey suggested.“Hitting Andrew Yang, who is widely credited with making cash relief mainstream, at the same time as stimulus is starting to go out defies logic,” he said. “It’s almost as silly as trying to mock a lifetime subway rider when you have had a car and driver for seven years.”Truth, dare or dance?The high school students at the Teens Take Charge mayoral forum on Thursday grilled the candidates on tough issues such as summer jobs, funding for the City University of New York and the specialized high school entrance exam. They were ruthless moderators, holding the candidates to the allotted time to answer questions and even cutting them off when necessary.But that doesn’t mean they didn’t have fun at an event that many participants called the best mayoral forum so far.During the first “truth, dare or dance” round of the 2021 mayoral election season, the candidates could choose a truth, a dare or a 15-second dance to a song that the students had randomly chosen.No candidates chose to dance, but as the segment was ending, Shaun Donovan, a former federal housing secretary, was apparently dismayed that he had not gotten a chance to bust a move.“Can we dance now?” Mr. Donovan asked. One of the hosts, Carmen Lopez Villamil, offered 15 seconds to allow all the candidates to dance at once.“For real, we’re going to dance?” Dianne Morales, a nonprofit executive, said with a shocked look.As the song “Macarena” began to play, Mr. Yang was the first one out of his seat, followed closely by Mr. Donovan and Maya Wiley, the former legal counsel for Mayor Bill de Blasio.“You’ve got to turn it up a little bit,” said Ms. Wiley.Ms. Morales swayed to the beat with verve and rhythm. Mr. Donovan did a spin. Mr. Yang looked like he was doing a bit of salsa dancing, while Scott Stringer, the New York City comptroller, stuck to a quick two-step while wiggling a bit. Ms. Wiley also looked like she was grooving, but she was too close to the camera for the audience to check out her moves.“I love to dance but hoped for the Black Eyed Peas,” Ms. Wiley told The Times. “The Macarena isn’t my flava.”Unfortunately — or maybe fortunately — no one actually did the Macarena.Mr. Donovan admitted to not knowing how to do the dance but said he saw the opportunity as the “antidote” to hours of Zoom conferences. Adams lands the second big union endorsementThe Hotel Trades Council endorsed Eric Adams last week.Credit…Jose A. Alvarado Jr. for The New York TimesMr. Adams has taken to saying that he will be a “blue-collar mayor.” He talks about how his mother cleaned houses to support their family when he was growing up. Last week, the Hotel Trades Council endorsed Mr. Adams, calling him the “candidate of and for working-class New Yorkers.”The well-connected union has 31,000 workers, 22,000 of whom are registered to vote in the city. That can mean crucial votes in a crowded field, more small-dollar donations and campaign workers on the ground.It was the second big union endorsement in the race after Ms. Wiley was recently endorsed by Local 1199 of the Service Employees International Union. It came as the pandemic has shut many city hotels and left workers unemployed. The number of visitors to New York City was down 66 percent in 2020 compared with the year before. Even with vaccination numbers on the rise, NYC & Company projects that tourism may not rebound until 2025. Mr. Adams recently endorsed a plan with another mayoral candidate, Carlos Menchaca, a councilman from Brooklyn, to turn underutilized hotels outside of Manhattan into affordable housing. Many of those hotels are nonunion.Mr. Adams is also in favor of a special citywide hotel permit for hotel construction, a policy Mr. de Blasio is trying to push through before his term is out. The Hotel Trades Council is backing the measure.If the city’s hospitality industry is to rebound, it needs tax relief, public safety, real-time reporting on vaccination rates and a “robust marketing effort,” Mr. Adams said.A biking mayor?There is a good chance that the next mayor will be a regular cyclist.The candidates showed off their cycling bona fides at a forum last week: Raymond J. McGuire showed off a sleek bike perched behind him in his elaborate Zoom setup, and Mr. Adams said he goes for a ride when he is feeling stressed.Mr. Yang said he got a bike when his first son was born and rode it from Hell’s Kitchen to the Financial District to take him to school. “It was a game changer for me,” Mr. Yang said. Many of the candidates said they want to continue to add protected bike lanes. Mr. Stringer plans to double bike ridership, move toward a car-free Manhattan and make sure that bike lanes are clearly separated from traffic so that his sons can ride safely.“We have to use our children as the barometer for whether we think a bike lane is safe,” he said at the forum.Mr. Donovan was perhaps the most serious cyclist: He once biked through the South to retrace the 1961 Freedom Rides.“I’m pretty sure no other candidate in this race has cycled 1,000 miles retracing the route of the Freedom Rides,” he said.Executive women support GarciaKathryn Garcia’s reform of the commercial garbage collection system has drawn admirers.Credit…Brendan Mcdermid/ReutersLet one thing be clear: Kathryn S. Wylde, the executive of the Wall Street-backed Partnership for New York City, is not endorsing Kathryn Garcia for mayor. She said she does not endorse because she will have to work with whoever gets elected.But she does think that Ms. Garcia, along with a couple of other candidates, would make for a very good mayor. That’s why she co-hosted a fund-raiser for Ms. Garcia, the former Sanitation Department commissioner, last week.So, too, did another business executive — Alicia Glen, a former deputy mayor in the de Blasio administration and one of the few de Blasio officials to earn plaudits from New York’s business class.Ms. Garcia said she interpreted Ms. Glen’s support as an endorsement, but deferred to Ms. Glen, who didn’t respond to requests for comment.Ms. Wylde said that she encouraged Ms. Garcia to run, much as she encouraged Mr. Donovan and Mr. McGuire, because she thinks Ms. Garcia would run the city well. She was particularly impressed by Ms. Garcia’s reform of the notoriously dangerous and inefficient commercial garbage collection system.“She’s somebody that brings people together to solve problems, and I’d like to see our next mayor be that kind of person,” Ms. Wylde said.Ms. Wylde has been working in politics since the late 1960s, when there were virtually no women in elected government. No woman has ever been mayor of New York. Ms. Wylde deflected when asked if she thought a woman could win this time around.“Historically, in any profession in New York City, women have a tough time getting ahead,” she said.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Face Time With Eight Mayoral Candidates

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }N.Y.C. Mayoral RaceWho’s Running?11 Candidates’ N.Y.C. MomentsAn Overview of the Race5 TakeawaysAdvertisementContinue reading the main storyOpinionSupported byContinue reading the main storyFace Time With Eight Mayoral CandidatesHere’s what you need to know.Ms. Gay is a member of the editorial board.March 7, 2021, 11:12 a.m. ETCredit…Illustration by The New York Times; photography by James Estrin/The New York Times, Benjamin Norman for The New York Times, and Bebeto Matthews, via Associated PressRunning for mayor of New York City once involved, well, some running — from shaking hands on the Staten Island Ferry to schmoozing with donors at fund-raisers and awkwardly dancing in parades across the five boroughs. This year, the candidates have spent a lot of their time on Zoom. It’s been weird.But the internet — in this case, Skype — is how I last talked with Kathryn Garcia, a wry, thoughtful former sanitation commissioner and candidate for mayor who deserves more attention than she has so far received in the race.“Is it OK if I record this?” I asked. “I’ve never met a reporter who didn’t record me, so I’m fine with it,” she shot back with a smile. (It’s nice to see that at least some things remain unchanged.) What followed was a conversation that had me hoping more New Yorkers will come to know her name — and fearing that the limits of campaigning during a pandemic may be leaving voters ill-informed about the people who are vying to run their city.Ms. Garcia isn’t the only candidate worthy of a closer look. With the pandemic still raging, public attention is focused on schools; masks; and, above all, the hope of a jab in the arm. For weary New Yorkers, the race for mayor can seem like an afterthought.It isn’t only the pandemic that makes this year’s mayor’s race different. This year’s primaries are in June instead of September, as in years past. This will also be the first mayoral election in which New Yorkers use ranked choice voting to cast their ballots. Paying attention now is all the more important since Primary Day is just a few months away, on June 22. Because Democrats outnumber Republicans nearly seven to one in the city, the winner of the primary is almost certain to become the city’s next mayor. Time is ticking.The wide open field has been called lackluster. That’s not quite right. What the field lacks in star power it makes up for in formidable résumés and deeply experienced public servants.Some of the top candidates are women. That’s exciting, since New York has never had a female mayor.There’s Maya Wiley, a civil rights lawyer who served as counsel under Mayor Bill de Blasio, then led the city’s police oversight agency. Ms. Wiley, who until recently was a political analyst at MSNBC, is a deep policy thinker.There’s Dianne Morales, a former nonprofit leader and former teacher who is wary of development and speaks passionately about the experiences and needs of working-class New Yorkers.And there’s Ms. Garcia, who earned a reputation as a deft manager at the Sanitation Department and a bringer of accountability to the city’s troubled public housing authority.Another experienced public servant in the race is Scott Stringer, the city’s comptroller, who has offered a series of clear, real plans for how to get New York back on its feet. In a city facing budget cuts and hard decisions, Mr. Stringer’s seasoned understanding of how to use government to help New Yorkers is an asset. He has a plan for nearly every problem and wouldn’t have to learn on the job.Eric Adams, Brooklyn’s sometimes quirky borough president, has also served as a state senator and a captain in the Police Department. Mr. Adams, who is Black and has spoken openly about having experienced abuse at the hands of the police, would undoubtedly bring a potent mix of life experiences to City Hall. “The Police Department is not going to play games with me,” Mr. Adams told me.Shaun Donovan, the housing secretary and then a budget director in the Obama White House who had also served as a housing commissioner in the Bloomberg administration. He has a rich understanding of budgeting and how to build affordable housing, something this city desperately needs.Also in the mix of New Yorkers is Ray McGuire, a former head of investment banking at Citigroup. He has impressive management experience and has promised to use his Wall Street acumen to expand the city’s economy, create 500,000 jobs and build more housing. In candidate forums and interviews, Mr. McGuire displays a sober intensity, the kind it often takes to succeed at the highest levels if you are a Black man in America.Then, of course, there is Andrew Yang, the enigmatic former presidential candidate and tech veteran who once served as chief executive of a test-prep company. Mr. Yang has sucked up an enormous amount of oxygen in the race so far. If he is elected, he would be the city’s first Asian-American mayor.The lack of attention on the race might be one reason early polls have Mr. Yang, who came into the race with high name recognition after his presidential bid, far ahead of his rivals.It isn’t always clear what this front-runner has in store for New York or how well he knows the city — including where the A train begins and ends. But all the candidates have solid ideas that would make the city a better place to live.Ms. Garcia wants to create “green belts,” expanding tree canopies, getting waste-spewing trucks off the road and making sidewalks safer, healthier, more relaxing places to spend time. Mr. Donovan wants to create a city of “15-minute neighborhoods,” in which every resident is within a 15-minute walk of public transit and parks, good schools, fresh food and health care.Ms. Wiley has proposed a $10 billion capital plan she calls “New Deal New York,” with the goal of creating 100,000 new jobs. Mr. Adams wants to overhaul the food the city serves in schools, homeless shelters and jails.Mr. Stringer wants to make child care free for the lowest-income New Yorkers and subsidize it for thousands of others. Mr. Yang’s idea to give cash relief to low-income New Yorkers is attractive, though it isn’t likely the city could afford to give enough to make a significant difference.Ms. Morales’s intense focus on the needs and aspirations of working-class and low-income New Yorkers makes her an important voice in the race. Mr. McGuire’s steady confidence that he can bring hundreds of thousands of jobs back to New York sooner than any of the other candidates is reason enough for voters to give him a close look.For all their good ideas, there are bad ideas, too. A suggestion to build a casino on Governors Island is silly, for instance. An even worse idea floating around is to ease up on enforcement of a group of ultra-Orthodox yeshivas suspected of failing to give students a basic education as required by state law.Serious candidates in this race are laser-focused on how to create good jobs and improve schools, build affordable housing and better transportation, and give New Yorkers cleaner air and safer streets. There’s a lot at stake and a lot to consider, if voters would only take a look.The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And here’s our email: letters@nytimes.com.Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      New York Mayoral Candidates Weigh How Hard to Hit Cuomo

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }N.Y.C. Mayoral RaceWho’s Running?11 Candidates’ N.Y.C. MomentsAn Overview of the Race5 TakeawaysAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyNew York Mayoral Candidates Weigh How Hard to Hit CuomoThe feud between Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo has hurt New York City, but Mr. Cuomo’s recent troubles may alter the dynamic for the next mayor.Gov. Andrew Cuomo is facing inquiries into sexual harassment claims and how his administration handled virus-related deaths in nursing homes.Credit…Hans Pennink/Associated PressMarch 3, 2021, 5:00 a.m. ETGov. Andrew M. Cuomo was having one of the worst weeks of his administration, and he tried to divert attention to the New York City mayor’s race.In one of his famed slide show presentations, Mr. Cuomo listed the many challenges facing the city — a rising murder rate, a homelessness crisis, people deciding to move away — and questioned if the candidates were up to the task.“What have you managed before? What have you accomplished before?” Mr. Cuomo said in late February. “This is not about rhetoric. This is not about slogans.”Mr. Cuomo failed to mention another top challenge for the next mayor: Figuring out how to get along with him.Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat in his third term, has been significantly weakened by a growing crisis over allegations of sexual harassment and his handling of coronavirus-related nursing home deaths. But if Mr. Cuomo remains in office, the next mayor will have to work with him to help the city recover from the pandemic.Now the candidates must decide how strongly to criticize Mr. Cuomo; several candidates are calling for Mr. Cuomo to face impeachment proceedings or to resign if the harassment allegations are confirmed.But the governor is unlikely to forget those who attacked him, and Mayor Bill de Blasio’s tenure has shown how a troubled relationship with Mr. Cuomo can thwart a mayor’s agenda. Mr. de Blasio never mastered how to work with the governor, even during the darkest days of the pandemic when the leaders fought over shutting down the city.Over the last seven years, the feud between Mr. Cuomo and Mr. de Blasio has had real implications for the city when they failed to work together on the vaccine rollout, reopening schools, a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak, and fixing the subway and public housing.The candidates running to succeed Mr. de Blasio had been talking about how they would have a better relationship with Mr. Cuomo, but the tone drastically changed in recent days, after three women detailed accusations of sexual harassment against the governor.On Monday, after a woman told The New York Times that Mr. Cuomo tried to kiss her at a wedding in 2019, Kathryn Garcia, the city’s former sanitation commissioner, said she had heard enough and Mr. Cuomo “should do the right thing and step aside.”Andrew Yang, the former presidential hopeful, and Eric Adams, the Brooklyn borough president, have called for an independent investigation. Maya Wiley, a former counsel to Mr. de Blasio, criticized Mr. Cuomo for disappearing from public appearances while the state was still facing a health crisis.“No one should throw around words like impeachment or resignation lightly,” she said. “But as a state, we must see immediate action to address the disgusting behavior” described by two female accusers of Mr. Cuomo.Maya Wiley called for “immediate action” to address Mr. Cuomo’s alleged behavior, but cautioned against using “words like impeachment or resignation lightly.”Credit…Gabriela Bhaskar for The New York TimesScott M. Stringer, the city comptroller, said on Saturday that he believed in a zero-tolerance policy for sexual harassment.“I continue to support a thorough and truly independent investigation of the governor’s conduct, and if it supports these serious and credible allegations, Governor Cuomo must resign,” Mr. Stringer said.Dianne Morales, a former nonprofit executive, and Carlos Menchaca, a City Council member in Brooklyn, have called for impeachment proceedings to begin.The condemnations are unlikely to affect Mr. Cuomo’s involvement in the June 22 Democratic primary for mayor, which is likely to determine the winner in the general election. The governor seems unlikely to endorse a candidate; even in the presidential race, he waited until very late to endorse his friend Joseph R. Biden Jr.Mr. Cuomo knows two leading candidates well: Mr. Stringer, a former state assemblyman, and Mr. Adams, a former state senator. Mr. Stringer has found ways to work with the governor, leading Carl Heastie, the State Assembly speaker, to call Mr. Stringer a “rubber stamp” for Mr. Cuomo in 2018 during a battle over pay raises for state lawmakers.But Mr. Adams has openly criticized Mr. Cuomo, over his management of the subway and his feud with the mayor. In April, when Mr. Cuomo and Mr. de Blasio fought over closing the city’s schools, Mr. Adams told them to “cut the crap.” This past week, after the sexual harassment claims were lodged, he said that when powerful men prey on women, “swift action must be taken against them.”Mr. Yang and Raymond J. McGuire, a former Wall Street executive, have said they had an in with the governor — pointing to their relationship with his brother, Chris Cuomo, the CNN host. Mr. Yang, however, voted in 2018 for Cynthia Nixon, the actress and a fierce critic of Mr. Cuomo in the Democratic primary that year — a choice that he publicized on Twitter.Another guilt-by-association relationship could stem from one of Mr. Yang’s first endorsers: Ron Kim, the state assemblyman who has gone to war with Mr. Cuomo over virus-related deaths in nursing homes. In the 2018 Democratic primary for governor, Andrew Yang, left, voted for Cynthia Nixon, the actress who ran and lost against Mr. Cuomo in a bitterly fought contest.Credit…Chang W. Lee/The New York TimesHaving a relationship with Mr. Cuomo is not necessarily predictive of how the next mayor might get along with the governor. Mr. Cuomo and Mr. de Blasio had known each other well: Mr. Cuomo, as the secretary of the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, hired Mr. de Blasio to oversee the New York region during the Clinton administration.When Michael R. Bloomberg was mayor, he seemingly got along better with Mr. Cuomo. But behind the scenes, the leaders also had a tense relationship, jockeying for credit on issues like the state’s passage of a same-sex marriage law in 2011.The stakes have never been higher. Besides dealing with the coronavirus recovery, plenty of other key issues will be decided in Albany: raising taxes on the wealthy, schools funding, fixing the subway and desegregating specialized high schools.Democrats who have wrangled with Mr. Cuomo in the past believe that direct confrontation is the best approach. Monica Klein, a political consultant who worked for Mr. de Blasio and has organized protests outside the governor’s office, said Mr. Cuomo only responds to sustained political pressure and bad headlines.“You can’t cede ground to a bully,” she said.Some political consultants contend that Mr. Cuomo might prefer a candidate who has little experience in city government.“Even a weakened Governor Cuomo would run circles around Andrew Yang,” said Eric Phillips, a former press secretary for Mr. de Blasio.Mr. Stringer may have had an edge — at least before he brought up Mr. Cuomo’s resignation. In December, Mr. Stringer joined more than two dozen of Mr. Cuomo’s top allies in Albany, including Bill and Hillary Clinton. No other mayoral candidate was there for the historic moment: to cast the state’s official elector ballots to elect Mr. Biden as president.Scott Stringer, the city comptroller and a former state lawmaker, has found ways to work with the governor.Credit…Benjamin Norman for The New York TimesMr. de Blasio was not invited, even though the mayors of smaller cities like Buffalo and Rochester attended. Mr. de Blasio was left off the list because he ran in the Democratic primary against Mr. Biden, organizers said.The friendly gesture did not stop Mr. Cuomo from attacking Mr. Stringer a short time later.“The comptroller is an incumbent — where have you been?” Mr. Cuomo said to reporters in February, criticizing Mr. Stringer on police reform after huge protests in the city last summer. “What have you done? Where were you when Rome was burning?”Mr. Stringer may also face a difficult tightrope, trying to work with the governor while answering to progressive allies who are at odds with Mr. Cuomo, including State Senators Jessica Ramos and Alessandra Biaggi — both of whom endorsed Mr. Stringer.Mr. Stringer has made clear that he would try to be a stronger voice for the city than Mr. de Blasio.“I’m not going to have my lunch money stolen from Albany,” he said. “You can be sure of that.”Mr. Cuomo likely would have preferred Ruben Diaz Jr., the Bronx borough president, or Christine Quinn, the former City Council speaker, two allies who decided against running for mayor. At a recent news conference, Mr. Cuomo said he had been asked about an endorsement and wanted to know more about candidates’ plans.“You need a real manager with a real vision who can really get things done,” Mr. Cuomo said.Jay Jacobs, an ally of Mr. Cuomo’s and chairman of the New York State Democratic Committee, said he had given no thought to picking a favorite in the mayoral field.Still, he added: “It doesn’t help anybody’s chances to get something from the governor, or anyone for that matter, if they’ve been spending several years banging him over the head — that’s just common sense.”Katie Glueck and Dana Rubinstein contributed reporting.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Want to Be Mayor of New York? Better Know Your Wings and Dumplings

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }N.Y.C. Mayoral RaceWho’s Running?11 Candidates’ N.Y.C. MomentsAn Overview of the Race5 TakeawaysAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyWant to Be Mayor of New York? Better Know Your Wings and DumplingsFood can be a unifying or divisive factor in New York City politics, with people taking sides on pizza slices, deli choices and utensil selection.Andrew Yang has dined around the city, including in Chinatown earlier this month, to highlight restaurants that are struggling during the pandemic.Credit…Chang W. Lee/The New York TimesFeb. 25, 2021, 5:00 a.m. ETAmong all the things that help shape a New York City mayor’s image, it’s not always the most consequential topics that tend to stick — especially on matters that concern food.Just ask Mayor Bill de Blasio.On second thought, maybe don’t ask him: Mr. de Blasio is still remembered for making the mistake of eating a slice at Goodfella’s, a popular pizzeria on Staten Island, with a knife and fork. It was his second week in office.Food can be a strangely unifying or divisive factor in New York City politics, with people taking sides on pizza slices, deli choices and, of course, bagels.That remains true even now, with New York City in crisis, and the mayor’s race perhaps the most important in a generation. Yet with the pandemic forcing much of the campaign inside and online, discussing food — and consuming it at sporadic in-person campaign events — has been a pleasant diversion.Andrew Yang, the former presidential hopeful, keeps a photo diary of his campaign snacks on Twitter: gourmet pickles on the Lower East Side of Manhattan; pizza at Gino’s restaurant in Bay Ridge in Brooklyn; Dominican food in Hunts Point in the Bronx.When Mr. Yang stopped recently for soup dumplings and scallion pancakes in Chinatown, he said that he wanted to highlight restaurants that are struggling during the pandemic.“As much as I enjoyed running for president, the culinary options of New York City are very different than those in Iowa and New Hampshire,” he said. “It’s been delightful for me to think of a type of a food that I want, and it’s available.”Mr. Yang is not the only candidate dining al fresco.After Mr. Yang posted a photo of his lunch with Donovan Richards, the Queens borough president, at Szechuan Mountain House in January, Maya Wiley soon followed with news of having had “slammin’ chicken wings” with Mr. Richards at Queens Bully, a gastro pub.Even before she entered the race, Ms. Wiley, a former MSNBC analyst and ex-counsel to Mr. de Blasio, posted a photo last summer of her Caribbean meal at Code Red in the Bronx with Carl Heastie, the State Assembly speaker — a coveted ally who has not made an endorsement yet.Eating on the campaign trail can be trickier for Eric Adams, the Brooklyn borough president, who is a vegan evangelist and often brings his own food. He grabbed a green goddess smoothie and a quinoa tofu bowl one recent morning before visiting Yankee Stadium in the Bronx to hand out masks.“This will be in the car so I can have healthy options, and I don’t have to nibble on something unhealthy,” he said.Eric Adams, the Brooklyn borough president, is a vegan who published a book last year called “Healthy at Last,” about his plant-based diet.Credit…Chang W. Lee/The New York TimesFor Mr. Adams, his personal transformation from an overweight police officer in the 1990s to a lean vegan who loves yoga and meditation is a key part of his campaign narrative. Mr. Adams published a book last year called “Healthy at Last” about his plant-based diet, with recipes for tempeh stir-fry and jackfruit and okra gumbo.Mr. Adams is serious about his diet after dropping 30 pounds and reversing his diabetes. He has a mental map of the best vegan spots around the city, name-dropping Screamer’s Pizzeria in Williamsburg in Brooklyn, and boasts of his homemade creations like pizza with a cauliflower crust.When Michael R. Bloomberg was mayor, he famously cracked down on trans fats, sugary drinks and salt to try to force New Yorkers to get healthy. But his personal diet was filled with indulgences: He sprinkled salt on bagels and pizza, and enjoyed burned bacon and peanut butter sandwiches, Cheez-Its and Big Macs.Mr. Adams also wants to make public health a focus of his administration if elected, but would undoubtedly be a better model in his personal habits than Mr. Bloomberg.In his book, Mr. Adams describes waking up with vision problems in March 2016 and learning he had diabetes. After years of eating fast food like McDonald’s and KFC, Mr. Adams decided to change his lifestyle, along with his partner, Tracey Collins, a former school principal.The book has plenty of practical advice: “Don’t Brag (When You Start Looking Oh So Good)” and discusses health disparities in the Black community.Now when Mr. Adams eats with community leaders, he first scans the menu for appetizers and side dishes and orders something simple like broccoli or hummus. If he is offered something homemade, he tries to be polite.“I’m a master at moving food around on the plate,” he said with a laugh.Mr. Adams isn’t even the only candidate with a cookbook: Scott M. Stringer, the city comptroller, published one on healthy eating in East Harlem in 2008. But Mr. Stringer is no expert home chef. His contribution to the book was a list of ten tips for ordering takeout, including, “That’s dressing on the side, please.”Mr. Stringer said he learned some kitchen basics after marrying his wife, Elyse Buxbaum, in 2010.“Pre-Elyse, I was a connoisseur of West Side takeout,” he said. “Now I’m proud to say that I’m getting better at cooking. I can make pasta and throw tomato sauce on it.”Asked about his best meal on the campaign trail, Mr. Stringer sounded crestfallen that he remains mostly stuck inside his bedroom closet on video chats.“Takeout sushi in the midst of Zooming,” he said.The silver lining, perhaps, is avoiding the pitfalls awaiting candidates when they make public food choices.For instance, a recent stop for a dan tat, a Chinese egg tart, got Mr. Yang into trouble with his wife, Evelyn.“It was warm and delicious,” he said. “The only problem was that I didn’t bring one home for Evelyn. She saw it on my Twitter feed.”As for Mr. de Blasio, wisdom has not necessarily come with experience. Six years after the pizza fiasco, the mayor suggested that his favorite New York City bagel came toasted — prompting many bagel aficionados to recoil in horror. To make matters worse, Mr. de Blasio’s bagel purveyor of choice did not even have a toaster.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      5 Takeaways From the NYC Mayor’s Race: Bagel Orders and Vaccine Appointments

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }N.Y.C. Mayoral RaceWho’s Running?11 Candidates’ N.Y.C. MomentsAn Overview of the Race5 TakeawaysAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyBagel Orders and Vaccine Appointments: 5 Takeaways From the Mayor’s RaceA former City Council speaker decides not to run, and a current city comptroller becomes the first leading candidate to get the coronavirus vaccine.A campaign event at City Hall Park for Scott Stringer, who recently received the coronavirus vaccine.Credit…Benjamin Norman for The New York TimesDana Rubinstein, Emma G. Fitzsimmons, Katie Glueck and Feb. 22, 2021Updated 10:06 a.m. ETThe horde of politicians running for mayor of New York City appears to have finally hit a saturation point.More than 30 people are still in the field, making it difficult for a clear front-runner to emerge — and near impossible for a second- or third-tier candidate to break through. With four months before the June 22 primary, one long-rumored candidate has decided not to join the scrum. But not to worry: There are still plenty of opinions to go around on everything from police funding to bagels. After deliberating for months, Christine C. Quinn, a former City Council speaker, has decided not to run for mayor.Credit…Karsten Moran for The New York TimesChristine Quinn will not enter the raceChristine C. Quinn, a former City Council speaker who had been a favorite in the 2013 Democratic mayoral primary, is doing the nearly unthinkable: She is resisting the urge to run for mayor — or any elective office this year.“I’ve been thinking about it a while and it wasn’t an easy decision,” said Ms. Quinn, whose bid in 2013 was partially derailed by an anti-horse carriage super PAC, paving the way for Bill de Blasio to capture the Democratic primary and the mayoralty.Since then, Ms. Quinn has run a homeless services organization for families with children. Had she run for mayor, she would have made the issue central to her campaign.“Jesus in the Bible said the poor will always be amongst us, but this crisis we’re in now — more homeless children in shelter than there are seats in Madison Square Garden — that’s solvable,” she said. “It’s just no one has demonstrated the political will.”Ms. Quinn’s deliberations lasted months — she had been interviewing potential staff and commissioned a poll, according to a friend who was not authorized to speak publicly. But in the end, she recognized that a homelessness-centered platform would be unlikely to carry the day in a city consumed by the pandemic, the friend said.Even so, Ms. Quinn does not plan to fade into the background.“I really believe that I can effect more change by staying on the outside and being a thorn in the side of everyone who is running,” she said.Mr. Stringer, 60, center, lost his mother to the coronavirus in April and wanted to get the vaccine as soon as possible.Credit…Benjamin Norman for The New York TimesHave you gotten the vaccine? Scott Stringer has.With limited doses of the vaccine available, some elected officials have made it a point to take the vaccine in a public way to show it is safe. Others want to wait to show the system is fair.Mr. de Blasio, 59, decided not to take the vaccine yet. His wife, Chirlane McCray, 66, got it this month because she meets the state’s age requirements for people 65 and older.Scott M. Stringer, 60, lost his mother to the coronavirus in April and wanted to get the vaccine as soon as possible. On Friday, Mr. Stringer, the city comptroller, became the first leading mayoral candidate to receive the vaccine, getting it at the Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens.Mr. Stringer, 60, has hypertension, or high blood pressure — one of the conditions that make New Yorkers eligible for the vaccine under new rules.“I always said I would get the vaccine when I was qualified,” he said in an interview. “It was not a tough decision for me.”Many New Yorkers have struggled to get a vaccine appointment. Mr. Stringer used the state’s website and did “a lot of refreshing with a friend” early one morning.Several candidates said they had not received the vaccine and were waiting until more New Yorkers had the shot. Eric Adams, the Brooklyn borough president, said he was checking with his doctor to see if he qualifies under new guidelines. Tread carefully when picking a favorite bagelUnder normal circumstances, the path to New York political power is paved with dining pitfalls. There is the scrutiny of how officials consume a slice of pizza, the pressure to eat — and eat and eat — across the city’s diverse neighborhoods.And then there is a divisive category all its own: bagel preferences.After The Forward published a survey revealing the choices of eight of the candidates (four preferred everything bagels with lox), a TikTok video from the account brooklynbagelblog ranked the candidates.“The candidate with the best order goes to Kathryn Garcia,” the narrator declared, favoring her choice of an open-faced everything bagel with cream cheese, a slice of tomato, capers, lox and onion. “You can see that she has a vision for this bagel and I assume that means she has a vision for the city.”Bagel preferences arose again on Thursday at a mayoral forum hosted by the New York Jewish Agenda, when candidates were asked about their order at a New York Jewish deli, an institution where rye bread, not a bagel, is often the starch of choice.Still, Raymond J. McGuire, Dianne Morales, Andrew Yang and Loree Sutton opted to share their bagel preferences. Mr. Stringer, who is Jewish and who has a political power base on the West Side — home to several legendary appetizing stores — said he would opt for matzo ball soup and pastrami on rye.“You don’t order a bagel at Katz’s!” Mr. Stringer later tweeted.(On the second panel, Ms. Garcia, Shaun Donovan and the now-vegan Mr. Adams referenced pastrami; Carlos Menchaca mentioned a bagel before saying he sampled pastrami sparingly.)Mayor Bill de Blasio hasn’t decided whether to offer an endorsement, saying that it was too early in the campaign.Credit…Jose A. Alvarado Jr. for The New York TimesBill de Blasio ponders his successorMost of the leading candidates have said they don’t want Mr. de Blasio’s endorsement, but that hasn’t stopped him from weighing in on the qualities he’d like to see in his successor.At a meeting at Gracie Mansion with union leaders that was reported by Politico New York, the mayor expressed a fondness for the life story of Mr. Adams and questioned the lead that Mr. Yang, the former presidential candidate, has registered in initial polls.At a news conference last week, Mr. de Blasio confirmed the meeting, explaining that the participants were not talking about “one candidate or another,” but “the working people of New York City and the future of New York City.”“We know what it’s like when the elites get it their way and working people are an afterthought,” the mayor said. “So, the meeting was really about where are we going.”The mayor hasn’t decided whether to offer an endorsement, adding that it was too early for prognostication.“If you go back to the equivalent time in 2013, I was in either fourth or fifth place before the primary,” Mr. de Blasio said of his surprise victory.The response from the candidates varied. Mr. Adams “appreciates that the mayor recognizes his powerful life’s journey,” said Evan Thies, a spokesman.The campaigns of Mr. Yang and Mr. McGuire responded to Mr. de Blasio’s comments with what seemed like sharp jabs.“Andrew Yang is focused on tangible ways to help New York City bring back jobs, reduce the outbreak in shootings, and recover from the most difficult period in its history,” said Chris Coffey, a spokesman for Mr. Yang. Mr. McGuire said the mayor’s comments were “divisive, old-school political posturing that’s making our city’s comeback harder than it should be.”“Can’t we just, for once, bring people together to solve problems, instead of seeking out ways to divide us all into narrow buckets of power?” Mr. McGuire said. “I do not see why we somehow are prioritizing secular over faith-based learning,” Andrew Yang recently said.Credit…Chang W. Lee/The New York TimesYang on yeshivasIn 2019, the de Blasio administration released a report — delayed for years for politically motivated reasons, according to city investigators — that found that the vast majority of yeshivas visited by city officials were not meeting state standards on secular education.The report gave momentum to critics of yeshiva education, many of them Jews, who argue that the lack of quality education in subjects like English deprives students of the ability to thrive in the job market after graduation, and have asked city and state education officials to intercede.Some mayoral candidates have said they would take steps to ensure every New York City child received a sound secular education, in accordance with state law.Mr. Yang, however, said he is waiting for more data.“I do not think we should be prescribing a curriculum, unless the curriculum can be demonstrated to have improved impact on people’s career trajectories and prospects afterward,” Mr. Yang said at the mayoral forum on Thursday hosted by the New York Jewish Agenda.Then he pivoted to a discussion about his own experience in high school, during which he spent a month reading the Bible as literature.“If it was good enough for my public school, I do not see why we somehow are prioritizing secular over faith-based learning,” Mr. Yang said.His response startled many education leaders in New York, including Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, who moderated the forum. She is Jewish and married to a rabbi.“Andrew Yang is better than this,” Ms. Weingarten said in an interview.“Regardless of who the child is,” she added, “they have a right to dream their dreams and achieve them and that means they have to have in New York State a sound basic education.”Naftuli Moster, the executive director of Yaffed, which advocates for stricter enforcement of state education standards, was sharper in his criticism.“I don’t know if he understands the magnitude of educational neglect happening in the city he hopes to represent and he’s still choosing to pander to Haredi leaders, or he simply hasn’t done his homework,” he said.In a subsequent email, Mr. Yang’s spokesman said the candidate was familiar with the 2019 city report finding inadequate secular education in dozens of yeshivas and would “work constructively with the community to improve outcomes in those schools.”But, the spokesman said, Mr. Yang is awaiting “fresh data regarding the roughly 90 percent of yeshivas that were left out” of the report.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Fran Lebowitz Isn’t Buying What Jack Dorsey Is Selling

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }N.Y.C. Mayoral RaceWho’s Running?11 Candidates’ N.Y.C. MomentsA Look at the Race5 Takeaways From the DebateAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySwayFran Lebowitz Isn’t Buying What Jack Dorsey Is SellingThe 70-year old social commentator and humorist doesn’t have a smartphone. That doesn’t stop her from having a take on big tech (and everything else).More episodes ofSwayFebruary 11, 2021Fran Lebowitz Isn’t Buying What Jack Dorsey Is SellingFebruary 9, 2021Bonus: Kara and Nicole Perlroth Debrief on Brad SmithFebruary 8, 2021  •  More

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      Mayoral Candidates Share New York Moments

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }N.Y.C. Mayoral RaceWho’s Running?11 Candidates’ N.Y.C. MomentsA Look at the Race5 Takeaways From the DebateAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyNew York TodayMayoral Candidates Share New York MomentsFeb. 5, 2021, 5:15 a.m. ET [Want to get New York Today by email? Here’s the sign-up.]It’s Friday. [embedded content]Weather: Mix of rain and snow in the morning; cloudy later, with a high in the low 40s. Saturday: Sunny, high around 40. Sunday: Occasional snow, high in the mid-30s.Alternate-side parking: Suspended today and tomorrow for snow removal. What’s the best way to show that you’re a New Yorker? Perhaps it’s your bagel order. Or your accent. Or your determination to avoid to Times Square.The more than 30 candidates who have thrown their hat in the ring to become the city’s next mayor will inevitably face questions about their New Yorkiness.“The candidates are starting to go after each other a bit more and distinguish themselves over policy proposals and personal narratives,” said my colleague Emma Fitzsimmons, the City Hall bureau chief.[The race to become New York City’s next mayor may be one of the most consequential political contests in a generation. Here are some of the leading candidates.]“I think there are five front-runners among Democrats at this point: Eric Adams, Ray McGuire, Scott Stringer, Maya Wiley and Andrew Yang,” Ms. Fitzsimmons said, naming them in alphabetical order.My colleague Corey Kilgannon recently talked with these front-runners and several other candidates about their New York pedigrees, specifically asking them about their favorite city moments. Here are a few of their responses, accompanied by illustrations from our Metropolitan Diary artist, Agnes Lee.You can also read all 11 responses here.Kathryn Garcia, former sanitation commissionerMs. Garcia was 14 when she and her friends decided to dress up and take the subway from Brooklyn into Manhattan to try getting into Studio 54.“Going into Manhattan was considered cool, and I loved to dance,” she said. She wore “candy red high heels” and stood outside the club, which, in 1984, was past its heyday but still highly selective.Shaun Donovan, former federal housing secretary“When you’re hugging people you never met before, you know something great has happened,” said Mr. Donovan, remembering how he cheered from a grandstand seat at Yankee Stadium the day Reggie Jackson hit three home runs to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1977 World Series.Carlos Menchaca, city councilman from BrooklynThree years after moving to New York from Texas, Mr. Menchaca was riding the F train to his Brooklyn apartment after having some beers with friends. He fell asleep and missed his stop. A subway worker woke him at the end of the line in Coney Island.Taking the train back, he fell asleep and missed his stop again. He got home at dawn.From The TimesLev Parnas, Giuliani Associate, Faces New Fraud AccusationsDid the Proud Boys Help Coordinate the Capitol Riot? Yes, U.S. Suggests3 Male Guards Charged in Attacks at Notorious Women’s PrisonThe Misogynistic ‘Dating Coach’ Who Was Charged in the Capitol RiotRoss Graham Dies at 93; Tenacious Fighter for New York CityWant more news? Check out our full coverage.The Mini Crossword: Here is today’s puzzle.What we’re readingNew York restaurant industry leaders want Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to lift the 10 p.m. dining curfew before Super Bowl weekend. [New York Post]An anonymous note sent to some Long Island residents said, “Take your Christmas lights down! Its Valentines Day!!!!!!” — but one recipient had been busy with funeral arrangements. [NBC New York]What happened to Ample Hills Creamery, Brooklyn’s beloved ice cream company? [Marker]And finally: Your virtual social weekend The Times’s Melissa Guerrero writes:Although many performance spaces, museums and community centers are closed, people are finding creative ways to connect through virtual events and programs. Here are suggestions for maintaining a New York social life this weekend while keeping a safe distance from other people.John Lewis: A Pioneer for JusticeOn Friday at 7 p.m., listen to the actor Alton Fitzgerald White recite one of John Lewis’s speeches as part of Flushing Town Hall’s Black History Trilogy series. A discussion and Q. and A. will follow.R.S.V.P. for the free livestream on the event page.Corky Lee memorialJoin the La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club on Friday at 7 p.m. to honor the life of the celebrated photographer Corky Lee.Register for the free livestream on the event page.‘Brown Baby’ book talkOn Saturday at noon, the authors Mira Jacob and Nikesh Shukla will discuss Mr. Shukla’s new memoir “Brown Baby: A Memoir of Race, Family and Home.”R.S.V.P. for the free event on Zoom or watch the livestream on YouTube.It’s Friday — embrace it.Metropolitan Diary: Sketching Dear Diary:I was prone to forgetting at least one important thing — wallet, phone, keys — when I went out, but I always remembered to bring along a notebook and pen.On days when my headphones were what I had left behind, I shortened my long commute to my job as a nanny on the Upper West Side by sneakily sketching my fellow train passengers.Those who were asleep were ideal subjects; those who were awake would inevitably ruin the pose as soon as they become aware of what I was doing.Once, a few years ago, I was on the D train a when I noticed a young man who was sketching an older woman across from him as she snored.Having a clear view of his profile, I took out my supplies and started to draw the artist as he drew. I felt strangely guilty, as if I were violating his invisibility as a fellow train sketcher. Still, I couldn’t resist.With the train pulling into 34th Street, I scrambled to finish sketching his hair while he gathered his things before getting off. As he stepped out onto the platform, I tapped his shoulder and handed him the sketch.There was just enough time to watch him process what he was looking at: the frown from being touched by a stranger to the embarrassed laugh as he saw his face on the page.Then the doors closed, and we pulled away.— Lila EliasNew York Today is published weekdays around 6 a.m. Sign up here to get it by email. You can also find it at nytoday.com.What would you like to see more (or less) of? Email us: nytoday@nytimes.com.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More