Gothamist 2013 Mayoral Questionnaire

Candidate Overview 1 Young New Yorkers have the most at stake when it comes to the future of our city. More and more young people are finding it harder to find a job, or an affordable apartment in the neighborhood they grew up in. I am the only candidate in this race with a real record of delivering results for New Yorkers, and the only candidate with a concrete plan to keep New York City a place for middle class families and one that enables as many New Yorkers as possible to join the middle class. Ive focused on jobs, helping create 3,000 new jobs at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and passing legislation providing a living wage to more workers in the five boroughs. As mayor Ill take a neighborhood focused approach to economic development, bringing cleantech jobs to the South Bronx, manufacturing jobs to Sunset Park, and exporting jobs to Staten Island. I focused on education, saving 4,100 teachers from layoff and helping increase full day preKindergarten by nearly 10,000 seats. As mayor Ill make our schools even better by creating a mentor teacher program, empowering parents to play a stronger role in their childrens education, extending learning time for students, moving away from teaching to the test, and creating the strongest targeted literacy program in the nation. And I focused on housing, building thousands of affordable apartments, and passing the Safe Housing Law, which has already led to floor to ceiling renovations in more than 5,000 units in the citys worst buildings. In the next 10 years Ill bring 40,000 new units of affordable middle income housing to the city and more importantly, well make that housing permanently affordable. I am proud as speaker to have consistently delivered for New Yorkers, sometimes working with Mayor Bloomberg and other times disagreeing with him. New Yorkers care about results, and evaluate mayors based on whether they delivered those results. As Speaker, I have passed seven on-time, balanced budgets that protected critical social services, firehouses and libraries. I stopped teachers from being laid-off and fought against overcrowding and for greater parental involvement in our schools. I created thousands of new jobs, cracked down on bad landlords and built thousands of new units of affordable housing. I helped keep our neighborhoods safe by putting more cops on the street, funding bulletproof vests for every officer, and working to improve police-community relations. As Mayor I would continue to work every day to produce real results for New Yorkers.

Personal Questions 1 2 3 4 Safety 1 The NYPDs ability to keep our city safe depends in part on police having a relationship with the citizens they protect. The overuse of Stop and Frisk has jeopardized that relationship in many communities of color, but I believe with some reforms we can strengthen the practice and I own my home, and I believe it is premature to discuss Gracie Mansion. As they say, it is bad luck to measure for drapes. I have 2 rescue dogs, Justin and Sadie. I do not have children. One of my first apartments was broken into.

2 3

strengthen police community relations in a way that makes everyone safer. Through my advocacy on this issue weve already seen some progress. I worked with Police Commissioner Ray Kelly to reach an agreement giving the CCRB power to prosecute its own cases. At my request, the NYPD has taken steps to improve training, monitoring, and protocols around SQF, and create an early warning system to identify officers who receive public complaints. Since then weve seen the number of stops go down, but we clearly still have more work to do. Thats why I recently announced legislation creating an Inspector General that will increase accountability and oversight of police practices without impacting the NYPDs ability to keep us safe. In fact, after Los Angeles instituted an IG, crime actually fell by 33%, and public satisfaction with the LAPD rose to 83%. That said, I will not support legislation providing a cause of action on racial profiling in state courts. I believe this presents a real risk that police policy decisions could be taken away from the Mayor and Commissioner and that real legal solutions already exist through CCRB and the federal courts. I support the legalization of medical marijuana and Governor Cuomos efforts to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana. I recently announced legislation that will create an Inspector General for the NYPD, which will increase accountability and oversight of police practices without taking a step backwards in our fight against crime. In fact, after Los Angeles instituted an Inspector General, crime actually fell by 33%, and public satisfaction with the LAPD rose to 83%. While some have responded by proposing that the City ban the use of stop, question, and frisk, I believe this is a better solution. Our police officers do tremendous work every day, keeping our city safe from both traditional street crimes and the threat of terrorist attacks. But over the last few years we've seen current levels of stop, question and frisk lead to growing distrust of the NYPD in many communities of color. This is more than just an issue of civil rights - it undermines the NYPD's ability to get critical information on criminal activity from community members, and ultimately threatens the safety of both police officers and residents. I am proud to have the support of the New York Times on this issue and so many New Yorkers. In the coming weeks, the City Council will vote to pass the Inspector General Bill, and help make the safest city in America even safer. I believe that the NYPD has to carefully balance protesters' right to free speech with safety and security concerns. I have a long history of public protest from my years as a housing advocate to my efforts to convince organizers to allow LGBT New Yorkers to march openly in the St. Patricks Day parade and have been arrested several times in acts of civil disobedience. As Mayor I would ensure that the NYPD does everything in its power to protect the rights of protesters while protecting the city at large. I am pleased that due to the Council's work on this issue, the NYPD has has recently agreed to significant changes in this area. Under their new protocols, the AIS will now investigate all accidents that include a serious injury. Additionally, the squad has increased the staffing for the unit, which will now be called the Collision Investigation Unit. This change will help ensure that prosecutors have the information they need to determine if any criminality exists, and will help provide the city with data to inform changes where necessary to make our street safer. I support the current open container laws that prohibit drinking alcohol on residents' stoops or in public parks.

Transportation, Bikes, And Bike Lanes 1 I occasionally go for a bike ride with my wife, Kim, at the Jersey Shore, and go to SoulCycle for exercise several times a week.

3 4 5

I support bike lanes, but too often the Department of Transportation has implemented them without the consultation of communities and community boards. Thats why I passed legislation requiring the Department of Transportation to consult with community boards before any future bike lanes are installed. I believe that we can find a way to balance the needs of bike riders with the concerns of pedestrians and community members going forward. I ride the subway occasionally - often to Yankee Stadium. I support expanded and increased taxi service in all five boroughs. In 2008, I supported a congestion-pricing proposal, which passed in the City Council but ultimately was not enacted in Albany. I dont anticipate this issue returning at the state level but my position on congestion pricing has not changed. Decks are an important feature of our Staten Island Ferries, enjoyed by residents and tourists alike, and I am pleased that they will continue to be a feature in the new ferries being acquired by the Department of Transportation, as they have been historically. As we were reminded by recent tragedies, the safety of transit riders must remain a top priority for the MTA and the City. I agree with the MTAs decision to pilot platform doors on the L line. I look forward to working with them to evaluate the success of this project, and to continue to pursue other ideas to ensure the safety of all New Yorkers using mass transit.

Health 1 I believe Mayor Bloomberg deserves credit for making the Department of Health a champion of innovative public health initiatives. On some of his initiatives, such as the smoking ban and calorie labeling, I have not only agreed with him but have championed the groundbreaking legislation in the City Council. On others like restaurant grading, I have had serious concerns and the Council is considering legislation that would make necessary improvements. As Mayor, I will direct my Health Department to evaluate the effectiveness of many of these initiatives and determine if they should be expanded or amended. Im also proud to introduce legislation to raise the smoking age in New York City to 21, which will be another great tool in our effort to help young people avoid becoming addicted to cigarettes.

Disaster 1 The redevelopment of New York Citys waterfront communities post-Sandy will be the biggest infrastructure project of our time. While this will undoubtedly be a citywide effort, we must work with each individual community to meet their needs and desires with respect to rebuilding. In the weeks and months following the storm, I met with New Yorkers in affected neighborhoods and heard from them first hand. Some communities like those in Staten Island are eager to sell, and some, like Breezy Point, are looking to rebuild. We should work to meet the specific desires of distinct communities and individuals wherever possible, while making sure we rebuild stronger and smarter. I was among the first elected officials in the nation to outline a plan to rebuild after Sandy and protect against future climate change. My plan includes improvements to our gasoline distribution network, and our power, transit, and sewer systems. At my request, the NYC Building Resiliency Task Force has convened emergency sessions to look at possible changes to our building code. And Im working with Mayor Bloomberg and Senator Schumer to conduct studies that will determine what defenses, such as storm surge barriers, the City should construct. Make no mistake we will rebuild and rebuild stronger.

Development 1 When it comes to chain stores, it is critical to find a balance between preserving the character of our neighborhoods, and creating new job opportunities for New Yorkers. Community input is crucial, and in some neighborhoods weve already found creative new development tools. On the Upper West Side, we were able to limit the size of storefronts and banks on parts of Broadway, Columbus, and Amsterdam. As Mayor I would continue to take this kind of community-based approach to development in neighborhoods around the city. No. Ive long expressed my concerns about Walmarts predatory business practices, lack of employee benefits, and low wages. As a result, I have been a vocal opponent of allowing WalMart to open a store in New York City. No, I dont believe we should be using the limited publically owned land our city has left to create market rate housing. I would instead work with NYCHA residents and make sure they had a real voice in decisions about this property, and ultimately look for opportunities to build new permanently affordable housing. Tax subsidies can be an important tool to drive economic growth. That said, we need to make sure that private entities receiving city benefits are living up to their end of the deal, whether that means creating and maintaining jobs, providing affordable housing, or other public benefits. I have called for regular reviews of existing tax incentives, so that if companies are not meeting the terms of the agreement we can respond aggressively and appropriately. While "public-private" models can be important tools used in the creation of new parks, I believe they need to be considered on a case by case basis and with the full input of the local community. I am proud to have passed legislation requiring the City to create comprehensive waterfront strategies that look at all of the competing needs on the waterfront. As mayor, I will work to find a balance between residential, commercial, industrial, and recreational uses. In addition, we need to make sure that whatever we build must be protected from future natural disasters and climate change, which is why I convened a building resiliency task force that will identify potential building code changes this summer.

5 6

Education 1 We need to speed up hearings and disciplinary decisions for teachers who have been assigned to "rubber rooms." The Department of Education and the United Federation of Teachers agreed in 2010 that disciplinary decisions should take no more than 30 days after a hearing has ended, but that still isnt happening in every case. Having teachers sitting for months in reassignment centers isnt good for them and isnt good for taxpayers. 2 Yes. I supported the DOEs recent efforts making the morning-after-pill available to high school girls at 13 public schools. 3 I support charter schools. To have charter schools in New York City, you have to have colocations. That said, you know a system isn't working properly when both the proponents and the opponents say it's not working. We need to improve the way we do co-locations - both charter in district, and district in district - by including community and parent input into the process. We also need to finally make good on the promise that charter schools would be laboratories for innovations that could be implemented citywide. This is just one of the reasons Ive proposed a system-wide success study that would identify best practices among all our best schools so we can apply those techniques to other schools that serve similar populations.

Miscellaneous 1 I have long opposed term-limits for elected officials in New York City. 2 Services like AirBnB can provide residents the ability to earn some additional income and allow tourists to find lower-cost accommodations. However, unscrupulous landlords can use them to turn their buildings into illegal hotels that put safety at risk and reduce the availability of housing for New Yorkers. I continue to work with all stakeholders towards finding a solution that might allow for safe uses of this service, without violating zoning laws or creating hazardous conditions for both residents and tourists.