Ray McGuire

Kathryn Garcia

Scott Stringer

Eric Adams

Level
Mayor

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2020 LID Questionnaire Response

Why are you running for Mayor?

I’ve lived in New York all my life. My single mom struggled to make ends meet for my five siblings and me. We didn’t always know if we would come home to an eviction notice or food on the table. And that is why I’ve spent my entire adult life in public service. Because I lived the life of the people I want to help. I remember what it was like to live with crime. To be hungry. To be on the edge of homelessness. To be forgotten by the city you love.

That’s why I put on a bulletproof vest as a police officer and walked the streets. That’s why I fought racism in the department. That’s why I stood up for human rights in Albany. And that’s why I have spent my Borough Presidency making government work better for the people who need it the most.

And during my 35 years in public service, I have seen what works and what doesn’t in New York. And the problems we face existed far before COVID hit. Because inefficiency leads to inequality. Mismanagement creates crises. We can’t continue to run this city the way we have been.

Please cite your top three-five priorities should you be elected Mayor and why you believe they are priorities.

Racial justice means ridding our society and systems of the biases that currently exist against people of color and especially Black people. I believe that the inefficiencies that exist in our city government lead to many of the racial inequalities and racial injustices experienced in New York City now. I believe that in order to do that, we must focus on the following core ideas:

Public Health: Get to the root systemic issues behind many health issues.

Poverty, homelessness, unemployment and food insecurity all directly lead to poor health—yet hospitals are largely not equipped to address those issues. By utilizing the extra capacity in H+H hospitals to co-locate social services, we will address both the social and physical causes of illness, leading to much better outcomes and cost savings.

Every $1 invested in housing and support is estimated to reduce public and hospital costs by $2 the following year and $6 in subsequent years. That is why we will identify if there are housing issues for each indigent patient and offer direct housing help at hospitals through community-based organizations.

Housing: Build affordable housing in areas with great infrastructure and ensure broadband access across the city.

For years, our rezonings focused on adding apartments in lower-income areas—which often just led to higher-income people moving in, making communities less affordable, and often forcing

out longtime residents. Instead, we will build in wealthier areas with a high quality of life, allowing lower- and middle-income New Yorkers to move in by adding affordable housing and eliminating the community preference rule in those areas, which prevents many New Yorkers from living in desirable neighborhoods.

New York is shamefully behind in guaranteeing broadband service—and now students forced to learn from home are receiving sub-par or no education. We will finally close the broadband gap by using rezoning powers to require affordable Mandatory Inclusionary Internet, creating incentives for 5G providers to offer affordable access, and forcing cable providers to expand affordable internet offerings to every single low-income New Yorker using requirements for their City contracts that are already in place.

The Economy: get New Yorkers back to work, increase access to capital and banking services for minorities and low income communities, and support MWBE.

New York City has 350,000 households that are unbanked and another 680,000 households that are underbanked, meaning they must rely on services such as check cashing or payday loans. Without access to proper banking we are sidelining thousands of people from our economy and we are allowing industries such as payday lending to flourish that profit off of poverty. Community-based banks in lower-income areas that remove minimum balance requirements and overdraft fees will be granted property tax relief, or their landlords will, in exchange for sharing that relief as a rent break.

Right now, the City does not do nearly enough to ensure that its M/WBE program is effectively leveling the playing field for business owners of color, who are now in a much more dire situation during COVID. For instance, M/WBE companies are often unable to participate in the City contracting process because prime contractors are not aware of how to connect with them. To fix this, we will match M/WBE companies with prime contractors and other agencies. We can do that by developing a Preferred M/WBE questionnaire to determine which companies are qualified to participate in bids and log the survey data in a searchable database.

Education: make sure children are educated in state of the art buildings, train our teachers to teach diverse classrooms, and get students the help they need with learning disabilities.

There are both tangible and psychological problems created for students by a poor physical educational environment—and student outcomes are clearly linked. That is why we will prioritize Department of Education schools capital dollars to go toward the construction of state-of-the-art buildings in particularly low-performing communities. Additionally, less than 20% of our schools are fully accessible to children with physical disabilities. All new construction would be fully accessible.

Studies show that up to 30-40% of inmates in prisons are dyslexic, indicating that students whose learning challenges are not discovered are also not addressed, leading to avoidable negative outcomes. By making dyslexia screening universal in City schools, we will identify these challenges early and better ensure success for students.

If elected, what (if anything) would you do differently versus your predecessor (or previous Mayors) and why?

One area where I would have diverged significantly from previous Mayor’s is in our pandemic relief. My approach to the COVID-19 crisis has been that of a first responder. My office has distributed a half a million pieces of PPE and tens of thousands of meals to families across New York City. And through it all, we prioritized those most vulnerable, a major fault of the current Administration’s response.

My response would and will:

Significantly Increase COVID-19 Testing, Education, and Treatment

The City is relying far too much on private health companies and hospitals to conduct COVID-19 testing and vaccinations. And we have failed to adequately address the lack of information and spread of misinformation in hard-hit lower-income communities—especially those that do not speak English—through credible messengers who can help prevent the spread through education and resources. Now we must also get those same communities vaccinated as quickly as possible. To do that, let’s engage an army of messengers using the infrastructure of the recent census outreach program, working with local organizations. And let’s put COVID-tasked health workers directly on the ground in dedicated spaces in lower-income areas, including storefronts and pharmacies for an expanded footprint.

Bring Health Care Resources Directly Into Low-Income Areas

Two major reasons that the pandemic hit lower-income communities the hardest are
lack of access to healthcare and a near total failure by government to effectively reach those communities on the ground. During the pandemic and after, health profession-
als should be paired with local organizations and workers to go into those same com- munities and set up in NYCHA complexes and open storefronts, partnering with public and private providers, creating a one-stop shop for basic exams, preventive care, and resources to live a healthier life. These locations would be accessible to any New Yorker, including those who are uninsured or undocumented

Manage our Food Resources to Fight Hunger

There is an overall lack of information of available food resources throughout the five boroughs. Poor communication and information sharing negatively impacts efforts to connect food insecure individuals with SNAP benefits, food pantries, soup kitchens and other food resources; and this is evident now more than ever in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. I would form an integrated and community-engaged structure to coordinate food policy in NYC. A critical component of this structure will be to create and maintain easily accessible databases that New Yorkers and public officials can use to monitor and ensure equitable access to nutritious food across all of our communities.

What is your plan to help NYC recover from the economic crisis caused by Covid-19?

The COVID-19 pandemic did not create racial inequities in our city, it only exacerbated them. In my role as borough president, I have prioritized COVID-19 relief to NYCHA and communities of color most impacted by this pandemic.

At the onset of the outbreak of COVID-19, I was ridiculed by the New York Post for prioritizing mask and food delivery to NYCHA residents in Brooklyn. What I understood before others was that the underlying health conditions and inequities found in low-income and communities of color would only make these communities more vulnerable to COVID-19. My approach as Mayor would be to prioritize those that have been most impacted by this crisis, namely our Black and Brown communities. That means enacting policies and recovery plans to address the existing inequities in our society.

DELIVER BETTER HEALTH TO NEW YORKERS To get proper health care and preventative care, including healthy food to all of the people who need it, the City cannot rely on New Yorkers to reach out — the City must go to them. By training and deploying an army of community health workers, which includes volunteers as well as re-assigned City workers, we can significantly increase access to existing health services and address basic health issues without appointments and travel. To do that, we can partner with community and faith-based organizations that are already on the ground in vulnerable communities, working through a shared platform that incorporates New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) and New York City Health + Hospitals resources. Finally, we should open health centers in New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) complexes and partner with storefront medical providers to open offices in lower-income areas to provide basic services in return for tax breaks and other considerations. And we should retroactively allow building owners to convert retail spaces into community facilities space to accommodate them, allowing those landlords to receive property tax breaks on their buildings or density bonuses on new buildings in exchange for the space.

SEED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT To jumpstart our economic recovery, we should invest in green infrastructure projects that will generate quality local jobs and economic stimulus, as evidenced by studies from organizations such as the Trust for Public Land. The City should explore a municipal bond program for projects to create that activity, including wind power, grid efficiency, retrofitting solid waste processing to handle organics, transit infrastructure, and traffic controls to reduce idling. The long-term resiliency cost savings will be an added and substantial dividend.

OPEN JOB TRAINING AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE CENTERS IN STOREFRONTS The COVID-19 crisis has put hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers out of jobs to which they may never return. For those New Yorkers and others who are unemployed, job training and bridge financial assistance will be vital for them to get back on their feet and thrive. To address this need for services, the City should significantly expand access to these programs and reimagine existing efforts such as Workforce 1 Career Centers by partnering with job training and job placement providers, financial services companies, large New York employers, local organizations, and landlords with open storefronts to create all-in-one service centers and outreach programs so that New Yorkers have far-greater access to help than they did before the crisis. We should also offer New Yorkers who participate in the program financial compensation so that they are able to take the time it will require to complete training. This initiative can be paid for largely through foundation aid from non-profit partners. A priority should be placed on high-priority job sectors, such as cybersecurity, nursing, and telehealth, and on digital skills

development that supports an increasingly technology-dependent job market. Further development of this initiative should be done in partnership with workforce development experts such as New York City Employment and Training Coalition (NYCETC) and Per Scholas.

INCENTIVIZE COMPANIES TO HIRE LOCALLY To keep good jobs in New York and advance our goals for a fairer economy, the City should reward businesses that hire local workers — especially on City-financed projects. Specifically, businesses should be asked to commit to hiring 90 percent city-based workers, prioritizing M/WBE contractors, and ensuring their contractors pay a living wage, certain benefits, and report their workers’ residency and ethnicity statistics. Employers who agree to these terms could benefit from tax breaks and special consideration for City contracts.

Describe how you’d effectively address police misconduct and brutality, particularly as it affects communities of color.

I joined the NYPD to change it from the inside after suffering brutality at the hands of police, and spent a good share of my career as an officer speaking out against racism and other systemic issues in the department. I founded 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement and I am proud to have forced some of the worst behavior into the light, including the abusive use of Stop & Frisk, which I fought in the street and in court.

As an elected official, I have continued the fight, and laid out a plan for reform. It includes:

● Allowing communities to choose their own precinct commander from applicants.

● Recruiting officers from high crime neighborhoods.

● Making it easier for the "minor league" cops (parks department, CUNY, etc.), who are much more likely to be people of color, to be promoted to the NYPD in order to diversify the ranks and reduce bias.

● Civilianizing large parts of the police force which are not tasked with fighting crime, including, potentially, the police commissioner.

● Publicly releasing the department's own “monitoring list” of cops with records of complaints and violent incidents.

● Making it easier for cops to anonymously report bad behavior by their colleagues that results in swift action by the department.

Describe your plan to address/reduce the NYPD budget while better ensuring public safety and meeting community needs?

Diverting wasteful spending from the third-largest agency operating budget in our city is essential to combating our deficit, and ensuring that budgetary waste is redirected toward Black and Brown communities is necessary for a real recovery, one where the City goes upstream to proactively tackle the feeders of the criminal justice system. Taking units out of the NYPD and moving them to another facet of City government is not achieving the mission at hand; the mission at its core is defunding reactive policing.

We can do this by increasing civilianization of our police force. Early estimates, based on consultations with policing experts, suggest that approximately $200 million in savings can be

achieved by strategic civilianization of NYPD units where the existing ratio of police officers is simply not necessary. In general, this would entail an 80/20 split of civilians to police officers going forward in these units. Civilian titles are not only less costly to the City, they largely tend to be held by Black and Brown public servants who live within the five boroughs and thereby contribute more directly to the local economy. These savings would be coupled with a uniform headcount loss via attrition in these civilianizing units.

We must also combat overtime. There are two general types of overtime: arrest and programmatic. Transferring more police officers to enforcement-related duties, a concept in line with civilianization efforts, would lead to a reduction in overtime because more personnel would be focused on the same data points. Personnel assigned to Saturday/Sunday regular days off can be reassigned to Friday/Saturday or Sunday/Monday, by default providing more personnel to fill the programmatic overtime.

Finally, I would conduct annual forensic audits of the NYPD. NYPD spending is notoriously opaque, which directly feeds budgetary inefficiency and waste. The Mayor and NYPD Commissioner must commit to forensic audits and transparent reporting by the New York City Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to get to the heart of the waste. Focus should be placed on contracts for equipment expenditures, including firearms and vehicles, as well as technology like data aggregation, facial recognition, and gunshot detection softwares. Without impeding on the primary goal of public safety, the goal must be to determine necessity and possible duplication either within the department or another City agency. Significant cuts can be made in this area that do not impede on uniform headcount, which serves in an active public safety role on our street

What would you do to further LGBTQ+ rights, equity, and justice if elected Mayor?

I have long been a champion of the LGBTQIA+ community. I was a key vote to make same-sex marriage legal in the State of New York and was one of the earliest supporters of GENDA legislation that would help fight discrimination against transgender New Yorkers.

As Borough President, I have continued my support for the LGBTQIA+ community by funding the future build out of the Brooklyn Pride Center at the Bedford Union Armory as well as the recently completed Stonewall House LGBTQIA+ senior housing infill development at Ingersoll Houses in partnership with SAGE. In addition, I appointed the first ever openly transgender individual as a community board member in Brooklyn.

Also, in concert with my late colleague and friend Lew Fidler, I prioritized support for Runaway Homeless Youth (RHY) by leading the charge to extend the age of designation from 21 to 25. RHY are largely LGBTQIA individuals and are some of the most vulnerable among our homeless populations.

As mayor, I will build on these successes and will seek insight from LGBTQIA+ advocates to guide the discussion on what must be at the forefront of the advocacy agenda, whether that be advancing LGBTQIA+ competent health care policies at H+H, improving access to safe and

healthy housing by prioritizing runaway homeless youth in housing and Fair Futures programmatic work and funding, or ensuring that an LGBTQIA+ lens is integrated into all policy making in my administration.

I will not presume to speak to what the LGBTQIA+ community needs, but I will be a steady ally and partner to see the needs are met.

Do you commit to retaining the New York City Unity Project, the City’s first Mayoral-level effort to coordinate LGBTQ+ policy efforts across city agencies, and if so, what actions would you take to build upon or revise the project?

Yes. Throughout my tenure as borough president, LGBTQIA+ advocates routinely reminded my office that LGBTQIA+ needs are not separate and apart from other New Yorkers, but rather an LGBTQIA+ lens is needed to be weaved through all policy making. The Unity Project is so important in advancing this idea and I will work to see its influence expanded to other areas beyond the current pillars of education, public wellness, housing, and employment to name a few.

In particular, I will prioritize public safety improvements in the Unity Project. Thankfully, the “Walking While Trans” ban has been enacted, but so much more needs to be done to improve public safety for the LGBTQIA+ community. It is well known that LGBTQIA+ members are too often victims of over-policing and we must make the NYPD more sensitive to the unique issues facing the community, whether that be misgendering transgender and non-binary people or simply using demeaning language.

In addition, we must do more to prioritize resources for RHY who are disproportionately LGBTQIA+ and protect the community from a spike in hate crimes that we have seen in recent years. We must be forceful in responding to all instances of hate crimes against the LGBTQIA+ community and the Unity Project must drive that conversation to set the agenda. We must also do more to support our LGBTQIA+ seniors through intergenerational programming.

I would also seek to do more to connect the most vulnerable members of the LGBTQIA+ community, namely Black and Brown LGBTQIA+ members, to resources to which they are entitled.

What would you do differently than your predecessor(s) to address New York City’s affordable housing crisis?

My siblings and I grew up housing insecure to the point where I often brought a plastic bag of clothes to school with me because of fear of eviction. Housing security isn’t theoretical for me, it is real for me. To tackle this crisis, I would:

ADD HOUSING—FOR EVERYONE—IN WEALTHY NEIGHBORHOODS: For years, our rezonings focused on adding apartments in lower-income areas—which often just led to higher-income people moving in, making communities less affordable, and often forcing out longtime residents. Instead, we will build in wealthier areas with a high quality of life, allowing lower-and middle-income New Yorkers to move in by adding affordable housing and eliminating the community preference rule in those areas, which prevents many New Yorkers from living in desirable neighborhoods.

REPURPOSE CITY OFFICE BUILDINGS: We will convert some City office buildings into 100% affordable housing by taking advantage of more City workers working from home and consolidating workers that will still be in-person to free up space.

ALLOW PRIVATE OFFICE BUILDINGS AND HOTELS TO BECOME HOUSING: The pandemic has unfortunately left many of our hotels and office buildings empty. In some cases, their owners want to convert the buildings to housing, but current City regulations make that either too expensive or too challenging. By making some zoning tweaks and other rule changes, we can facilitate conversions where appropriate and add desperately needed housing stock—particularly at hotels in the outer boroughs.

THINK BIG BY BUILDING SMALL: Outdated rules prevent New York developers from building the kind of small, cheaper micro-units that are common today around the world. Homeowners in single family zones are also prevented from legally leasing “accessory units” like “granny flats”. And single room occupancy units, or SROs, and basement apartments are still illegal, despite their common use elsewhere. By allowing for all of these to be built or legally used, we will quickly add hundreds-of-thousands of affordable apartments.

GIVE FAITH-BASED INSTITUTIONS THE TOOLS TO PROVIDE HOUSING: Faith-based institutions have the social vision and local understanding to advance affordable and supportive housing projects with excess development rights on their own properties, but they also often do not have the financial or technical capacity to do so. We will partner with faith-based institutions across New York City to leverage these development rights for a public purpose.

PRIORITIZE THOSE WHO NEED SUPPORTIVE HOUSING THE MOST:
New Yorkers in local shelters—especially those who lived in the neighborhood beforehand and were displaced—will be prioritized for supportive housing. So too will young people aging out of foster care, who should be given every chance at starting off adulthood on the right foot.

GIVE CITY-OWNED PROPERTY TO NON-PROFIT LAND TRUSTS TO CREATE AFFORDABLE HOUSING:
Vacant and underutilized City property is a massive waste of our resources and often a blight on neighborhoods. In the midst of this housing crisis, we will aggressively seek to partner with community land trusts by offering properties to organizations that commit to building permanently affordable housing.

Yes I have accepted donations from real estate. Real estate is not just large developers, it is also small building owners like myself and the real estate community overall employs hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers and makes up a large portion of the tax base

Relatedly, and keeping in mind the City’s legal and moral obligation to provide shelter, how would you improve shelter and services for New Yorkers experiencing homelessness, particularly as it relates to reducing the number in need of shelter?

Combating homeless necessitates a multi-pronged approach, centered on keeping people in their homes.

We must do this by improving rent subsidies to prevent New Yorkers from becoming homeless in the first place.

New Yorkers on the brink of homelessness and in shelters need far greater assistance than is available now to transition into permanent housing. One way we will accomplish this is by increasing the value of the City FHEPS housing vouchers so they reflect the value of the housing that is actually available in our city. There was a time when $1,323 for a one bedroom and $1,580 for a two bedroom was sufficient, but that time is long gone. And when the cost of a person in the shelter system is $124, and the cost of a family is $196 per day, increasing the value of vouchers is common sense governing.

Keeping in mind the specific needs of LGBTQ+ New Yorkers experiencing homelessness, will you commit to increasing capacity for clients (youth and adults) who require single room placement for reasons of health and safety including clients with mobility issues and/or who identify as TGNC (because placement in traditional single adult shelter may compromise their safety)?

Absolutely. One of the earliest efforts I embarked upon as borough president was a partnership with State Senator Diane Savino and Assembly Member Helene Weinstein, supported by great partners like the Ali Forney Center, Coalition for Homeless Youth, and GHMC, to expand the application of the New York State Runaway and Homeless Youth Act to include individuals under the age of 25 from, at the time, 21. We must continue to provide safe, culturally competent support for not only our youth but those most at risk for violence and discrimination.

Describe what you believe is meant by “gender equity” and what steps you’ve taken to date and will take if elected Mayor to support and further gender equity?

I was proud that the Brooklyn Borough President’s office scored highest in a recent pay equity study by the New York City Public Advocate, which showed my office actually pays women 14 percent MORE than men.

But advancing gender equity does not just mean achieving pay equity--it means creating a city that works for all, where all are treated equally. It is why my campaign is led by two strong

women and why 60 percent of the senior leadership positions at Borough Hall are occupied by women.

I was also proud to create a publicly available lactation room for new mothers and passed City legislation that required these facilities in public facing agencies across New York City. Changes to how we plan and implement our city must be done from a gender perspective, meaning we must design cities for all regardless of their gender identity. We can do this by ensuring housing is safe and available regardless of gender identity, our transit network is safe for all, our streets are designed to be safely utilized by all, and that budget decisions are made through an equity lens.

I am also committed to shining a light on the gender inequities that exist in our city agencies. I commit to requiring my agencies to track and report metrics on gender pay equity and whether there is a talent pipeline issue where cis men are consistently promoted over others.

If elected, do you commit to using inclusive and gender neutral language in all official documents and press releases, and will you order city agencies to do the same?

Yes.

How much money has your campaign raised to date and what are your key sources of support? Relatedly, are you rejecting contributions from specific sectors, such as lobbyists, real estate interests, pension fund managers, police unions, etc.?

I have over 7,000 donors with over 8.6 million dollars raised. These more than 7,000 donors come from all backgrounds and every corner of the city. These contributors are overwhelmingly hard working New Yorkers from blue collar communities who share my vision for the city.

The campaign will not accept contributions from police unions like the PBA, SBA, and State Troopers that do not align with my view of justice and reform.

Why do you want LID's endorsement? If LID endorses you do you commit to including that endorsement on your website, social media, and all campaign literature on which you list or make mention of endorsements?

LID has been a driving force in the fight for equality for decades. From marriage equality to GENDA to RHY advocacy, LID has been a true ally in educating me to be an ally to the LGBTQIA+ community. I would be proud to affiliate myself with LID in making mention of an endorsement.

Art Chang

Level
Mayor

More Information
Campaign Site

2020 LID Questionnaire Response

Why are you running for Mayor?

With this year’s Black Lives Matter protests, New Yorkers have said “Enough!” In my 35 years as a New Yorker, I have never heard such unified calls to break the cycles of dysfunction, poverty, and despair. I have never heard such unified calls to replace these brutal cycles with fairness, equity, and justice. And as a result, I have never felt such hope and a renewed belief in the potential of New York. We need change and we need the people of New York City to bring their ideas into the conversation. I believe that I am the Mayor to do that.

Please cite your top three-five priorities should you be elected Mayor and why you believe they are priorities.

While there are many urgent issues facing our city, my top priorities are:

1 - Institute Universal Childcare. With the usual strains on working families exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, Universal Childcare is necessary to help our economy recover. Thousands of parents left the workforce to care for and educate their children during the shutdown. Over four years as Mayor, I will gradually roll out free childcare centers throughout the city: an essential step in rebuilding our communities post-COVID, and counteracting the impact remote learning has had on parents’ careers and businesses.

2 - Stop evictions & foreclosures, and invest in truly affordable housing. In addition to prioritizing a massive increase in truly affordable housing, we must extend the eviction moratorium and impose a foreclosure moratorium through March 2022, and cancel all accrued rental debt and interest during this period.

3 - Protect, uplift, and support the arts. The arts and entertainment industry brings tens of billions of dollars into NYC’s economy each year, yet have been one of the most heavily impacted sectors left behind during the COVID pandemic and recovery. Our city will not fully bounce back until the arts are back.

4 - Reimagining policing and public safety. There are more effective and affordable ways to keep people safe than more police. We need to redirect police funds, changing our existing emergency response methods to utilize unarmed responders. We will also regain civilian control over New York City’s paramilitary organizations, and create user-friendly, real-time and transparent data services to better direct services to distressed communities.

5 - Prepare for climate change & preventing future damage. By 2100, the seas will rise by 10 feet even with the essential reductions in carbon emissions. Now is the time to prepare for this. I will eliminate carbon emissions by 2050 and plan for a 10’ sea rise by 2100, along with the related increases in storm surges and weather violence.

You can read more about all of my policies and plans at www.chang.nyc/issues.

If elected, what (if anything) would you do differently versus your predecessor (or previous Mayors) and why?

The current mayor’s performance highlights the critical importance of effective government management—and what happens when it is absent. The problems are only going to get worse as plummeting tax revenues threaten to force budget and personnel cuts of 20% or more.

Organizations are cultures: it’s difficult to create a strong culture, but a toxic one can be created in a heartbeat. How will a new Mayor enable a new culture to start as quickly as possible?

I will swiftly address the dysfunction of the city government by restoring civilian control over broken and rogue organizations, and by re-establishing control over the budget. My office will build contingency plans for potential budget reduction scenarios, create clear and actionable proposals for Federal funding, and reform the procurement process. I will also appoint Deputy Mayors not only in key policy areas but also at the intersections of where multiple departments interact to improve interdepartmental communications. Then I’ll establish a new Mayoral Labor Council to create a close collaboration with labor around the City’s fiscal situation and to promote innovation.

COVID has permanently changed how we think about living and working and made clear how dependent we all are on technology. City Hall needs to catch up internally and provide necessary technological resources to its constituents such as universal, reliable broadband access. And when City Hall uses technology correctly, we can establish data points to measure and make performance transparent to all stakeholders.

What is your plan to help NYC recover from the economic crisis caused by Covid-19?

The core of my plan is supporting small businesses (especially restaurants and bars) and arts & culture businesses - these sectors are the reasons tourists come to NYC, and without the return of tourism, all other sectors will not be able to recover.

First, we must extend the eviction moratorium, and couple it with a foreclosure moratorium, both of which should apply to businesses as well as residences. Then, I will use the Mayor’s convening power to extend mortgages by 2 years, so that landlords have a break on mortgage payments and must pass those savings along to their tenants in the form of rent breaks.

We also must acknowledge that COVID will still take months, if not years, to fully contain, and even when it’s contained, it is likely to come back seasonally with different variants. Therefore, as Mayor, I will do everything in my power to support outdoor business opportunities. I will extend outdoor dining indefinitely, streamline the process of park permits so that performances and artistic works can happen outdoors, and commit to re-map NYC to make as many pedestrian-only open streets as possible, allowing storefronts to take their goods outside. I also believe in the power of arts-centric conglomeration economies, and will use the marketing and advertising budget of the city to promote mini-arts neighborhoods in each borough. These condensed areas of arts, retail, food and beverage, and other recreational businesses shouldn’t be limited to just Manhattan.

Describe how you’d effectively address police misconduct and brutality, particularly as it affects communities of color.

Currently, the Police Commissioner has all disciplinary power for NYPD officers, and the Police Commissioner reports to the Mayor. In short, the buck stops with me, and I will take that responsibility seriously. From there, I will:

Re-frame our use of CompStat.

Crimes are the symptoms of communities in crisis. Instead of CompStat being used solely to organize armed response to crime, CompStat will be used to signal where we have potential community distress and to direct intensive and coordinated responses from the different components of government that would decrease that community’s pain and lead to healthier communities.

Deploy alternatives to armed crisis response for every situation.

We will create rapid response teams alongside police that have training in crisis de-escalation, mental health issues and social work that operate 24-7-365 like the police.

Re-evaluate how police are equipped for their work.

We need to demilitarize the NYPD. We need to suspend tech-driven surveillance when the algorithms that power them are shown to be racially discriminatory.

Make data about policing more transparent and actionable.

We know that the application of policing has been unequal and discriminatory, particularly with respect to black communities. We must be able to react to that. We know that black men are 2 1/2 times more likely to be killed by police during their lifetime. Black people fatally shot by police were twice as likely to be unarmed as white people.

Emphasize restorative justice and alternatives to jail.

We have a one-size-fits-all approach to criminal justice. But not every crime is equal. Not every alleged perpetrator is equal. We have first offenders. We have nonviolent crimes. We have youth crimes. And those folks need to be treated differently than people who have repeat criminal records.

Lessen the trauma of imprisonment.

We must think about criminal justice in the context of a person’s life with the goal of reintegrating people back into their communities? This means preserving the mental health of the prisoners, especially young people, and abolishing solitary confinement. Some are imprisoned because they’re hardened criminals. But for too many, the process of being in jail actually makes people worse when they come out.

Reassert civilian control over the NYPD.

One of the fundamental tenets of a democracy is the control of the armed forces by the civilian elected leadership. To enable this, our platform includes restoring funding to the Civilian Complaint Review Board to a minimum of the City Charter requirements and proposing making it a semi-autonomous agency, much like the Campaign Finance Board.

Commit to Code of Conduct changes, including Insubordination and Hateful Activities.

Replace the NYPD Chief’s sole discretion with respect to disciplinary actions.

Describe your plan to address/reduce the NYPD budget while better ensuring public safety and meeting community needs?

I have a plan to cut $1.3 billion from the NYPD, demilitarize the police, and invest in restorative justice and unarmed emergency responses. I invite you to read my detailed plan here: https://www.chang.nyc/blog/1-billion-is-far-from-enough

What would you do to further LGBTQ+ rights, equity, and justice if elected Mayor?

I bring three broad intersectional perspectives to bear. First, I think about the lifespan of LGBTQ+ people, from youth (questioning/identity) to death. Second, I think about inequity with a focus on low-income people and the struggles that come from that. Third, I think about the challenges of immigration, language, ethnic and religious differences. Overlaying this is a need for protection, justice, and hope.

My priorities below are strongly influenced by the Legal Services NYC report, “Poverty Is An LGBT Issue.” Despite monumental gains over the past two decades, a huge amount of work needs to be done.

Give LGBTQ+ people a path out of poverty. We need to keep the poor from becoming worse off. Then, we can provide livable housing in safe, full-service communities.
End anti-LBGTQ+ violence and harassment in all environments; we will need to find anti-carceral solutions that emphasize protection, education and alliances over punitive approaches. This will call for a significant communications/education program and a complete overhaul of what we know as policing.
Legal protections and advocacy. In every area, from immigration, to legal identity, to equal education and employment, to parental rights and inheritance, a lot of work is needed to plug gaping holes in our legal framework.
Special focus on transgender people. Trans people are especially vulnerable to discrimination and violence. My administration will ensure that New York City is safe for this community.
Youth. My administration will work hard to ensure that all parents are educated about gender issues with the goal of reducing domestic violence and abuse against LGBTQ+ youth, especially trans and queer youth. And youth who need to leave home will need safe, supportive residential communities like Trinity Place Shelter.
Parenting. LGBTQIA+ parents need support across all the above dimensions, but especially in non-accepting communities. My plan for Universal Childcare will welcome all parents and all children.
Aging. Isolation, poverty and health issues are significant problems in this community, particularly in the absence of family support networks and a gap-filled legal system.
Healthcare and mental health. We will ensure that the personnel in DOH and H&H are trained to recognize the needs and issues for the LGBTQIA+ community. Health should be more than the absence of disease; it is the presence of well-being, both physical and mental.
Housing. My platform calls for the most aggressive construction plan for low-income housing since NYCHA. LGBTQIA+ people will have equal access to housing with extra consideration for safety and special needs.
Education. We will end bias, discrimination and hate in school settings. With so many low income LGBTQIA+ people in our city, it’s even more important to pursue school desegregation, but by busing but by resource re-allocation.
Immigration. We need to ensure that undocumented LGBTQIA+ people feel safe and have access to legal services for asylum, documentation, and other protections.

Do you commit to retaining the New York City Unity Project, the City’s first Mayoral-level effort to coordinate LGBTQ+ policy efforts across city agencies, and if so, what actions would you take to build upon or revise the project?

Of course we would keep the program. I would like to have a full review of the accomplishment for New York City residents, and a measure of how this program has improved the lives of our neighbors. I think it is promising that an early achievement of the program is the finding that a third of children in the foster care system identify as LGBTQ+ and ACS established a task force to ensure that these youth have both the supportive home environment and resources that they need.

But, like so many other City programs, this approach is piecemeal and the promise of cross-agency collaboration is unrealized. We will ensure that this program is truly integrated across other agencies by ensuring that at least one member of my administration at the Deputy Mayor level is an LGBTQIA+ person who has the responsibility and authority to do so.

What would you do differently than your predecessor(s) to address New York City’s affordable housing crisis?

The problem is simple: we just don’t have enough affordable housing for everyone who needs it in NYC. I would invest in a massive project to build thousands more affordable housing units, utilizing currently misused city land, such as the 21 city-owned golf courses that exist in the 5 boroughs. Until there is ample supply of affordable housing units, the rent prices overall in NYC will not go down. Build more affordable housing to lower the costs for everyone. And through my experience building Queens West, I know how to do this with a focus on environmental sustainability, climate change resiliency, and safety in mind.

Relatedly, and keeping in mind the City’s legal and moral obligation to provide shelter, how would you improve shelter and services for New Yorkers experiencing homelessness, particularly as it relates to reducing the number in need of shelter?

The first step is creating more affordable housing, as outlined above, to reduce the amount of people without homes by bringing in connections to supportive housing as soon as possible, as recommended by the Coalition for the Homeless.

Secondly, the city needs to take ownership of oversight of shelters to ensure that conditions are safe, healthy, and livable. As your Mayor, I'm committed to data for transparency and accountability. NYC residents deserve to establish a data baseline across the City for future performance measurement.

Lastly, we need to redefine community “health”. For too long, “health” has been defined as fighting disease, or the absence of disease. But a truly healthy community is one that focuses on preventive measures before disease even happens. This means establishing Centers of Community Care to make accessible mental health care, family counseling, and family resources and supplies (which will be made available through my plan for Universal Childcare). Ensuring that our communities are truly healthy will limit the need for shelters.

Keeping in mind the specific needs of LGBTQ+ New Yorkers experiencing homelessness, will you commit to increasing capacity for clients (youth and adults) who require single room placement for reasons of health and safety including clients with mobility issues and/or who identify as TGNC (because placement in traditional single adult shelter may compromise their safety)?

As I mentioned above, the City government needs to put more resources into oversight of individual shelters. Many of these are not run by the city, but by partnerships with nonprofits, and therefore many of them have escaped scrutiny for unlivable, abusive, or inhuman conditions. This includes the availability and use of single-placement rooms.

Describe what you believe is meant by “gender equity” and what steps you’ve taken to date and will take if elected Mayor to support and further gender equity?

A City that embraces gender equity provides a supportive environment, from youth through retirement for all individuals. Embracing gender equity means that regardless of their identity, presentation, or pursuit, New Yorkers deserve the right to work, lead, and live the way they choose, it’s our city together after all.

If elected, do you commit to using inclusive and gender neutral language in all official documents and press releases, and will you order city agencies to do the same?

Yes.

How much money has your campaign raised to date and what are your key sources of support? Relatedly, are you rejecting contributions from specific sectors, such as lobbyists, real estate interests, pension fund managers, police unions, etc.?

To date, 2/19, I have raised $62,328 from 342 donors. I will not take money from Police Unions, Lobbyists or PACs affiliated with real estate or police and corrections.

Why do you want LID's endorsement? If LID endorses you do you commit to including that endorsement on your website, social media, and all campaign literature on which you list or make mention of endorsements?

Yes, receiving LID’s endorsement would be an honor, so of course I would proudly display it on all campaign materials. I see endorsement as not only a stamp of approval, but the recognition of my public commitment to serve the LGBTQIA community of NYC, with all of the tools available to the office of Mayor.

Aaron Foldenauer

Level
Mayor

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2020 LID Questionnaire Response

Why are you running for Mayor?

More and more New Yorkers are moving away and giving up on our City. Small businesses are closing at a record pace. Our leaders have failed in their response to the pandemic. The City’s finances are in shambles and we are now billions of dollars in the red. Aaron is running because our political establishment has failed us. Our City government must be overhauled top-to-bottom. Aaron is focused on innovative policies that will allow us to reimagine life in our City and get our economy moving again.

Please cite your top three-five priorities should you be elected Mayor and why you believe they are priorities.

One of Aaron’s main priorities will be focusing on getting New York City moving again. We will need to reinvent neighborhoods to adapt to new work-from-home trends. We should also rethink our quarantine and testing requirements in a way that invites the world to visit our City. Because the tourism industry is crucial to our economy, Aaron will restart tourism to the City in a safe and innovative way. Tourists coming to the City will be given a free rapid COVID test upon arrival at an NYC-are airport. Once they test negative, they will be allowed to freely travel within the tristate area and enjoy the attractions the City has to offer. This will show the world the great assets of our City, including restaurants, small businesses and museums, are open for business.

Another priority is climate and the environment. Aaron’s early appreciation of the environment has carried over into his personal philosophy, making environmental protection a cornerstone of his campaign. The Gotham Gazette recently recognized Aaron for his work as an “environmental advocate” in New York City politics. In considering environmental and climate-related issues, Aaron has created a three-pronged clean transportation plan, which includes building a bicycle superhighway along Third Avenue, banning gas guzzlers, and establishing electric vehicle lanes.

Lastly, as income inequality has increased in the City and across the country, families and individuals are priced out of their neighborhoods they grew up in. Displacement has become the norm. This is unacceptable. Aaron will work to preserve our neighborhoods and that new affordable housing units are built for residents in lower income brackets. We must keep people in their homes wherever and whenever possible. Aaron will ensure tax breaks are not given to luxury buildings; instead, Aaron will offer tax breaks for only moderate and low-income housing.

If elected, what (if anything) would you do differently versus your predecessor (or previous Mayors) and why?

As the next Mayor, Aaron will take unnecessary ideological disputes out of the equation when it comes to running an efficient government. Making the trains run on time and maintaining our parks should not lead to ideological disputes. Aaron will eliminate waste from the system and bring back efficient government, which will lure New Yorkers back to the City. Aaron will not just work with his Commissioners, but also regularly interact with workers on the front lines, given that they are the ones who truly know what’s going on.

What is your plan to help NYC recover from the economic crisis caused by Covid-19?

Aaron is the only candidate for Mayor focused on getting our economy moving again. Aaron was the only candidate for Mayor in 2020 who successfully argued that our restaurants should be allowed to reopen indoor dining. We should start by rethinking our quarantine and testing requirements in a way that invites the world to visit our City.

Tourism is a vital part of the City’s economy and provides over 5 billion dollars in tax revenue each year. Since the onset of the pandemic, the tourism industry, which supports hundreds of thousands of jobs in the City, has been decimated. Historically, some tourists spend more money than others. As tourism rebounds, Aaron will prioritize bringing back the highest-spending tourists first, so that the City can bring in the most money as fast as possible. Attracting tourists from overseas will be Aaron’s priority, because they spend four times as much money as domestic tourists. Focusing on these high spending individuals will immediately bring back jobs and revitalize our small businesses.

Furthermore, until recently, over 1.5 million people came into Manhattan every day to work and socialize. Unfortunately, due to the coronavirus, our offices, restaurants, and businesses in Midtown are largely empty. Because working from home is more accepted than ever, office workers will not return in the same numbers. Aaron proposes offering tax benefits to owners of commercial real estate to convert some of these spaces into affordable housing. Thereby, Midtown will become a vibrant residential and business community, in turn attracting talent from across the world. In fact, a similar program was successful in transforming Lower Manhattan into the thriving residential and business community it is today.

Describe how you’d effectively address police misconduct and brutality, particularly as it affects communities of color.

We need a police service not a police force. Unfortunately, our police officers are given training that overemphasizes combat, and are equipped with increasingly powerful weapons. Emblematic of this wrongheaded mindset was Mayor Bloomberg’s statement that the NYPD was “his army” and the “seventh biggest army in the world.”

Unfortunately, the NYPD is organized like an army with sergeants, lieutenants, and captains. We should eliminate the military-style titles we currently give to our officers, which will go a long way towards ending the militarized mentality that pervades the police. Instead of the military-style ranks that are currently used, officers on street patrol could be called “Patrol Officers,” supervising officers could be called “Managing Officers,” and precinct and department heads could be called “Directing Officers.” Changes such as this one will go a long way in ensuring that minorities are treated fairly by our officers.

Describe your plan to address/reduce the NYPD budget while better ensuring public safety and meeting community needs?

We can easily trim our police budget if we focus on making our police more efficient. In Aaron’s neighborhood, Lower Manhattan, police officers are routinely seen idle, sitting in their cars. This must change.

Aaron also proposes making more substantive changes to our police and the training they receive. For example, our police are told when they can use force but not when they should use force. In basic training, an NYPD officer will receive over 60 hours of firearms training but only eight hours on conflict de-escalation. This despite the fact that 95% of officers will never have to discharge their firearm. Such an outsized emphasis on combat causes our officers to view their role as a fight for survival, rather than providing a community service. We must instead focus police training on conflict management and how to build relationships within our diverse communities while giving our officers adequate training in self-defense.

What would you do to further LGBTQ+ rights, equity, and justice if elected Mayor?

As an attorney, Aaron has fought for a number of individuals who were victims of discrimination and harassment. Aaron will apply his skills as an advocate and as a lawyer to ensure that the mistreatment and discrimination against our LGBTQ+ community comes to an end. Recently, progress was made when New York appealed its antiquated “walking while trans” ban, which was wrongfully used to target people who identify as transgender. Aaron will continue to use his skills as an attorney and advocate to ensure that the law enforcement community does not misuse their authority under the law. Aaron will also ensure that the New York City Sexual Health Clinics, which serves many underprivileged and undocumented New Yorkers with free and low cost STI treatment, will have the adequate funding to continue their mission.

Do you commit to retaining the New York City Unity Project, the City’s first Mayoral-level effort to coordinate LGBTQ+ policy efforts across city agencies, and if so, what actions would you take to build upon or revise the project?

Aaron believes that the New York City Unity Project is a noble cause. We must ensure that each and every young person among us is encouraged, supported, and safe. These are compelling needs today, given the rise of suicide and depression amongst our youth, particularly in the LGBTQ+ community. Aaron will look at concrete data to understand the effectiveness of the NYC Unity Project and ensure that we are helping as many LGBTQ+ youth as possible. Aaron will ensure that the NYC Unity project does not suffer the same fate as ThriveNYC, DeBlasio’s wife’s one-billion dollar mental health plan, which largely failed.

What would you do differently than your predecessor(s) to address New York City’s affordable housing crisis?

Few New Yorkers can afford the luxury condos that have recently dotted the landscape of New York City. Aaron will fight for realignment of incentives so that the real estate industry will build more rental housing, which is what this City needs the most. More rental units will mean more choices for consumers, and ultimately, lower prices for people who actually live and work here in New York City.

We must also reform our public housing. NYCHA public housing facilities are in dire need of improvement on all fronts. In past several years, we have seen too many cases of dangerous and even deadly living conditions, including not only chronic issues with mold contamination, heat, air conditioning, and electricity problems, but also general neglect such as deadly elevator and smoke alarm failures. This is not acceptable and residents of one of the greatest cities in the world should not continue to be forced to deal with these problems. I will hold city officials accountable and fight for much needed reform for our residents of public housing.

Relatedly, and keeping in mind the City’s legal and moral obligation to provide shelter, how would you improve shelter and services for New Yorkers experiencing homelessness, particularly as it relates to reducing the number in need of shelter?

Aaron has proposed a comprehensive plan to get the people of our City back to work. Bringing back jobs to our city will go a long way to solve our housing and homelessness crisis.

The homeless problem is one affecting all New Yorkers and we, as a society, need to understand and correct the issues and illnesses afflicting New York’s homeless population. The City is now routinely putting homeless people in random hotels without adequate services and at a cost of upwards of $600/night. The City is also shuttling the homeless in and out of Emergency Rooms without adequate post-care; these practices perpetuate, rather than fix, the underlying problem. Aaron will advocate for rehabilitative homeless shelters or halfway houses that provide mental health, medical, education, and job training services that will strive to get people on their feet and back to leading productive lives.

Keeping in mind the specific needs of LGBTQ+ New Yorkers experiencing homelessness, will you commit to increasing capacity for clients (youth and adults) who require single room placement for reasons of health and safety including clients with mobility issues and/or who identify as TGNC (because placement in traditional single adult shelter may compromise their safety)?

Aaron is committed to ensure that our homeless shelters make reasonable efforts to match roommates that are compatible with each other and in congregate housing. Abuse within our homeless shelters is a particular concern, given that members of the LGBTQ+ community are more likely to be victims of sexual violence. Aaron is focused on meeting the needs of every homeless person while acknowledging the need to balance the needs of everyone with the costs imposed by additional regulations.

Aaron was recently outraged in connection with the recent New York Times expose revealing widespread sexual and financial misconduct at a network of homeless shelters in the Bronx. Aaron will strengthen oversight of the nonprofits that run our homeless shelters.

Describe what you believe is meant by “gender equity” and what steps you’ve taken to date and will take if elected Mayor to support and further gender equity.

Gender equity means placing each and every individual on an equal playing field and providing additional assistance and incentives to those who have been disadvantaged by systematic sexism and discrimination. Aaron recognizes that differences based on where we were born, where we live, our race, our gender identity, and our sexual orientation can have a dramatic impact on our quality of life. Therefore, Aaron is committed to ensuring that as a society, we help those who need it the most.

Unfortunately, because of the indifference of our political class, and the pervasiveness of pay-to-play politics, all too often, we are simply helping those who need it the least. As an attorney, Aaron has been a champion for minority and female lawyers attempting to succeed. For years, he served on the Diversity Committee of a large law firm, advocating for equal opportunities for minorities and women in the legal profession, and Aaron is a mentor to underprivileged law students.

If elected, do you commit to using inclusive and gender neutral language in all official documents and press releases, and will you order city agencies to do the same?

Aaron commits to being fair and inclusive to everyone. When addressing or referring to a person Aaron will use the prefix/pronoun that the person prefers. From a grammar perspective, the technical usage of specific terminology is quickly evolving and will continue to evolve over time.

How much money has your campaign raised to date and what are your key sources of support? Relatedly, are you rejecting contributions from specific sectors, such as lobbyists, real estate interests, pension fund managers, police unions, etc.

Aaron has raised money from a number of small donors and has significant grassroot support across the city. It must be said that other candidates for mayor have raised far greater amounts of money. This is because Aaron is not part of our broken political establishment and is focused on building a large grassroots movement to transform City Hall as the next mayor of NYC.

Aaron has not received contributions from interest groups such as lobbyists, real estate interests, pension fund managers, or police unions. As a non-establishment candidate, Aaron will be focused on small-dollar fundraising and taking his message directly to the people. Aaron is not accepting any corporate contributions.

Why do you want LID's endorsement? If LID endorses you do you commit to including that endorsement on your website, social media, and all campaign literature on which you list or make mention of endorsements?

LID’s endorsement of Aaron’s campaign would demonstrate Aaron’s commitment to equality and justice for all. Aaron will prominently display all key endorsements, including one from LID, on his website, social media and all campaign literature on which he makes list of endorsements.

Kathryn Garcia

Level
Mayor

More Information
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2020 LID Questionnaire Response

Why are you running for Mayor?

I’m running for Mayor because I love New York, and our City needs a crisis manager who will be ready to get to work on day one to build back our City more sustainably and equitably than before. I believe our city needs someone that has dedicated their life to public service, not politics, to get us through this. We cannot afford another 4 years of planning without execution.

I have the most experience in city government and crisis management of any candidate running for Mayor. As Sanitation Commissioner, I led the world’s largest municipal waste management, recycling, street cleaning and snow response agency. As the former Interim Chair of NYCHA, I worked to reduce and prevent lead exposure in children. As COO of the Department of Environmental Protection, I made sure all NYers had clean drinking water and led the response to emergencies such as Hurricane Sandy. Most recently, I delivered over 150 million meals to New Yorkers in need after the COVID-19 crisis exacerbated food insecurity in our city. After a career in public service, not politics, I deeply understand how city government works and doesn’t work, and know that I am the best one to execute on how to fix it moving forward.

Please cite your top three-five priorities should you be elected Mayor and why you believe they are priorities.

My vision for New York City is one that has economic mobility for all. I want a New York City where regardless of what zip code you are in, you can be successful. This means accessible, middle class jobs- nothing is affordable if you don’t have good employment; dignified housing with paths to ownership for Black and Latinx communities; a resilient City that is a leader in climate change and the green economy; an accountable police force; and job pipelines into both the public and private sector for justice involved youth, CUNY college students, and trade school students.

If elected, what (if anything) would you do differently versus your predecessor (or previous Mayors) and why?

My Administration will be driven by data, transparency, and input from all stakeholders. If you’ve seen my work, you know that I do not just make plans or reports- I execute and deliver. In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, I brought back 42 pumping stations and a water waste treatment plant within 72 hours. In the darkest hour of COVID when the virus was raging and many more New Yorkers were in danger of going hungry, I stood up an operation that would deliver millions of meals literally overnight. I work quickly but I am not afraid to reassess and improve when necessary, and know that you will not get to the best solution without bringing many voices to the table.

Lastly, I believe that government should be invisible if it works well--that we should get out of your way and do our jobs humbly, with no ego, and no expectation of praise for a job well done. Government is about improving the condition of people's lives, and that's what I'm going to deliver.

What is your plan to help NYC recover from the economic crisis caused by Covid-19?

When it comes to recovery, my Administration will be focused on equity. We will prioritize supplying the most vulnerable New Yorkers with meaningful economic relief and pathways for economic mobility. First, we will provide free childcare for working families, allowing guardians, especially women, to get back to work. Second, we will unlock barriers for small businesses by increasing access to credit, streamlining all laws and regulations governing restaurants and nightlife establishments, and cutting red tape for all permit and licensing processes. Third, we will create job pipelines into both the public and private sector for justice involved youth, CUNY colleges, and trade schools. We will guarantee graduates of our trade schools City employment, work with the private sector to offer 10,000 paid internships to high school students, and subsidize wages for youth who face barriers to employment.

Describe how you’d effectively address police misconduct and brutality, particularly as it affects communities of color.

As mayor, I would work to immediately implement police accountability measures. I would enforce quick, clear and consistent consequences and hold police officers accountable for everything from depraved acts to small infractions. I am the only candidate in the race that has managed a uniformed agency and understands what it takes to work with a uniformed labor workforce to change culture and enforce accountability. At Sanitation, we had a zero tolerance policy and I fired workers that crossed the line. It works. We need to hold our officers accountable for their actions and hold them to the right metrics--reducing crime and serving the public, not the number of arrests. I would reward and promote officers that prioritize community engagement and protection, and work to increase diversity of supervisors.

Describe your plan to address/reduce the NYPD budget while better ensuring public safety and meeting community needs?

We can find cost savings by reducing inefficiencies and redundancies in every agency- including the NYPD. For example, when I was at DEP, I identified and implemented more than $100 million in recurring annual savings over four years -- that's nearly 10% of the utility's operating budget. We identified opportunities to right-size maintenance practices, more efficiently deploy field staff and use DEP’s buying power to negotiate better rates for products. And all of this work happened in partnership with frontline workers and their union representatives. I don’t believe we need to reduce the amount of patrol cops; instead I believe we should be restructuring NYPD so that it is primarily a service for communities, in which they are held accountable for prioritizing community engagement and protection.

Also, the legalization of marijuana presents an opportunity to right past wrongs and meet community needs. A Garcia administration would use tax revenues generated for community reinvestment and to pay for intervention programs, such as cure violence and anti-violence programs, and alternatives to incarceration programs.

What would you do to further LGBTQ+ rights, equity, and justice if elected Mayor?

As mayor, I would focus on the immediate crisis of LGBTQ+ homelessness and lack of supportive services. First, we must dramatically expand the number of beds that are specifically available to LGBTQ+ teenagers and young adults. Unfortunately, many families in New York and across the country are still not accepting of their LGBTQ+ children, and in many cases it is not safe for them to remain at home, or they have no choice but to leave. NYC is a beacon of hope for many that seek safety, but we do not have the appropriate infrastructure to support LGBTQ+ youth’s needs. We must also increase support to the LGBTQ+ shelters that exist, such as Trinity Place, and use their holistic services as a model. Although I believe that the goal should be to place all homeless individuals into permanent housing, not shelter, I know that for many LGBTQ+ youth and young adults living in a family like environment with wraparound mental health, education, and career services is the best way to set them up for success.

I would also expand partnerships with longstanding LGBTQ+ service organizations, like SAGE, that serve older adults. The recent opening of Stonewall House, a senior affordable housing development, with a senior center operated by SAGE, is an incredibly important project that provides the first formal LGBTQ+ welcoming senior housing community in New York City.

I believe that hate is taught, and that we must make more efforts to expand LGBTQ+ visibility and affirmation in our educational system. This means incorporating the history of the fight for LGBTQ+ civil rights and the stories of the leaders in that space into curriculums in tandem with a broader push to create culturally responsive education and move away from teaching history and literature through a white, straight, cis-male lens.

Do you commit to retaining the New York City Unity Project, the City’s first Mayoral-level effort to coordinate LGBTQ+ policy efforts across city agencies, and if so, what actions would you take to build upon or revise the project?

I commit to the Unity Project, and as Mayor would build upon it by creating dedicated pipelines for LGBTQ+ youth, particularly those that are trans, gender non conforming, and people of color, into city government jobs- and not just as liaisons to the LGBTQ+ community, but across the board and in policy, decision making, and management roles.

What would you do differently than your predecessor(s) to address New York City’s affordable housing crisis?

As a manager, I am going to focus on the right metrics for housing rather than putting “affordable” units up on a scoreboard. For housing, those metrics are how many New Yorkers are rent-burdened, how many are living in homeless shelters, and how many are sleeping in the streets. In order to make a meaningful dent in the number of homeless New Yorkers and reduce the rent burden across the City, I will focus City investment where it’s needed most and create 50,000 units of deeply affordable housing (<30% AMI). We will also make it easier, faster, and legal for private partners to build more housing. We have added 500k New Yorkers over the last decade, but only 100k units of new housing - we cannot reduce the housing prices without increasing supply. We will end apartment bans and discriminatory zoning, and allow duplexes and triplexes to create more options for families. We will legalize basement apartments, accessory dwelling units, and single-room occupancy (SRO) apartments as a safe, sustainable and efficient means of providing housing to single-adult households--approximately one-third of households in New York City. We will also accelerate approvals for new housing construction, streamline the ULURP and environmental review process as well as permit applications and inspections at the Buildings Department and sister agencies.

Finally, my administration will start shifting meaningful resources from a shelter-based homelessness response to a solution that focuses on permanent housing. Shelters can be traumatic places for people and the goal should be to prevent evictions and place those experiencing homelessness into permanent housing quickly. We need to redesign rental assistance to keep tenants housed and to rapidly rehouse those experiencing homelessness.

Relatedly, and keeping in mind the City’s legal and moral obligation to provide shelter, how would you improve shelter and services for New Yorkers experiencing homelessness, particularly as it relates to reducing the number in need of shelter?

First and foremost, we need housing that heals. Health and housing are linked. Residents who do not have stable or quality housing are less healthy. Safe, secure, affordable housing is a basic human right. That means moving away from shelter strategy and to a housing strategy. We spend ~$3 billion annually on homeless shelters and services that fail to adequately serve NYC neighborhoods and families. Of that $400M goes to rent hotel rooms that are temporary and don't provide necessary support. Instead, we need to address street homelessness as a housing issue, with urgency and compassion, and the right solutions for families, single individuals and people living with mental illness.

My administration will build 10,000 units of supportive housing to provide permanent shelter, services and support for people experiencing street homelessness and those most at risk -- including buying empty or underused private properties for conversion. For families, women and children, we will ensure wraparound services in shelters, including education, health, and job readiness. We will open 10 drop-in centers in key neighborhoods to provide bathrooms and critical services 24 hours a day and begin the engagement process to get homeless New Yorkers into shelter.

Keeping in mind the specific needs of LGBTQ+ New Yorkers experiencing homelessness, will you commit to increasing capacity for clients (youth and adults) who require single room placement for reasons of health and safety including clients with mobility issues and/or who identify as TGNC (because placement in traditional single adult shelter may compromise their safety)?

Yes, however as I stated above, my focus would be on getting those experiencing homelessness permanent housing that meets their needs and connecting them with resources- not shelter.

Describe what you believe is meant by “gender equity” and what steps you’ve taken to date and will take if elected Mayor to support and further gender equity?

I view gender equity as opportunities for success being as available and accessible for non cis-male people as they are for cis-male people. In my career, I have never shied away from roles in which I was perceived as an outsider because I am a woman. I was only the second female Sanitation Commissioner, and I used my position to level the playing field and make it easier for others. In an agency that is 98% male, I promoted the first female four-star chief, Director of the Operations Management Division, and the highest ranking uniformed female employee in department history. In my administration, not only will I have gender diversity, including gender fluid and non conforming people, at the highest ranks of city government- I’m also going to listen to them. One of the reasons I am running for mayor is to break the glass ceiling of 400+ years of male mayors. I want to see the first woman mayor of NYC so that we can open the door for non cis-male people to reach leadership positions.

If elected, do you commit to using inclusive and gender neutral language in all official documents and press releases, and will you order city agencies to do the same?

Yes.

How much money has your campaign raised to date and what are your key sources of support? Relatedly, are you rejecting contributions from specific sectors, such as lobbyists, real estate interests, pension fund managers, police unions, etc.?

In our first filing submitted in January, we reported $300,000 raised from a grassroots coalition of more than 1,500 donors, 75% of whom are New Yorkers and more than 70% of whom reside in Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island. The campaign will qualify for matching funds in the next filing and have the resources we need to be successful. I did not raise a single dollar until I resigned as Sanitation Commissioner, Food Czar and Interim Chair of NYCHA--unlike other candidates who have been fundraising while receiving taxpayer funded salaries. I am not accepting contributions from police or correctional unions.

Why do you want LID's endorsement? If LID endorses you do you commit to including that endorsement on your website, social media, and all campaign literature on which you list or make mention of endorsements?

Although Lambda Independent Democrats is a Brooklyn club, it, along with NYC’s other LGBTQ+ clubs, leads the conversation in the fight for civil rights across the state and sets the tone of where we should be headed as a country. Your commitment to diversity is something I have always strived to exemplify- from promoting the first female Four Star Chief to promoting the first Latinx First Deputy Commissioner at Sanitation. It would be an honor to have not only your endorsement and support of my vision for NYC, but also your feedback and guidance on what New Yorkers on the ground need most. If I earn the support of LID, I would proudly list your endorsement across all platforms and literature.

Ray McGuire

Level
Mayor

More Information
Campaign Site

2020 LID Questionnaire Response

Why are you running for Mayor?

Ray is running because of his life story, management experience, relationships, and vision that give him a different perspective than those who have spent years in politics.
He grew up with the same economic insecurity many New Yorkers feel today. That personal story is at the heart of his candidacy.
He has robust ideas for lifting our schools, saving small businesses, creating jobs, making housing more affordable, and reducing crime in a way that respects everyone's dignity. He wants every child in New York City to get the same opportunity that he did.

Please cite your top three-five priorities should you be elected Mayor and why you believe they are priorities.

The top three issues Ray will face as New York City mayor are how to:
- Solve the economic crisis by leading the greatest comeback in the city’s history
- Create a safe, secure and affordable city where we build public/private and diverse coalitions
- Ensure that in New York City every child gets a decent education and can get a job

The devastation caused by COVID-19 combined with years of systemic inequity in the economy, education, and healthcare has put this city at a dangerous crossroads. New York City needs an effective manager and he is the only candidate with the lived experience, business expertise, and bold ideas to lead the greatest comeback in our history.

If elected, what (if anything) would you do differently versus your predecessor (or previous Mayors) and why?

Ray has the management chops to lead New York City out of this crisis and has spent his career helping companies survive and grow. He’ll run the city with competence, energy, and commitment.
Ray knows how to tackle large challenges with high-stakes because of his business background.
We have one shot to rebuild. We need a different kind of mayor who will think big and advance bold ideas, a person who will bring in every expert and call in every favor.

What is your plan to help NYC recover from the economic crisis caused by Covid-19?

New York is facing the most severe economic crisis in generations. We need to Go Big, Go Small, and Go Forward.
- Ray will Go Big by introducing a major infrastructure program that will create jobs rebuilding our roads and bridges, fixing subway elevators, building and renovating affordable housing, and making our city more sustainable.
- He will Go Small through a Comeback Job Accelerator that will subsidize 50,000 jobs and a Comeback Bank that provides low-interest loans through Community Development Financial Institutions. He will provide immediate financial support for struggling local businesses, and streamline permits, inspections, and approvals to help businesses open quickly. Avoiding a joint eviction and foreclosure crisis requires a number of interventions that would help both small businesses and small property owners. Ray will create a menu of financial relief options that can be made available to small property owners in exchange for forgiving or lowering rent for small business tenants, or other tenant benefits and protections.
- He will Go Forward by creating a $50 million loan fund targeted to small MWBEs and ensuring affordable childcare for all. He will focus on categories of businesses for which the city has fallen especially short in reaching its MWBE targets, including Black and brown-owned businesses and LGBTQ+ owned businesses. This year, New York joined a number of U.S. cities and states in expanding the MWBE program to include LGBTQ+ owned businesses. As additional businesses certify into the program, Ray will increase the city’s contracting goals in order to grow the pie for everyone.

Describe how you’d effectively address police misconduct and brutality, particularly as it affects communities of color.

As Mayor, the buck will stop with Ray when it comes to disciplinary actions for police officers.
If we want precinct commanders to instill a culture of respect, accountability, and proportionality in the NYPD, we need to hold them accountable for officer misconduct.
When any officer is involved in a serious incident of misconduct, Ray will make sure that accountability measures are taken not only against the officers involved but also their commanding officer – and that officer’s commanding officer.
We must aggressively change the scope of policing, undertake a comprehensive review of its budget, and provide greater transparency into police conduct.

Describe your plan to address/reduce the NYPD budget while better ensuring public safety and meeting community needs?

NYPD officers are often forced to deal with any number of situations for which an armed response is not required. Ray supports restructuring the NYPD to shift more resources to social services and mental health professionals who are better equipped to handle situations that today end up being assigned to police officers.
He will direct and coordinate resources across the full range of city agencies that will play a role in creating safe communities, including the Homeless Services, Health and Mental Hygiene, Housing, Parks, FDNY, Sanitation, Small Business, and others.
He will ensure that we respond to mental health emergencies and other crises that do not require police with a targeted and appropriately trained response.
We need to prioritize and deploy social services just as quickly and aggressively as we currently deploy police.

What would you do to further LGBTQ+ rights, equity, and justice if elected Mayor?

More than fifty years have passed since the LGBTQ+ movement began at Stonewall, and despite the progress we’ve seen, we still have systemic failures keeping LGBTQ+ New Yorkers from achieving their full potential. Ray sees the fight as ongoing, and equity and justice for LGBTQ+ people is a priority. In addition to other commitments laid out herein, here are some other steps we will take:
All children need a universally nurturing educational environment that addresses the intersectionality of race, sexual orientation and gender identity. LGBTQ+ students who are also low-income, students with disabilities, English language learners, or who have been placed in foster care particularly must receive focused outreach and follow-up to address their unique needs. By supporting the professional development of teachers, councillors, and administrators, our schools will become places all LGBTQ+ kids can be supported and succeed.
Ray lived through the AIDS crisis in New York City and fully committed to doing everything he can end the epidemic. PEP and PrEP programming through the NYC Department of Health will be expanded to ensure all New Yorkers are aware of their options and how to affordably access PEP and PrEP in every borough. Special focus will ensure that LGBTQ young people, especially in populations highly susceptible to transmissions, are educated on how to stay safe, stay healthy, and flourish.
Generations of unrelenting activism by the LGBTQ+ community have resulted in enshrining of strong legal protections in New York City. Ray is committed to strengthening and increasing funding to the NYC Human Rights Commission to ensure agressive enforcement of hard-won anti discrimination laws.
LGBTQ+ New Yorkers remain underrepresented in city government, but they won’t be an outside voice in a Ray McGuire administration. LGBTQ New Yorkers, particularly transgender/gender noncorming people, will sit in high level, visible roles in City Hall.

Do you commit to retaining the New York City Unity Project, the City’s first Mayoral-level effort to coordinate LGBTQ+ policy efforts across city agencies, and if so, what actions would you take to build upon or revise the project?

Not only will Ray build on the successes of the Unity Project, but he’ll up the investment. Ray will migrate this effort from the Office of the First Lady to an Office of LGTBQ+ Affairs reporting to a Deputy Mayor and tasked with working between all city agencies. This authority will ensure that commitments to the LGTBQ+ community are carried out throughout every city agency.

What would you do differently than your predecessor(s) to address New York City’s affordable housing crisis?

As Mayor, Ray will provide expanded rental assistance and subsidies to allow residents to stay in their homes even when the eviction moratorium ends or if rents rise.
All options to expand affordable housing stock such as quality basement apartments, accessory dwelling units, and communal housing will be open to consideration.
Ray will also work with the federal government to update AMI calculations to reflect the real median income of working New Yorkers, so that public dollars go toward truly affordable housing.

Relatedly, and keeping in mind the City’s legal and moral obligation to provide shelter, how would you improve shelter and services for New Yorkers experiencing homelessness, particularly as it relates to reducing the number in need of shelter?

Shelters are not meant for long term use, we have to hold providers responsible for the duration of stay in their shelters.
When Ray is mayor, the city will invest in transitional housing with support services for those who are able to live alone, as well as provide full wrap-around services in supportive housing for those who need more permanent assistance.
Ray will use his years of management experience to simplify the bureaucracy and streamline services across agencies. We need to invest in what works and scale up.
Ray will focus on providing stable housing to those emerging from vulnerable situations like exiting foster care, medical care, or incarceration.

Keeping in mind the specific needs of LGBTQ+ New Yorkers experiencing homelessness, will you commit to increasing capacity for clients (youth and adults) who require single room placement for reasons of health and safety including clients with mobility issues and/or who identify as TGNC (because placement in traditional single adult shelter may compromise their safety)?

LGBTQ individuals experiencing homelessness, especially young people, must receive culturally competent services in housing environments. We must keep our commitment to youth up to the age of 24 to have 24/7 drop-in centers in every borough and to keep them out of warehouse-style shelters that put them at increased risk. As Mayor, Ray will set new, higher baseline allocations for these services within the mayor’s budget and set high enforcement standards to ensure they receive the help they need.

Describe what you believe is meant by “gender equity” and what steps you’ve taken to date and will take if elected Mayor to support and further gender equity?

Historic inequalities have created gender inequity. Gender equity is achieved when we actively dismantle these structural barriers by creating policy and measurable goals. We cannot just check boxes, there must be material change. As Mayor Ray wants his administration to reflect the beautiful diversity of NYC. That means having a targeted approach to achieving greater representation, parity in pay, and development opportunities no matter one’s gender expression. This approach to gender equity will be reflected from personnel to policy. In his professional career it was Ray’s pleasure to mentor, train and hire a diverse workforce, and it's that same approach he’ll bring to City Hall.

If elected, do you commit to using inclusive and gender neutral language in all official documents and press releases, and will you order city agencies to do the same?

NYC legally recognizes a non-binary gender and allows New Yorkers to self-attest to their own gender identity, but if we are committed to our non-binary, gender non-conforming, intersex and transgender communities being visible, there is further work to be done. Ray commits to a full review and overhaul of all existing administrative forms and documents throughout every city agency to ensure those options are clearly presented and to keep that as the standard going forward.

How much money has your campaign raised to date and what are your key sources of support? Relatedly, are you rejecting contributions from specific sectors, such as lobbyists, real estate interests, pension fund managers, police unions, etc.?

Ray is grateful for the support of almost 4,000 New Yorkers who contributed over $5 million in support of his campaign. Without the power of incumbency or the name recognition of a career politician, Ray will continue to raise the necessary resources to be competitive and share his vision for the city with New Yorkers in all five boroughs.

Why do you want LID's endorsement? If LID endorses you do you commit to including that endorsement on your website, social media, and all campaign literature on which you list or make mention of endorsements?

The key to LID’s success is the inclusiveness of the organization, not just across the mosaic of the LGBTQ community, but across generations. By recognizing the work of the previous generations of LID members to fight for and achieve enshrined rights for the LGBTQ+ community, the newer and younger members carry those successes forward and can commit themselves to carry on with that fight for every member of the LGBTQ+ community. This is how social movements succeed over time. Ray’d be incredibly proud to bear the mark of LID throughout his campaign, not just as a mark of endorsement, but as a mark of our shared sense of purpose to move our city ever forward.

Dianne Morales

Level
Mayor

More Information
Campaign Site

2020 LID Questionnaire Response

Why are you running for Mayor?

“When I dare to be powerful - to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.”
-- Audre Lorde

I am a first generation Puerto Rican, born in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, to two working class parents, who believed that in the American Dream that success was possible for everyone – and that those who attained success had a responsibility to lift others as they climbed. I’m also the single mother of two young adult college students, and the first Afro-Latina candidate for Mayor of New York.

My personal experiences, combined with 25 years of leadership experience in the nonprofit sector have given me a deep understanding of our city’s dysfunctional education, justice, and health/mental health systems. Throughout my career, I served as founding member of Jumpstart – a national early childhood organization, Executive Director of the Door and most recently, Phipps Neighborhoods in the South Bronx.

My career began as a summer camp counselor at a residential camp for emotionally disturbed children and youth. In that capacity, I was first exposed to the impact that economic and social determinants of health can have on the emotional and psychological well being of children. It was that experience that solidified the opportunities I’d had access to, and the difference that could make in a child’s trajectory. It was also that experience that set me on a course to find ways to help others that came from communities like my own, ultimately resulting in my obtaining an M.S. in Social Administration from the Columbia University School of Social Work. During my tenure as Executive Director at The Door, I transformed and expanded the mental health services department to include programming for LGBTQ homeless youth, substance abuse counseling and the only art therapy-based GED program in NYC. While CEO of Phipps Neighborhoods, I oversaw the implementation and operation of several supportive housing programs, including for formerly homeless adults with severe and persistent mental illness, substance abuse and one for young people aging out of foster care.

On a more personal level, I am the mother of a sexual assault survivor who has struggled with suicide ideation, depression and anxiety since her early adolescence. I have first-hand experience in the scarcity of appropriate services and the challenges of navigating systems in order to obtain adequate care. NYC can, should and must do better.

My leadership and advocacy in education, employment, and social justice have improved the lives of New Yorkers in some of the most under-resourced neighborhoods, and created permanent pathways out of poverty for single moms, LGBTQIA youth, the formerly incarcerated and the homeless. When I decided to run over a year ago, it was because nobody like me has ever been mayor--that my lived experience as a single-mother, a woman of color, and my executive

and community leadership experience, positioned me to understand the root causes of the problems we face--and how to fix them. As the pandemic has tragically unfolded and the fabric of our society starts to fray, it has become clear that this is our only moment to make massive structural changes that will make real improvements in the lives of all New Yorkers, starting with our most vulnerable and under-resourced.

Please cite your top three-five priorities should you be elected Mayor and why you believe they are priorities.

I’m not here to make false promises or to offer flashy plans that echo the status quo. Under my administration, we’ll be working to strike and address the root causes of oppression by Race, Gender, Sexuality, and class. I will work to center the voices of people who have been systematically disenfranchised by bad policies, some that go back centuries and continue to exist under reformist policies. I will also prioritize in creating a new social contract, one in which every New Yorker lives in dignity, and where success is measured by how well our city runs for all people, not just the wealthy and powerful.

Under those two mantles, my Administration will work to to create safe communities that increases access and opportunities for all by guaranteeing that housing is a right, desegregating and creating equity in our education system, creating a solidarity economy with basic income relief and public banking, and by divesting from our police to finally fully invest in our communities.

If elected, what (if anything) would you do differently versus your predecessor (or previous Mayors) and why?

My administration is centering the lives of impacted people, as someone with truly lived experiences myself, and while we will use data for precision when we strike at the inequities of the system, we will also listen to those on the ground. From the way the City has divested in our education, our neighborhoods, our healthcare infrastructure to fund marquee pet projects, real estate interests and NYPD will not be how I manage myself.

New York will have my full attention, and I see a city that has been facing crises for decades or longer, and carried that on our backs into a full blown calamity with the spread of the virus. We cannot and will not be aiming for a return to normalcy, we must instead build a city that is better than it has ever been, for all people.

What is your plan to help NYC recover from the economic crisis caused by Covid-19?

When my administration hits the ground on January 1, 2022, my priorities for the first 100 days will be to focus on our Dignity Now platform to ensure that every New Yorker has the right to be valued and respected, not just through words but actions. This includes advocating for basic income relief for every household (and especially our excluded workers who were left out on the Federal & State level), advancing a local small business recovery strategy which includes grant support, immediate housing to end homlessness, the launch of NYC5000 which is a health

navigators strategy to connect New Yorkers to COVID-19 education & testing & vaccines, and the creation of a municipal green jobs agenda by focusing on investing in lower carbon emissions in NYC and investing in thousands of jobs at the same time to combat climate change.

Describe how you’d effectively address police misconduct and brutality, particularly as it affects communities of color.

I was the first candidate for Mayor to call to defund the police. When I am Mayor we will divest from policing and reinvest in communities towards community based resources like youth support programs and childcare, safe community spaces and parks, transportation and other public infrastructure. These resources play an essential role in uplifting Black and Brown families. By investing funds into housing for the homeless, subway modernization, and revitalization of the arts, our money is being directed towards the needs of the people rather than a system that enforces racism and violence.

This policy recognizes the long term approach necessary to create social change that increases public safety while decreasing policing. These investments in community services will create jobs that are focused on helping & strengthening communities, not criminalizing them. While every city and neighborhood’s needs are nuanced, NYC can implement strategies that are uniquely responsive to our challenges and work to respond to them more directly.

I will move to end the long history of police brutality against communities of color, especially black people. We can now see in real time, inexcusable acts of violence that have taken place for generations. We will not allow the NYPD or the Police Benevolent Association to protect their members from accountability for acts of misconduct. To create accountability, we will implement an Early Intervention System. Infractions by officers must be tracked, reviewed, be made public, and officers must be held accountable by the public they serve. This system must identify patterns of inappropriate, violent behavior by officers, and report regularly to the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) and the District Attorney’s office. The Civilian Complaint Review Board has been demonstrably inadequate in its ability to hold police accountable. It should become an elected body, and be given powers to investigate and discipline police officers. District Attorney’s offices must create separate, independent divisions responsible solely for criminal prosecution of police. Along with the CCRB, this division will build and maintain a comprehensive, verified list of police officers who are accused and found guilty of misconduct. When a police officer violates the public trust, they will be forced to forfeit any privileges afforded to them by the public, including salaries, pensions and other benefits. We will end placard abuse, and officers will face the same consequences as any other person. Offending officers and their benevolent association will be held financially liable for any restitution owed to their victims.

Describe your plan to address/reduce the NYPD budget while better ensuring public safety and meeting community needs?

We would divest $3 billion from the NYPD and invest in communities. This means establishing a Community First Response Department separate from the NYPD. The Community First Response Department would serve as first responders to community public safety issues related to non-criminal public safety issues: homelessness, mental health, substance abuse, emotional distress and other behavioral health issues. The department would be staffed by trained professional first responders including social workers, crisis response workers, medics, mental health counselors and others, all of whom would be trained in crisis intervention and de-escalation. They will connect people to healthcare, social services, mental health services and other critical supports. Additionally, we would prioritize investments into areas such as a housing for all agenda that includes quality social housing and investments into retrofitting NYCHA, expansions in healthcare coverage, and a basic income initiative. We would also remove police from schools and replace them with more counselors, nurses, and psychologists as well as restorative justice, conflict resolution, and emotional intelligence practices.

What would you do to further LGBTQ+ rights, equity, and justice if elected Mayor?

I would take a holistic approach to further the rights and safety of the LGBTQ+ community.

As part of my decareral agenda, I will be heavily focusing on decriminalizing sex worker and creating a sex workers protection bill of rights under the Department of Consumer & Worker Protection, and making sure that our TGNCIQ community are not target by NYPD. I will also end solitary confinement and ensure we can prevent the suffering and death of LGBTQ+ individuals like Layleen Polanco Xtravaganza.

I will also expand funding for more social and supportive housing targeted for homeless youth (which I actually ran programs for in the Bronx) and know that many are LGBTQ+ and LGBTQ+ seniors. Other issues will be including education in public schools that are culturally responsive and include LGBTQ+ people alongside inclusive sexual education, job development initiatives that target LGBTQ+people, create LGBTQ+-specific review boards for healthcare and a healthcare lisabon program, and focused, long-term funding to non-profits & CBOs that work to support our LGBTQ+community especially around mental health too. I would also ensure that NYC-level protections (and advocate on the State level too) go well beyond Title IX to ensure that even if they are threatened on the National level, our TGNCIQ & LGBTQIA communities are safe.

Do you commit to retaining the New York City Unity Project, the City’s first Mayoral-level effort to coordinate LGBTQ+ policy efforts across city agencies, and if so, what actions would you take to build upon or revise the project?

I would expand upon the program to not just provide emergency shelter to LGBTQ+ youth but to actually facilitate and increase access to social and supportive permanent housing. I would also work to ensure actual job placement through the City’s municipal jobs guarantee program and hold a dedicated amount of jobs per year for our LGBTQ+ homeless youth.

What would you do differently than your predecessor(s) to address New York City’s affordable housing crisis?

The key difference is that I fundamentally believe that housing is a right and will assure that every policy and law that we create around the affordable housing crisis is truly targeted at reducing this vs creating more subsidies for real estate.

I am supporting a housing for all initiative that fights to decrease and stabilize rents, takes housing development and land significantly off the speculative market, and instead builds quality needs-based, mixed-income housing similar to the Vienna model. We would also implement a better use of land and existing space policy that includes a land value tax for vacant and blighted land to discourage speculation. Through the use of land banks, community land trusts, and cooperative housing models, the Morales administration would also democratize housing to meet New Yorker’s needs and not simply to profit off of space and real estate.

We can assure affordability and sustainability by vacancy taxes, purchasing land long held by speculation, placing them in community land trusts for safe keeping, and creating contracts that prioritize non-profits who will hire to labor standards and supers from workers collectives (especially in immigrant neighborhoods).

Relatedly, and keeping in mind the City’s legal and moral obligation to provide shelter, how would you improve shelter and services for New Yorkers experiencing homelessness, particularly as it relates to reducing the number in need of shelter?

As Mayor, I would bring together a commission tasked with providing a pathway to totally eliminate homelessness in New York City. My administration will not be afraid to purchase empty vacancies (hotels, office spaces, apartment buildings) or explore eminent domain (especially for buildings with many fines) in order to guarantee we have the ability to not just offer shelter but actual permanent housing. We will work with the newly elected Super Majority at the state level to renew the ESSHI and integrate its services into our Housing for All policy platform. This consists of bringing a substantial part of housing development out of the speculative for profit market and instead centering development for need through a mixed income social housing initiative and adequate rent stabilization and tenant protections to avoid displacement. We will ensure that the city’s supportive housing works side by side with an expansion of public healthcare services including mental health and disability services for the

displaced and former homeless. We must also work through economic development policy to support employment programs and a basic income program.

The homelessness crisis must be taken very seriously and include a city commission to get to the root causes of homelessness and displacement in order to provide a holistic response to end homelessness in its entirety within 10 years. The many key factors include mental health, addiction, and disability services, employment programs, and a basic income in tandem with tenant rights protections and stabilized rents.

Keeping in mind the specific needs of LGBTQ+ New Yorkers experiencing homelessness, will you commit to increasing capacity for clients (youth and adults) who require single room placement for reasons of health and safety including clients with mobility issues and/or who identify as TGNC (because placement in traditional single adult shelter may compromise their safety)?

Yes, I commit to this, but also will be working to expand social and supportive housing for more permanent housing opportunities for our LGBTQ+ New Yorkers.

Describe what you believe is meant by “gender equity” and what steps you’ve taken to date and will take if elected Mayor to support and further gender equity?

To me, true gender equality means that people of any gender are able to fully participate in social, economic, political, and all realms of public life safely and without barriers. The issue of gender does not stand alone and is connected to every aspect of inequality in our city.

As mayor I would support initiatives for urban planning that rethink public use in order to make women and TGNCIQ people safer, both physically and emotionally. Part of this includes being more intentional with planning and zoning, and ensuring that gender is considered as an impact of land use projects. Reimaging urban planning to promote gender justice includes safety on public transportation. Much like recent subway ads promoting mask wearing for public health, I would like to run citywide campaigns about gender equality and bystander education. Additionally, I would like to work with organizations that are already steeped in the fight against street harassment and violence. One such example is hollaback, which has created an app for people in NYC to report instances of harassment with the option of reporting it to the city council member in the district where the event occurred - which would then be logged in CouncilStat.

Furthermore, when building a city with true gender equality we must focus on employment. To promote women and TGNCIQ thriving in our local economy, I would strengthen the resources and capacity of Small Business Services. I would improve and expand public contracts to minority and women owned businesses, and lastly I would make sure that NYC moves forward in the establishment of a public banking system that provides fair and quality lending practices to small business owners and minority/women owned businesses. As well as supporting women, TGNCIQ, and minority businesses, I would support and fund employment initiatives that are tailored to those communities.

If elected, do you commit to using inclusive and gender neutral language in all official documents and press releases, and will you order city agencies to do the same?

Yes, absolutely!

How much money has your campaign raised to date and what are your key sources of support? Relatedly, are you rejecting contributions from specific sectors, such as lobbyists, real estate interests, pension fund managers, police unions, etc.?

We’ve raised close to $400K and close to hitting matching.

In the entire Mayoral race, our average contribution is about $50 (and we have the highest amount of donors who have donated $50 and under) and over 30% of our donations have come from New Yorkers who are currently employed. At a time when the rich have gotten richer and the poor have gotten poorer, we’re truly the grassroots powered campaign, and while it might take us a bit longer to meet our goals, we’re doing so with New Yorkers and not business interests.

Why do you want LID's endorsement? If LID endorses you do you commit to including that endorsement on your website, social media, and all campaign literature on which you list or make mention of endorsements?

Yes, I would be extremely proud to post your endorsement on our website, all social media platforms, and relevant literature. I want LID’s endorsement as a symbol to the LGBTQIA+ community of New York City that not only do they have my support, but that I will fight alongside the community vehemently. I also expect to work as thought partners in my time in office to forge progress.

Scott Stringer

Level
Mayor

More Information
Campaign Site

2020 LID Questionnaire Response

Why are you running for Mayor?

I have a vision to build a more just, affordable and progressive New York. In the last year, we’ve all watched our city and its families endure enormous pain, most of it in communities of color and immigrant communities. COVID-19 has exposed the long standing inequities that have divided our society and has finally forced us to reckon with simultaneous public health, economic, and social justice crises.

New York City’s next mayor will oversee a massive recovery effort, and we must reopen our economy in a fundamentally different way than we closed it. This will require policy expertise, government managerial experience, coalition-building skills and political savvy, and a bold vision — with detailed, actionable plans — for a more just, equitable, and sustainable city. It is this very combination of skills, experiences, and vision that I bring — uniquely, I believe — to this race.

As Mayor, I’ll bring our city forward starting on Day One. I’ve released bold and comprehensive plans that are ready to go — on everything from public housing, to public health and public safety – and I’m building a diverse, progressive coalition to get it done. I’m ready to take on this fight, for today’s New Yorkers and the next generation, and fundamentally transform our city so that everyone has a fair shot.

Please cite your top three-five priorities should you be elected Mayor and why you believe they are priorities.
I am proud to be running on a broad agenda to bring our city — and our economy — forward for all New Yorkers, stronger and fairer than ever before. While I would not elevate these over other areas of focus, housing, healthcare, early childhood education, reimagining public safety, and delivering climate justice are essential to my holistic vision for recovery and progress:

● Housing as a Human Right: As a former housing organizer, I understand that the crisis of homelessness in our city is a product of decades of policy failure by all levels of government to build the housing we need. Housing justice, and ensuring that everyone who calls New York City home has a safe and stable roof over their head, will be a top priority in a Stringer Administration. As Mayor, I will build affordable housing that is actually affordable for working people and New Yorkers on the brink, including the one-third of shelter residents who go to work every day. Too much of our so-called affordable housing today is built for families making $80,000 a year or more. We need to be targeting more of our resources towards extremely low and very low income families, those making $58,000 a year or less for a family of three (two parents working minimum wage jobs). But that’s just a start. As Comptroller, I have laid out specific plans to end the 421-a tax giveaway and re-invest those dollars in building more affordable units; to create a Land Bank/Community Land Trusts to turn city-owned vacant lots into 100% affordable units; and to triple from 5% to 15% the set-aside of new units for homeless families. Finally, my Universal Affordable Housing plan would require that every single new residential development in the city, in every neighborhood, set aside 25% of all units for affordable housing.

● End Health Disparities. The toll the pandemic is taking on our city, our economy, and especially on communities of color and marginalized people in our city, cannot be understated. This is especially true when it comes to healthcare delivery, which for too long has failed to reach those most vulnerable in our city. We need to expand models of culturally competent, trauma-informed care for marginalized populations across NYC, including new immigrants. New York City is America’s front door, and we welcome people from all over the world to come and make their home, without fear and in an environment that recognizes the hardships they may have faced prior to arrival. This must include healthcare, where systems must be inviting and receptive to their needs, allowing them to engage proactively in healthcare, rather than waiting until they are acutely ill or deferring care altogether. We will expand investment at H+H into trauma-informed healthcare and other delivery models tailored to the needs of people with unique cultural needs and histories of violence or trauma. We will also center the patient experience in our healthcare system and ensure that patient rights are advocated for.

● Comprehensive Child Care: NYC Under 3 is my plan to deliver universal affordable child care to all New Yorkers regardless of immigration status from birth to 3 years old. The research is clear -- more than 80% of a child’s brain develops before the age of 3, yet as a society we invest almost nothing in these critical years. Providing greater access to high-quality, center- or home-based care is the single most important investment we can make toward closing the achievement gap, because we will be helping every child get to the starting line of pre-K and elementary school on a more even footing. At the same time, we need to be investing more in our schools, particularly in grades K-3, to make sure we are leveraging the investments in the earlier years and helping more of our children become proficient readers by the 3rd grade. And we need to make sure that every student, in every neighborhood, has access to free, reliable, high-speed internet at home. At a time when all 1.1 million school children are forced to learn remotely due to COVID, failing to give students the tools they need to connect is tantamount to denying them their right to a full education.

● Reimagining Public Safety: I was the first elected official to offer a detailed and specific plan to reduce the NYPD budget by $1 billion over four years, which I view as a baseline to build on. We have approached public health and public safety too narrowly for too long -- at an enormous cost to Black and brown New Yorkers. The NYPD’s responsibilities have ballooned and now include a host of social challenges, none of which our officers are properly trained to handle. My office has recently outlined a bold blueprint for moving responsibilities from the NYPD to public health professionals, and redirect funding into alternative first-responses and community-based efforts to support New Yorkers experiencing homelessness, substance use, and mental health issues, as well as disconnected youth. We have to think more holistically about what builds community safety and reinvest resources into wraparound services and deep public health interventions, from safe haven beds and crisis respite centers to safe consumption facilities and overdose prevention programs. This shift will help to dramatically limit the number of interactions between New Yorkers and the criminal legal system. It must be accompanied by long-term investments in the supports that communities need to feel safe in their neighborhoods: housing, education, healthcare, and jobs with family-sustaining wages.

● Climate Justice: The immense financial and social disruption caused by COVID-19 serves both as a preview of the coming climate crisis and a stark reminder of how decades of environmental and economic injustice has left communities overexposed to whatever crisis comes next. Our City deserves a Green New Deal that will create tens of thousands of climate jobs, clean our air, prioritize public need over profit, and create a model of how urban sustainability can save our planet, and I am proud that my recently released climate plan for the city was endorsed by Bill McKibben, a founder of 350.org, and a long list of other committed activists. We must end the era of fossil fuels by greening our buildings and power supply. We must lift up the communities that have suffered from decades of pollution and disinvestment by ensuring access to the good green jobs that will overhaul NYCHA and build out new green spaces. We must act quickly to protect our shorelines before the next storm hits and build up community resiliency that protects the most vulnerable from intense heat. The time for half measures and incrementalism is over and my climate plan will put our city on a path towards a more sustainable future.

Finally, you are a reflection of who you surround yourself with. Over my 30 years in government, I have learned that solving New York City’s biggest problems requires inclusive coalition building that brings the voices of all New Yorkers to the table. Progressive policy results from having a ground-up movement that foregrounds organized labor, committed activists, and working people.

If elected, what (if anything) would you do differently versus your predecessor (or previous Mayors) and why?

It’s no secret that I’ve been a critic of this Mayor — from the displacement rezonings, to the missteps in dealing with this pandemic. As I outlined above, this Administration has been too focused on top-line numbers while ignoring the impact their policies had on working people — particularly when it comes to their housing plan, which had the effect of pushing working people out of their homes, rather than creating new opportunities for struggling New Yorkers.

With regard to the City’s handling of COVID-19 and the subsequent economic fallout, the virus has stolen the life of my mother and the lives of more than 24,000 New Yorkers. It has caused enormous economic and social disruption that has left too many New Yorkers without work, hungry, or homeless. I believe this Mayor failed to respond with the urgency and the vision required to keep New Yorkers safe and protect our economy.

In the early days of the pandemic, my office put out a report on the demographics of frontline workers in New York City showing that 75% of these heroes are people of color, and some 20% are undocumented. I pushed for them to get free protective gear, free health care and free housing, and will continue to do so as Mayor. I have been outspoken in providing new solutions to help counter the Mayor’s management throughout the crisis, from pushing early on for a

citywide shutdown and closing of schools, to later issuing a comprehensive blueprint to safely open schools and advocating for our most vulnerable children who have been left behind by the Mayor’s mismanagement. I have issued detailed policy reports and analyses to guide our response, including on how to best support the frontline workers who put their lives on the line to keep our city running as well as a 25 point plan to help small businesses.

I have also pushed City Hall to make sure their vaccination roll-out is done equitably and with those communities hardest hit at the front of the line. For starters, the city needs to release demographic data of those who have received vaccinations, vastly ramp up public education, fix its buggy websites for getting appointments, and re-deploy some of our 3,000 contact tracers towards helping seniors and other vulnerable communities navigate the system and get shots. There is no excuse for the city’s slow-footed approach to this challenge of vaccinating our city, which we have all seen coming for months.

I have also launched an investigation as Comptroller into the City’s preparedness and early response so we can better understand what went right, what went wrong, and how we can improve our response for the next crisis. As Mayor, I promise that I will always be guided by expert public health advice and I will never shrink from my responsibility to do whatever is necessary to protect the city I love.

What is your plan to help NYC recover from the economic crisis caused by Covid-19?

Our city is facing three overlapping crises: an economic crisis, a public health crisis, and a social justice crisis. The next mayor will need to address all three head-on to bring our city forward from this pandemic.

The immense financial and social disruption caused by COVID-19 serves as a stark reminder of how we need to rethink every element of government and do all that we can to make our communities stronger. As Mayor, I will put forth a broad-based plan to lift up the economic and physical well-being of all our communities, many of which will be drawn from plans and priorities that I have already laid out as Comptroller since COVID-19 struck -- all of which center communities of color and the need to address disparities in our city. They include detailed, comprehensive plans to save small businesses, protect frontline workers, keep children attached to childcare and our schools, protect the homeless, overhaul workforce training programs and provide free tuition to CUNY community colleges, and lift up minority and women-owned businesses.

For New York City, there is no economic recovery without a small business and restaurant recovery. Our commercial corridor businesses employed around 700,000 workers

pre-pandemic. Sixty percent are owned by immigrant New Yorkers and 73% of their employees are people of color. We cannot fail them. As Comptroller, I put out a detailed plan to save our small businesses and I will follow through as Mayor.

To support struggling businesses, I will provide tax credits to help cover re-opening costs; create a CUNY Tech Corps to help small businesses adopt digital tools and develop an online presence; streamline permitting and inspections by creating one-stop shop for all business needs; eliminate the City tax on liquor licenses; permanently cap the fees charged by third-party delivery companies; provide legal assistance to businesses involved in legal disputes; allow all businesses a “cure period” to address and fix violations; and dramatically improve language access at SBS, DOB, and other agencies to assist our immigrant-owned businesses.

Additionally, we’re going to spur entrepreneurship and reduce vacancies -- which will keep our commercial corridors vibrant and help existing businesses remain viable. To do so, we’re going to create single point-of-contact for launching a business; waive permitting and inspection fees for the next 10 months; provide tax incentives for entrepreneurs in high-vacancy retail corridors; create a “re-entrepreneurship” program connecting retiring business owners to aspiring entrepreneurs; help immigrant entrepreneurs expand into new markets and open second stores; create a Minority Business Accelerator program; create a comprehensive inventory of vacant storefronts to help entrepreneurs locate spaces quickly; help freelancers and other solo-entrepreneurs scale up and hire employees; make entrepreneurship programs a more prominent component of our workforce development offerings; and push for reform of occupational license requirements so that barbers, masseuses, and cosmetologists can more easily get a license and start a business.

As Mayor, I would also harness the power of the city’s procurement budget to help MWBEs. We spent over $22 billion on goods and services in FY 2020, but only 4.9% of that money went to certified MWBEs, as I highlighted in my recent report on agency MWBE spending. We need to expand the promise of Local Law 1. The “next generation” of the program should boost the number of agencies required to prepare utilization plans, offer enhanced training to M/WBE officers, and hold agencies accountable for spending further down their supply chain.

We need to focus on connecting local people to local jobs. As Mayor, I would create a local “network coordinator” to serve as a point person in every Community District in order to strengthen the pipeline between local businesses and residents, especially in rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods. To help local workforce development providers coordinate business recruitment, locate job opportunities for their clients, and build new training programs based on employer needs, I would look to the Lower East Side Employment Network — a partnership

of seven veteran workforce development providers and Community Board 3 – as a model that could be extended citywide.

And finally, my transportation policies will focus on how to make neighborhoods more easily accessible, which will help our small businesses. Ultimately, you can’t “shop local,” if your local commercial corridor is inaccessible. In order to bridge that divide, I will widen commercial sidewalks to make them more passable for shoppers, strollers, and wheelchairs and provide more space for crucial amenities like street seating, street vendors, bus shelters, garbage bins, bike parking and public bathrooms. I will build out neighborhood networks of bus lanes and bike lanes and I will make our Open Restaurants, Open Retail, and Open Culture programs permanent.

Describe how you'd effectively address police misconduct and brutality, particularly as it affects communities of color.

This summer, in neighborhoods all across the city, we saw police officers, ostensibly charged with protecting the peace, using extreme force against peaceful protesters. While violence at the hands of law enforcement has been an undeniable reality for New Yorkers of color for decades, these images — on the heels of the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery — have sparked a citywide reckoning on police misconduct and the roots of systemic racism that we as a city and a society must confront.

We also need leadership that understands that the NYPD is not an autonomous agency and can no longer act with impunity. As Mayor, I will appoint a police commissioner that shares my progressive values and is not afraid to make change. Beyond that, one of the most effective tools we have to prevent police violence is to reduce police interactions with New Yorkers, particularly in communities of color, and remove police from a broad array of frontline responses to which they are poorly suited, including in our schools. I’ve outlined my plan for that realignment here.

We also need real, independent oversight to hold the department and individual officers accountable for misconduct. The police should not police themselves, and the NYPD Commissioner should not be the sole arbiter of discipline. That is why I support stripping the NYPD of that role and empowering the CCRB to have final authority to impose discipline — and to investigate and prosecute a wider range of claims, including of racial profiling.

Decades of disinvestment from our communities and over-policing have failed young people in New York City, disproportionately youth of color, and swept far too many into our criminal legal

system. To fundamentally dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline, we must provide real services and opportunities to our youth, both inside and outside of the school building. Schools must shift their emphasis to restorative justice and behavioral health — not suspensions, summonses, and arrests that disproportionately impact students of color. This includes the addition of thousands of social workers and guidance counselors in our public schools, and removal of armed NYPD officers.

More broadly, we need to be providing wrap-around services to at-risk youth and their families, including employment services, behavioral health services, educational supports, housing assistance, childcare, transportation, and even opportunities to relocate to other parts of the city. Such an approach would involve frontline and backend support from the Department of Youth, the New York City Housing Authority, Department of Education, DOHMH, and others. We must also guarantee free tuition and universal ASAP at CUNY community colleges, paid internships for all CUNY students nearing graduation, subsidized wage and apprenticeship programs for youth, and an expansion of Early College High Schools, Career and Technical Education, and College Now. We need to be uplifting our youth and helping them build careers and families, not holding them back and ensnaring them in the criminal justice system.

We also have to work harder to advance the cause of decarceration. Rikers Island is a stain on this city, and we have not moved quickly enough to shut it down. Instead, during this pandemic alone, the Rikers population has grown by thousands. To close Rikers’s doors for good, we must take a more aggressive approach in reducing the jail population by ending incarceration for technical parole violations, increasing the use of alternatives to bail, and identifying individuals who can serve the remainder of their City sentences at home. We also need to end the system of mandatory court surcharges and other fines and fees that criminalize poverty and force New Yorkers into a cycle of incarceration, while taking much-needed dollars out of their pockets — and I have worked with partners in Albany to advance such legislation.

Decarceration is not only a moral imperative but a fiscal necessity. As my office’s latest report on DOC spending outlined, we now spend $340,000 to keep one person in custody for a year. That money would be far better spent invested in supportive housing, mental health and substance use treatment, school-based social workers, community-based violence prevention such as Cure Violence, the Summer Youth Employment Program — a whole host of avenues that would actually begin to lift up communities, while reducing recidivism and opportunities for harmful interactions with the criminal legal system to begin with.

Finally, I was proud to lead New York City in its first-in-the-nation divestment from private prisons. I’m proud that New York State recently followed suit and sold its private prison pension

holdings, and other cities are considering similar moves. As Mayor, I will continue to push more cities and states across the nation to divest their holdings from this immoral industry.

Describe your plan to address/reduce the NYPD budget while better ensuring public safety and meeting community needs?

Policing in America has a long and fraught history, and New York City is no exception. From Clifford Glover, Amadou Diallo, and Eric Garner to choke holds, and stop and frisk – examples of deeply discriminatory practices and violence run deep, especially in communities of color.

In June, I was the first elected official in the city to present a tangible plan to begin scaling back the department’s multi-billion dollar budget. My plan moves at least $1 billion away from the NYPD over four years, and I believe additional cuts can and should be made. More recently, my office released a detailed blueprint outlining how the city needs to take a “public health first” approach to public safety, responding to homelessness, mental health crises, substance use, wellness checks, youth at risk of violence, and so many other challenges not with armed police officers but with wraparound services and deep investments in public health interventions. We need to take alternative approaches to building safety — through investments in community health, supportive housing, youth programming, and more.

As Mayor, I will work with and invest in community stakeholders to stop violence before it happens by vastly expanding Cure Violence and other community-led models. I will advance strategies to reduce the flow of guns into the five boroughs, provide comprehensive support services for at-risk youth, and invest in neighborhoods to address conditions that give rise to violence. This includes more targeted support for high-risk individuals and their families, leveraging the resources and expertise of the Department of Youth and Community Development, Department of Education, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the New York City Housing Authority, Housing Preservation and Development, and nonprofit organizations who best know their communities’ needs.

We need to take a multi-agency approach to building community safety and recognize that one of the best ways to help our young people is to get them jobs, which is one reason why I have proposed to make CUNY community colleges free for all, while investing in programs that subsidize jobs and help young people connect to the job market.

What would you do to further LGBTQ+ rights, equity, and justice if elected Mayor?

We must continue to speak out against homophobia, transphobia, institutional violence, and oppression, and deliver on the promise of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement. City government’s commitment must be not only to celebrate love, equality, justice, and the

vibrancy of the LGBTQ+ community — it must also serve as a central pillar in the fight for social justice. My commitment as Mayor of New York City will be to protect the LGBTQ+ community from violence and discrimination and to advance the progress we’ve fought so hard for.

We know that people of color are disproportionately impacted by anti-LGBTQ+ violence — particularly transgender New Yorkers, who are far more likely to experience homelessness, sexual assault, and domestic abuse. And LGBTQ+ people continue to be denied equal treatment, services, and are physically or verbally harassed just because of who they are.

My administration will end the overpolicing of transgender women of color and sex workers, decriminalize sex work, expand HIV/AIDS resources in economically disadvantaged communities of color, promote LGBTQ+ history education and competency training in our city’s schools, and ensure the NYPD workforce are appropriately trained on transgender and gender non-conforming people.

As Mayor, I will double down on expanding transgender health care services and streamline data collection to bring transgender New Yorkers out of the shadows of our health care system by making one standard data collection process that accounts for sex/gender identity and sex recorded at birth.

I will also work to expand anti-bullying initiatives in schools, enhance resources for LGBTQ+ mental health services and suicide prevention, review all housing policies to ensure LGBTQ+ inclusivity, fund more LGBTQ+ senior affordable housing, and protect LGBTQ+ individuals in the shelter system.

As Mayor, I will also expand the number of New York City-based LGBTQ+ employers, and support and expand LGBTQ+ inclusion in the City’s MWBE contracting process to ensure more LGBTQ+ businesses do business with the City. We should also include a member of the LGBTQ+ community in every city commission, committee, and board that is an appointed position - to ensure a diverse and representative array of the city’s voices are at each and every decisionmaking and advisory table.

A Stringer Administration won’t stop until we recognize the inherent dignity and humanity of all regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Do you commit to retaining the New York City Unity Project, the City’s first Mayoral-level effort to coordinate LGBTQ+ policy efforts across city agencies, and if so, what actions would you take to build upon or revise the project?

Yes. To build upon the Unity Project, I will restore funding for the Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD)’s collaboration with the NYC Unity Project and NYC Center for Youth Employment to create the NYC Unity Works Program, under which a not-for-profit organization would be contracted to help queer homeless youth between the ages of 16 and 24 obtain gainful employment or education. The program was aimed at providing training, job placement and other workforce development initiatives for runaway and homeless queer youth that was planned to start last July but was placed on hold due to budget cuts.

I will also redouble efforts to specifically create and fund programs for LGBTQ+ homeless youth including providing LGBTQ+ homeless youth with significant health, educational and legal support and creating local 24-hour drop-in locations for LGBTQ+ youth.

My administration will bolster the Unity Project by expanding its scope and impact including launching a citywide mentorship program for LGBTQ+ high school and college students; bolstering efforts to end teen suicide and root out bullying in schools; increasing access to HIV and STI prevention information for all public high school students; ensuring enforcement of non-discrimination in schools; mandating LGBTQ+ competency training in all early childhood programs citywide; supporting and organizing government, clergy and community leaders to help parents in accepting their LGBTQ+ children, and supporting and organizing interfaith clergy to be inclusive of LGBTQ+ people.

I will also expand the Unity Project’s advertising to include more multilingual and multicultural media to expand outreach to LGBTQ+ youth in communities of color, immigrant communities, and non-English speaking families.

What would you do differently than your predecessor(s) to address New York City's affordable housing crisis?
As a former housing organizer, I understand that the crisis of homelessness in our city is a product of decades of policy failure by all levels of government to build the housing we need. I also think our homelessness crisis and our housing crisis are not two separate challenges — they are one in the same, and the sooner we acknowledge that and stop addressing them in silos, the sooner we can make real progress. As Mayor, I will build affordable housing that is actually affordable to working people and New Yorkers on the brink.

I have a five-borough housing strategy to fundamentally realign New York City’s failed approach to our housing crisis and build the next generation of social housing: including a new Universal Affordable Housing (UAH) requirement, ending 421-a, utilizing vacant city properties for those most in need of affordable housing, creating a NYC land bank and working in partnership with

non-profit developers and community land trusts, and expanding home ownership opportunities.

Universal Affordable Housing

The City’s inclusionary zoning program, Mandatory Inclusionary Housing (MIH), has centered the creation of affordable housing in specific neighborhoods and offers developers additional height and/or density in exchange for the construction of a certain percentage of affordable units. By every measure, MIH has been a failure. Much of this housing is not affordable to local residents; most of the housing built under the City’s ‘Housing New York’ plan is set at 80% of HUD-defined Area Median Income (AMI), or households making up to approximately $77,000 a year, or higher. As a result, instead of helping to stabilize those communities against displacement, MIH has fueled speculation and gentrification.

Under my plan, every new as-of-right development with ten or more units will be legally required to set aside a baseline of 25% of its units or 25% of its floor area for permanent, low-income affordable housing. These units would be affordable to families at an average of 60% of Area Median Income (household income of $58,000 a year for a family of three), or two parents making minimum wage and raising a child.

Ending 421-a

I have called for ending the City's most expensive and least effective affordable housing program: 421-a. This program produces affordable housing units which can be above market rate in many neighborhoods — and worse, many of these units are not even created. I would end 421-a and instead redirect subsidies toward real affordable housing, using the $1.6 billion to plug financing gaps, deepen affordability levels, increase the amount of affordability, and provide good-paying jobs.

Housing for Extremely Low and Very Low-Income New Yorkers

The “affordable” housing created by the current Administration’s “Housing New York” plan is too expensive for as many as 435,000 of the city’s most severely rent-burdened households. An analysis by my office found that nearly 565,000 New York households pay over half of their income for rent, are severely overcrowded, or have been in a homeless shelter for over a year. As Mayor, I would start by looking at every City-owned vacant lot — all 2,900 of them — as a potential site for 100%, permanently affordable housing, in tandem with the creation of an NYC Land Bank and in partnership with community-based land trusts. Under my plan, all new construction of affordable housing on City-owned properties would be targeted to the roughly 580,000 New York City households with the greatest need for affordable housing. Almost 90%

of these households make less than $47,000 per year for a family of three, yet less than 25% of the City’s affordable housing is currently being built for these New Yorkers.

Housing and Supporting Homeless New Yorkers

We need to take a “housing first” approach to solving homelessness and recognize that when you build affordable and supportive housing for those most in need, you relieve pressure on the marketplace for others struggling to get by. It is appalling to me that in the richest city, in the richest nation in the world, we still have more than 60,000 New Yorkers sleeping in shelters every night. That will change under my administration.

In addition to the housing policy I’ve laid out above, under my watch, the City will prioritize finding subsidized homes for shelter residents, and constructing more supportive housing for those with additional needs. And we should reform the voucher system so that they reflect actual market rates and can be easily used. I also think that the contraction in the hotel industry caused by COVID, resulting in the shuttering of some 200 hotels, offers a rare opportunity for the City to purchase hotels that may come up for sale and convert them to safe, affordable housing or shelter for a broad range of New Yorkers.

Making Homeownership an Achievable Dream

New York must do more to help those who aspire to homeownership. New York’s homeownership rate is half of the rest of the country's (only 32% compared to 64% nationwide.) Black and Hispanic borrowers receive less than 16% of home loans citywide despite constituting the majority of the population. In order to grow homeownership across the city, I will expand loan and down payment programs, waive real property transfer and mortgage recording taxes for qualified first-time homebuyers, give tenants the right of first refusal to buy their buildings, and leverage community land banks and land trusts to build affordable co-ops and condominiums on City-owned land.

Relatedly, and keeping in mind the City's legal and moral obligation to provide shelter, how would you improve shelter and services for New Yorkers experiencing homelessness, particularly as it relates to reducing the number in need of shelter?

We need to take a “housing first” approach to solving homelessness and recognize that when you build affordable and supportive housing for those most in need, you relieve pressure on the marketplace for others struggling to get by. It is appalling to me that in the richest city, in the richest nation in the world, we still have more than 60,000 New Yorkers sleeping in shelters every night. That will change under my administration.

In addition to the housing policy I’ve laid out above, under my watch, the City will prioritize finding subsidized homes for shelter residents, and constructing more supportive housing for those with additional needs. And we should reform the voucher system so that they reflect actual market rates and can be easily used. I also think that the contraction in the hotel industry caused by COVID, resulting in the shuttering of some 200 hotels, offers a rare opportunity for the City to purchase hotels that may come up for sale and convert them to safe, affordable housing or shelter for a broad range of New Yorkers.

Keeping in mind the specific needs of LGBTQ+ New Yorkers experiencing homelessness, will you commit to increasing capacity for clients (youth and adults) who require single room placement for reasons of health and safety including clients with mobility issues and/or who identify as TGNC (because placement in traditional single adult shelter may compromise their safety)?

Yes.

Describe what you believe is meant by "gender equity" and what steps you've taken to date and will take if elected Mayor to support and further gender equity?

Gender equity means ensuring everyone in New York City regardless of gender, gender identity or expression has equal access to opportunities and advancement, and are free from harassment, violence, and discrimination in housing, employment, health care, and all other aspects of daily life.

As Comptroller, I have advanced gender equity in my office by elevating women to the highest levels of our leadership team including both the First Deputy Comptroller and Chief of Staff and other deputy comptrollers – the most prominent positions in my office. As the fiduciary to the City’s pension funds, I have used the bully pulpit to mobilize other major institutional investors to speak out against discrimination — including an $11 trillion global coalition to oppose the Texas “Bathroom Bill” SB6; pushed for corporate diversity efforts explicitly to include the LGBTQ+ community; advocated for gender and racial pay equity; centered women and LGBTQ+ New Yorkers across the many functions of the Comptroller’s office; and spearheaded City legislation prohibiting discrimination of LGBTQ+ business owners who bid on city contracts that became law, effectively closing a glaring loophole in the City’s existing anti-discrimination protections.

In October, I called on City Hall and the Department of Education to allow nonbinary and gender non-conforming students the ability to choose their own gender identity in the DOE’s administrative remote learning ecosystem. In 2015, I partnered with Council Member Danny

Dromm to propose legislation that would require all publicly-accessible single-occupancy restrooms to become gender-neutral and change City codes to allow building owners to designate more gender-neutral restrooms.

As Mayor, I will ensure women, LGBTQ+, gender non-conforming, intersex, and transgender New Yorkers are protected from violence and discrimination. More specifically, I will expand transgender health care services and streamline data collection to bring transgender New Yorkers out of the shadows of our health care system by making one standard data collection process that accounts for sex/gender identity and sex recorded at birth.

I will also work to enhance resources for transgender, gender non-conforming, intersex, and queer (TGNCIQ+) New Yorkers in mental health services and suicide prevention, review all housing policies to ensure TGNCIQ+ inclusivity, fund more TGNCIQ+ senior affordable housing, and protect TGNCIQ+ individuals in the shelter system.

As Mayor, I will also support and expand TGNCIQ+ inclusion in the City’s M/WBE contracting process to leverage City dollars for economic justice for TGNCIQ+ entrepreneurs and community leaders. We should also include a member of the TGNCIQ+ community in every city commission, committee, and board that is an appointed position — to ensure a diverse and representative array of the city’s voices are at each and every decisionmaking and advisory table.

I will also work to expand resources for New Yorkers that want to change their legal names, and add more resources to ensure people know how to access these services.

If elected, do you commit to using inclusive and gender neutral language in all official documents and press releases, and will you order city agencies to do the same?

Yes

How much money has your campaign raised to date and what are your key sources of support? Relatedly, are you rejecting contributions from specific sectors, such as lobbyists, real estate interests, pension fund managers, police unions, etc.?

Yes, my campaign is rejecting money from lobbyists, big real estate developers, pension fund managers, fossil fuel executives and police unions.

I am running in a field of over 40 candidates all vying to be our next mayor.

The Campaign Finance Board normally limits spending in the Democratic Primary for mayor to $7,629,000, and provides up to $6.4M in matching funds to eligible campaigns. However, another candidate in the race has opted out of the matching funds program, and plans to spend at least half of the $7.6M original spending cap.

Therefore, the Campaign Finance Board will lift the cap to approximately $10.9M. Between the direct contributions our campaign will raise and the matching funds we will be eligible for, we anticipate raising and spending the new maximum allowable amount of $10.9M.

With our expected eligible matching funds, as of January 11th, 2021, we have raised $8.3M in total for our campaign from over 5,500 donors across all five boroughs. I am proud of our grassroots support and the coalition my campaign is building.

I’m proud my campaign has the support from the following community leaders and labor unions, and more:

● Congressmember Jamaal Bowman (D-Bronx)
● Congressmember Adriano Espaillat (D-Bronx & Manhattan) ● Congressmember Jerry Nadler (D-Brooklyn & Manhattan) ● Sen. Alessandra Biaggi (D-Bronx)
● Sen. Robert Jackson (D-Manhattan)
● Sen. Brian Kavanagh (D-Brooklyn & Manhattan)
● Sen. Jessica Ramos (D-Queens)
● Sen. Gustavo Rivera (D-Bronx)
● Sen. Julia Salazar (D-Brooklyn)
● Assemblymember Robert Carroll (D-Brooklyn)
● Assemblymember Catalina Cruz (D-Queens)
● Assemblymember Maritza Davila (D-Brooklyn)
● Assemblymember Carmen De La Rosa (D-Manhattan)
● Assemblymember Dick Gottfried (D-Manhattan)
● Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou (D-Manhattan)
● Assemblymember N. Nick Perry (D-Brooklyn)
● Assemblymember Diana Richardson (D-Brooklyn)
● Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal (D-Manhattan)
● Assemblymember Rebecca Seawright (D-Manhattan)
● Assemblymember Amanda Septimo (D-Bronx)
● Assemblymember Al Taylor (D-Manhattan)
● Council Member Diana Ayala (D-Bronx & Manhattan)
● Council Member Costa Constantinides (D-Queens)

● Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Queens) ● RWDSU
● CWA District 1
● CWA Local 1180

● CWA Local 1101
● CWA Local 1109
● CWA Local 1106
● CWA Local 1102
● Food & Water Action

Why do you want LID's endorsement? If LID endorses you do you commit to including that endorsement on your website, social media, and all campaign literature on which you list or make mention of endorsements?

Yes. LID has been a stalwart in the progressive movement for decades — fighting for LGBTQ+ equality in the State Legislature, marching in the streets for civil rights and justice, and organizing Democrats to make change. Your advocacy has been critical in the many wins that have taken place over the years from marriage equality to ending the Walking While Trans ban. Your members are passionate community advocates who roll up their sleeves, speak out against injustice, and fight the good fight for the LGBTQ+ community and all New Yorkers — electing progressive and visionary Democrats up and down the ballot.

I am seeking LID’s endorsement because the values advanced every day by your organization are my values, too, and always have been. LID represents the best of New York: an organization built on LGBTQ+ equality, diversity, and committed to grassroots organizing — and dedicated to the promise of achieving lasting, structural change through strategic action and coalition building. I have always been proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with this organization to fight transphobia, homophobia, discrimination, and violence — and to improve the lives of LGBTQ+ people.

I would be honored to have LID’s endorsement and would proudly display it on all of our campaign materials. I hope to take our partnership from the City Hall steps into the Mayor’s office.

Loree Sutton

Level
Mayor

More Information
Campaign Site

2020 LID Questionnaire Response

Why are you running for Mayor?

I am running for Mayor to bring sanity, leadership & common sense to City Hall. The way forward to our City’s resilience and recovery requires leaders who possess the character, competence, confidence and courage to lead in times of conflict, crisis, and pandemic. Recovering from the public health, public safety and economic crises of the COVID-19 pandemic and restoring prosperity and vitality to our city forms the essential foundation upon which all else must build and, without which, little can succeed. This will require tough choices, sound stewardship of our resources and well-designed public-private partnerships. We must let go of the City we knew just a year ago and forge innovative solutions for the City we now inhabit — the next Mayor must restore public safety and health; reopen the City for business; and bring sanity and common sense — NOT ideology — to City Hall.

Please cite your top three-five priorities should you be elected Mayor and why you believe they are priorities.

Restore Public Safety

There will be no economic recovery in New York City until we can restore trust in the public safety of our city. Unless and until we can achieve and build this foundation, our path to recovery will fall short.

The first step in restoring public safety is rebuilding the destroyed trust between the police and the communities they serve. My public safety plan calls for new leadership, new approaches to training, better partnerships and investments as well as coordination between the police and social service agencies, and a complete reimagining of policing in the 21st century. It also recognizes that the number one responsibility of government is to ensure the safety of its citizens, and that New York City remains a top terror target.

Re-Open New York City

We must re-open our businesses, schools, cultural and arts institutions by following the science and data regarding COVID-19 infection rates and the protocols that prevent transmission of the virus. Inconsistency in reopening policies, as with houses of worship and indoor-dining are destructive; leadership courage is needed.

We also must let the investors, innovators, small business owners and entrepreneurs who are crucial to our economic recovery know that we are open for business in the broader sense—that they will have a reliable partner in revitalizing the city in City Hall—by creating an economic climate that is attractive for business and investment, by investing in technology and city-wide broad band internet access, and by establishing public-private partnerships that will help create a pathway to apprenticeships and jobs for our young people.

The next Mayor must invest in green jobs, technologies, infrastructure and renewable energy sources while easing burdensome regulations, incentivizing public-private partnerships and implementing a carbon dividends program to remunerate New Yorkers based upon our success; finally, our low-wage, front line and essential workers have secure health care, housing and living wages.

Invest in Social Determinants of Whole Health

Access to timely quality healthcare for all New Yorkers is necessary yet insufficient. As the pandemic has demonstrated, public health requires a broader and deeper in investment, ensuring readiness with a pragmatic “all of City” approach to monitoring all current and emerging threats — whether from disease pathogens like COVID-19 or a diverse array of challenges, including gun violence and gang activity, quality education, employment, economic insecurity, intimate partner abuse, serious mental illness, addiction treatment, restorative justice, clean water and safe streets, affordable and accessible housing, multi-modal transit network, social support, nutrition and more. We must improve upon how we prepare, plan and practice our disaster preparedness efforts to synchronize with the myriad needs, including ‘essential worker’ protection, medical equipment, supply chain management, shelter, nutrition, therapeutics, tiered phases and care facilities. As this pandemic reminds us, there is no health without public health.

If elected, what (if anything) would you do differently versus your predecessor (or previous Mayors) and why?

Relationships matter — I will develop productive & respectful working relationships with the Governor, the media, the private sector in general & NYC wealthy in particular, NYPD & all leaders of my Administration and, critically important, the most vulnerable New Yorkers, whose needs, hopes & dreams the current Mayor had utterly & absolutely betrayed through inattention, neglect, incompetence & hubris.
Character counts — I will lead with HEART, exemplifying my lifelong values & commitment to integrity — Honor, Empathy, Accountability, Respect & Teamwork.
Respect for authority & public safety — NYPD has suffered immeasurably due to the Mayor’s conflicted relationship with authority and the rule of the law. The next Mayor must restore trust between communities & cops; reinvest in communities & law enforcement; & work WITH the NYPD & communities to reimagine law enforcement in NYC & then roll up our sleeves & hold all involved accountable to get us there.
Budget discipline & courage — draining the City reserves & begging for borrowing authority from Albany is NOT the way to demonstrate leadership which meets the moment during a pandemic. Bloated City government, failure of affordable housing policy & feckless measures such as the 1-week furlough — symbolic but not even close to matching the seriousness required in this moment.
And many more . . .

What is your plan to help NYC recover from the economic crisis caused by COVID-19?

Economic recovery depends upon the next Mayor’s ability & inclination to do first things first, building a strong foundation encompassing these five actions, upon which all else depends:

** Restore public safety

** Stop the exodus of New Yorkers leaving the City

** Fix the budget

** Open the City for business

** Bring back tourists

Firm, fair, & principled leadership, centered upon core values, are critically important. Serving as Mayor is NOT a popularity contest, neither should it be treated as a springboard to a national platform nor a consolation prize for those who have failed at the national level. New Yorkers deserve a Mayor who truly LOVES our City — its quirks, characters, teams & traditions — and who possesses the character, vision & proven experience to succeed. In short, New Yorkers need a General to lead, a Doctor to heal & a gay Woman to pioneer & achieve, working together, the inclusive City we OUGHT to be. . . ;-)))

Describe how you’d effectively address police misconduct and brutality, particularly as it affects communities of color.

Police misconduct and brutality is inexcusable, no matter where it occurs, but is particularly damaging in communities of color because it destroys trust and legitimacy between the community and the police.

The NYPD has already made significant progress to increase accountability, NYPD Commissioner has recently come to an agreement with the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) on the use of a new disciplinary matrix, implemented an early warning and detection system called, the Risk Assessment Information Liability System (RAILS) to quickly identify and discipline officers who have a high number of citizen complaints, appear to be exhibiting bias, over policing, or using excessive force. Additionally, by the end of the year, RAILS will even help identify officers who should NOT be indemnified when the department is sued civilly because of the officers’ actions.

These progressive reforms, in addition to a handful of amended NYPD policies and effective leadership, prior to the COVID -19 pandemic, helped bring UOF incidents resulting in death, the number of “stops”, the number of arrests and summonses, and the number of punitive encounters overall to some of the lowest levels comparatively in the country, while also reducing crime to its lowest levels in decades.

In addition to these effort, I would create a Public Safety Oversight Board (PSOB) to coordinate, triage, track and increase collaboration on misconduct investigations across (DOI NYPD-OIG, NYPD IAB, CCRB and CCPC) and institute a Mayor’s Public Safety (1800) Misconduct Hotline to ensure allegations are expeditiously referred to the appropriate agency.

I would appoint a senior executive to handle all FOIA requests for the release of substantiated officer misconduct records for lesser offenses and ensure substantiated cases for serious offenses were made public once disciplinary or legal action has concluded and I would mandate NYPD participate in the National Decertification Index.

The PSOB would also create Disciplinary Action Panels (DAPs) across the interagency with input from vetted community stakeholders to review completed investigations and apply the disciplinary matrix. Recommendations would be forwarded to the NYPD Commissioner for decision.

The PSOB would also develop decision guidance for the NYPD Commissioner similar to the twelve (mitigating /aggravating) factors, determined by the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, referred to as the Douglas Factors. The commissioner would have the last word, but the PSOB would conduct quarterly reviews of final decisions to ensure due process, timeliness, consistency, and uniformity of outcomes. These findings would be reported quarterly to the Mayor’s Office and City Council. The commissioner could then be called upon to provide testimony at City Council hearings bi-annually to provide justification for any significant departures from the Matrix.

Describe your plan to address/reduce the NYPD budget while better ensuring public safety and meeting community needs?

Given the City’s financial condition, all city agencies, including the NYPD will have to take a haircut. But I will not jump on the bandwagon of the “Defund Police” movement. My objective is to unify public safety efforts across NYC with social services and community resources.

My reform agenda for policing in NYC, is rooted in the shared responsibility and integrated services approach of public safety resources across all of City government. I have proposed the creation of a Public Security Coordination Council (PSCC) to create strategic priorities, goals, and objectives; operationalize shared services, to find efficiencies and unify decision making to solve complex public safety problems.

I have also proposed the development of a data driven, information sharing and analytics platform to hold all public safety agencies accountable for results and direct the deployment of resources efficiently. Furthermore, I have proposed creating Public Safety Action Teams (PSATs) to integrate city-wide services at the precinct level, ensuring that the right balance of police, social services and community resources are leveraged to solve complex issues like addiction, mental health crisis and homelessness. By combining resources, using technology, and strategically applying both, I believe we can save money find efficiencies and be more effective in how we deliver police and public safety services to our communities.

We also need to take steps to promote fiscal responsibility and evidence-based policies across all NYC public safety agencies. To this end, I would implement a system-wide approach, partnering with non-profit organizations such as the National Police Foundation, Police Executive Research Forum, and the International Association of Chiefs of Police as well as educational institutions to identify best practices and pursue reforms that are based on science and evidence, not political rhetoric. In collaboration with the Mayor’s Office and City Council, I would also champion “smart” legislation that thoughtfully anticipates the benefits and costs to both the community and public safety agencies. Most importantly, these policies public safety solutions would be integrated with underlying conditions of crime such as poverty, education, substance abuse and mental health.

I would also create a Mayor’s Joint Requirements Counsel (JRC) to conduct agency capability assessments, mission gap identification and to explore long term and joint solutions for Acquisitions, Technology and Information Sharing Systems, Facilities and Fleet Management, Staffing and Training, Maintenance and Equipment, Contracts, and Accounting. Through these efforts combined, I believe we can ensure public safety and meet community needs.

What would you do to further LGBTQ+ rights, equity, and justice if elected Mayor?

My Administration would not tolerate discrimination, disrespect, marginalization or oppression in any form. This has been a major part of my life’s work — both in the military for 30 years and now here in NYC… I will leave no stone unturned to make my Administration the most open, forward-thinking Administration in NYC with respect to protecting the rights, enforcing justice & insisting upon equity for our community. There is no greater privilege.

I would serve as a role model for the LGBTQ+ community, with particular focus upon the strengths & needs of seniors, youth, persons with disabilities & transgender individuals.

I would work with police and public safety agencies and personnel to ensure officers are trained/protect from discriminatory policing/police brutality — see my Public Safety plan for details.

I would advance efforts to prevent gender-based & intimate partner violence and to enforce Human Rights & Criminal Hate Crime laws to the fullest extent for all protected classes.

Do you commit to retaining the New York City Unity Project, the City’s first Mayoral-level effort to coordinate LGBTQ+ policy efforts across city agencies, and if so, what actions would you take to build upon or revise the project?

Yes, definitely; this is an important initiative. Going forward, I would consult with the greater LGBTQ+ community to ensure my Administration builds on successes & provides resources to support the future success of the NYC Unity Project according to community feedback.

What would you do differently than your predecessor(s) to address New York City’s affordable housing crisis?

We must be innovative and pragmatic to create the housing stock that actually meets the needs of New York residents. My housing program would include:

Zoning must allow for mixed-use housing/retail/health service developments aligned with transit corridors throughout the City
Excess commercial real estate (pandemic-induced) may be converted to a variety of housing models and approaches
City program allowing apartment dwellers to sublease spare bedrooms to tenants in need must be expanded
Tiny housing complexes and village communities can play a role
Distressed property values represent an opportunity for the City to invest — borrowing for this purpose is a definite improvement over operating expenses
Landlord reforms instituted in the last legislative term in Albany must be revamped to ensure that landlords can recoup maintenance expenses as well as capital investments — the current law will accelerate a “race to the bottom”
A single council member must NOT be allowed to kill a development in his/her district

Relatedly, and keeping in mind the City’s legal and moral obligation to provide shelter, how would you improve shelter and services for New Yorkers experiencing homelessness, particularly as it relates to reducing the number in need of shelter?

As the NYC DVC Commissioner, I led the team of teams which reduced veteran homelessness by nearly 90% over the past several years. The key to our success was to understand homelessness as a housing crisis and address those factors.

Enduring homelessness is usually the result of mental health, physical disability, addition and other problems that require supportive housing with wrap-around services. For others, it is the result of a catastrophic event—medical bills, a divorce, job loss. We have to have programs in place to prevent homelessness for these individuals and families and keep them in their homes before they enter the shelter system. For working families who just don’t earn enough to pay rent, we need to provide appropriate affordable housing and offer programs, such as jobs and skill training, that would provide them with opportunities for upward mobility.

Our strategy at DVS also included putting human relationships at the center of our strategy and instituting:

Peer coordinators
Landlord hotline
Aftercare support
Digital tracking database
Case management
Partnerships at all levels
NYLOP projects
Pandemic-borne opportunities to invest in distressed commercial properties /land & convert to permanent housing.

These innovations need to be scaled citywide.

Keeping in mind the specific needs of LGBTQ+ New Yorkers experiencing homelessness, will you commit to increasing capacity for clients (youth and adults) who require single room placement for reasons of health and safety including clients with mobility issues and/or who identify as TGNC (because placement in traditional single adult shelter may compromise their safety)?

Yes. I believe single-room housing would fill a large gap in our housing needs/homeless crisis. I support rezoning and changes to existing laws that would allow homeowners to rent out spare bedrooms and other measures that would create more single-room housing.

Describe what you believe is meant by “gender equity” and what steps you’ve taken to date and will take if elected Mayor to support and further gender equity?

My life has been one continuing struggle to advocate for, create pathways for and to insist upon gender equity. Simply defined, gender equity means fair treatment for all genders, identities & relational orientations — treatment which is equivalent in terms of rights, benefits, obligations & opportunities.

I commit to bringing my entire life experience in leadership, management, advocacy & service to protect, enhance & enforce gender equity in every facet, sector, borough, community & neighborhood of City life if granted the opportunity to serve as Mayor of the greatest City on earth.

If elected, do you commit to using inclusive and gender neutral language in all official documents and press releases, and will you order city agencies to do the same?

Yes.

How much money has your campaign raised to date and what are your key sources of support? Relatedly, are you rejecting contributions from specific sectors, such as lobbyists, real estate interests, pension fund managers, police unions, etc.?

I have raised $230,000 mostly from individual contributors. I do not believe in banning entire industries from supporting my campaign. I evaluate each donation on its individual merits and am capable of determining whose contributions align with my values and which contributions I should reject.

Why do you want LID's endorsement? If LID endorses you do you commit to including that endorsement on your website, social media, and all campaign literature on which you list or make mention of endorsements?

As the only openly gay woman candidate in this race, I would be most honored to receive LID’s endorsement & would pledge my ongoing engagement, advocacy, leadership & support for all within our community whom LID so ably represents.

Yes, I would be beyond proud to advertise LID’s endorsement — EVERYWHERE and ANYWHERE my campaign is featured or represented to all New Yorkers. I am PROUD of who I am and who we all are AND what we can accomplish through working together as one team.

Maya Wiley

Level
Mayor

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2020 LID Questionnaire Response

Why are you running for Mayor?

I am committed to a New York City where every New Yorker can live with dignity. New Yorkers have dignity when they have a decent, safe, affordable place to live, a job with a future, an education system that has high expectations for every child, and where every resident is safe from crime and from police abuse. Dignity also includes respect for different cultures, languages and beliefs.

I am running for Mayor because far too many New Yorkers do not live here with dignity and that must change. I have spent the last three decades as a civil rights and racial justice advocate who has also served at senior levels of city government, because dignity for people of color in particular has been a national shame and that includes New York City.

I will bring New Yorkers together to do more than recover from the COVID-19 crisis; we will reimagine New York City rise together; rising above hate, rising from joblessness to dignity, rising from homelessness to hope, rising from an affordability crisis to communities that are sustainable.

This is within our reach, but it requires bold leadership that fearlessly confronts the realities New Yorkers face in partnership with our communities. I am that leader. From working to end racial discrimination, including suing Pan Am Airways for discriminating against passengers who it believed to be Muslim, working to support the Third World Within Coalition when communities of color where devastated by the aftermath of 9/11, and as the Co-Founder and President of the Center for Social Inclusion, now part of Race Forward, I became a national leader on transforming structural racism. When I joined City Hall in 2014, I came to continue that decades long work and am grateful for the opportunity to have helped move the first-ever Sanctuary Cities legislation, to increase city contracts to Minority & Women owned Business Enterprise from $500 million to $1.6 billion in a single year and to get the money, commitments and plans moving that resulted in every apartment in Queensbridge Houses free broadband – something the City had never imagined doing. I left city government and became the Senior Vice President for Social Justice and a faculty member at the New School, but I also Chaired the NYC Civilian Complaint Review Board, sending Eric Garner’s killer, former Officer Daniel Pantaleo, to face charges for the killing. I also Co-Chaired the School Diversity Advisory Group convened by the Department of Education Chancellor where we led a multi-racial, multi- stakeholder process to advance true school integration and increase educational opportunities for students of color, students with disabilities, Multi-Language Learners and students who are homeless.

I am uniquely positioned to be a transformative leader and I know how to marshal all of the government’s resources to make history, not deals; and transcend the business-as-usual governmental tinkering to make truly transformational progress. New Yorkers cannot afford the politics of least resistance and deserve leadership that will beat a path to shared prosperity — to become one city, rising together, out of the ashes and into a future we build and live together.

Please cite your top three-five priorities should you be elected Mayor and why you believe they are priorities.

Jobs & Economic Mobility -- New York City is facing the worst economic crisis in at least a generation. We need an economic recovery plan as diverse as the workforce in New York City. It must focus on stimulative capital investment, workforce development, supporting our small businesses and restaurants, and providing relief for our low-wage and gig workers. And as we do all of this, we must not forget the impact the added burden that COVID has placed on our caregivers -- the child care workers, homecare and healthcare workers, all have borne the brunt of this pandemic.We don’t just need a recovery, we need to reimagine what New York City looks like. COVID has not hit every community the same, and our plan needs to reflect that.

While some industries have partially recovered, people of color continue to suffer the worst, economically. As of September, Black and Latinx households had much higher rates of food and housing insecurity, and Asian households were experiencing considerable housing insecurity. Nearly a third of households with incomes below $50,000 were food and housing insecure. These examples make clear that while some in the city are doing okay, entire swaths of New York are struggling just to get by and are in danger of being forgotten.

This is why, as the first plank of my Economic Recovery Plan, I announced New Deal New York, a $10B capital investment program to put residents back to work and invest in the future of our communities. My plan will create a 5-year centrally managed $10B capital spending program for public works projects. The program will fund much-needed development, infrastructure repairs, and enhancements. The fund would consist of committed unspent capital funds and new capital dollars financed by City debt. It will also prioritize new kinds of investments that support our recovery while addressing the structural issues that cause racial and gender inequities. New Deal New York will target investments based on a comprehensive analysis of capital needs across five boroughs, using metrics including racial disparities in income, unemployment, capital need and city investment over the past decade, to ensure capital dollars are utilized in the most underinvested communities first. On Day One I will appoint a New Deal Czar who will report directly to me in City Hall and be responsible for implementing the program.

I have also put forward a plan for Universal Community Care -- is an ambitious interagency plan that rebuilds economic growth in sectors dominated by women of color and ensures that these jobs are good jobs, addresses the crisis of affordable childcare and eldercare, and fights for fair wages and protections for workers in the care economy. Universal Community Care recognizes that care exists in many forms: from paid childcare and elder care to direct services provided by frontline nonprofit workers to care provided within the home by family, to neighbors helping neighbors. This model will redirect $300 million in diverted resources from incoming NYPD and DOCCS cadet classes to give 100,000 high need informal caregivers a $5,000 annual stipend to compensate them for their labor. Using the Universal Community Care Model, I will also build community centers providing free childcare, eldercare, and other services in each neighborhood. And it will create strong, meaningful worker protections for our city’s care workers.

Criminal Justice Reform & Policing -- We need to put the Public back in Public Safety. This means a top to bottom restructuring of the NYPD, beginning with strong civilian oversight at the front end of policing -- policies that make clear what policing is and is not, what conduct will not be tolerated, as well as the priorities of policing, which I describe as problem-oriented, rather than punitive. When I am Mayor, I will do the following:

1. Run a full audit of the NYPD’s budget -- including the out of budget expenses such as settlements -- to assess the facts and make necessary cuts, including to the number of uniformed officers.

2. Move mental health calls, routine traffic violations, and school safety out of the NYPD. Assert civilian oversight of all policies and priorities of the NYPD on the front end. We cannot only assert civilian oversight to engage in discipline. We must prevent the nefarious acts from happening at the outset.

3. Hire a police commissioner that has not just moved up the ranks of the NYPD rank and file. We need a new model of leadership to work as a partner with the people to transform policing.

4. Create a shift from “containment and control” policing that produces strategies like unconstitutional “stop and frisks” and make “community and problem-oriented policing” the model, which requires collaboration and partnership with other agencies and communities. This approach focuses on underlying conditions identified and understood with communities and drawing in and working with other governmental partners to solve them. Eric Garner lost his life because he allegedly sold an untaxed cigarette. A community and problem-oriented approach would have worked with store owners, who were complaining, and also other agencies to address what was happening and how to find solutions that did not require an arrest. Too often the NYPD responds to problems of poverty, not of crime. We need to ensure that if the NYPD receives a call about a poverty problem, the right city agencies are involved and the NYPD is not.

5. End the criminalization of poverty and close Rikers while creating more alternatives to incarceration and re-entry programs.

6. Invest in what keeps our communities safe like youth programs, job and workforce creation and other community-sourced safety initiatives. The Gun Violence

Prevention Plan that I released in November is an example of this approach. This plan is entirely focused on investing in the programs that actually keep our communities sage, including the creation of an $18million Participatory Justice program that will give communities the resources they need to decide what and how they want to invest in their neighborhoods.

Housing and Homelessness -- In this current crisis, we need to ensure that people can stay in their homes. I support the expansion of right to counsel to provide free legal representation to tenants facing eviction. We also need to find ways to immediately house peopleAt its core, homelessness is an eviction crisis and all New Yorkers are housing ready. It is incumbent upon the government to provide affordable housing with the services and support that people need. In this current crisis, we need to ensure that people can stay in their homes. I will expand the right to counsel to provide free legal representation to tenants facing eviction. We also need to find ways to immediately house people. Approximately 4,000 people are sleeping on the streets on any given night. At the same time, around 100 hotels will likely go bankrupt due to the pandemic. As Mayor, I will explore ways for the city to acquire these properties to convert them into permanently supportive housing. But in order to keep people in their homes and realize the humanitarian benefits and financial savings from doing so, we need to make a significant initial investment in direct rent relief. In December, Congressional Republicans finally stopped playing politics with people’s lives and a COVID-19 relief package was passed. Based on initial estimates, we anticipate $251M in Emergency Rental Assistance funding for the City. Even as we prepare for more resources from Washington, we know that it will likely not come close to

addressing the massive housing crisis that has been exacerbated by this pandemic. I put forward a plan to use the $251m from the December Federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program to:

1. provide long-term solutions and stability instead of continuing the destabilizing pattern of providing month-by-month aid that does nothing to ease the painful psychic burden of housing uncertainty;

2. stop New Yorkers hit by the crisis from being evicted;
3. help small and nonprofit landlords who cannot afford to absorb the loss of

nonpayments;

4. address the reality that many families will still fall into homelessness and require rapid relief to remain in or return to housing.

In the long term, the best defense against homelessness is ensuring that New York’s housing stock is safe and truly affordable for all New Yorkers. We need to build on the success of the housing first model by moving homeless individuals to subsidized housing and then linking them to support services. We would save money by investing in permanent supportive housing and repurposing vacant hotels and commercial space to do so.

Education and Learning -- As I speak to families across this city, the first question they ask me is “how are you going to get my kids their school year back?” Others ask about how we will integrate schools and support students with disabilities and who are living in shelters. These are questions we must tackle head on. Predictably, the pandemic pulled the curtain back on the gross inequalities that exist in the education system, especially among those students who do not have the digital and technological resources to access online education, like students in shelters and low-income communities.

We have been debating for decades how to create public schools that are excellent, equitable, and serve all of our kids in innovative, diverse learning environments. Students of all races and their parents have been tortured by the lack of clarity on school closings and openings and left stressed and confused about what happens in Fall 2021. Students have lost a year -- of learning, socialization, emotional well-being and more. We need to support students, teachers, principals, and parents as we transition back into in-person learning and rebuild the trust between our families, staff and the DOE.

These challenges give us an opportunity to transform our schools and to think big about how to serve the unique needs of each child. On day 1 as Mayor, I will appoint a Chancellor with a background in education and work with all school stakeholders to restructure Mayoral Control of schools to ensure that there are more vehicles for meaningful engagement and accountability in the policies of the school system and more innovation at school and district level. The current Mayor’s lack of communication and collaboration with school leadership and families has led to chaos and disorganization, created more problems for the system, and led to a breakdown of trust and job one must be to rebuild that.

I will then use the opportunities that this crisis has created to reimagine education in the City and think outside the box. For example, we must consider how kids can virtually join classrooms for courses that they are interested in that may not be available in their school and look at repurposing vacant storefronts and buildings to provide much-needed space for learning--while simultaneously supporting business owners and communities. A transformed

school system must tackle the structural inequality in our schools—inequality that cheats our students of color, low income students, students with learning differences, and those experiencing housing insecurity. A Maya Wiley Administration will work to close the digital divide among students by providing broadband access.

This means growing innovations happening quietly in some corners of the school system that are neither celebrated or expanded (e.g., P-Tech, which blends classroom learning and workplace experiences.

Because of the pandemic, we now have the opportunity to rethink how our education system works—including how we allocate resources. We should consider our class sizes, especially ways to reduce them. We should consider how to support our teachers in ways that better empower them to do the kind of meaningful teaching that first called them to the profession. And we also must consider ways to expand our investments in nurturing the unique talents and gifts of low-income students and develop new models for how to run effective individualized education programs.

Recognizing that the budget is a moral document, I will advocate to ensure that adequate resources are available for our public schools. I support the Invest in Our New York revenue package in Albany which will raise up to $50B per year from those who can afford to pay more. In addition, we will do an audit of unused dollars that can be applied toward education programs. For example, the City currently underutilizes federal Child Care and Community Development Block Grants, which we plan on using to fund early childhood education in Community Care Centers across the city.

Health & Well-Being -- Health care is a human right and we have inadequate and crumbling health care infrastructure in communities that need it the most. We have hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers without health insurance . It’s a disgrace. As we fight to expand access to universal healthcare at the state and federal level, it is imperative that every New Yorker has access to quality, affordable healthcare - no matter immigration status or employment status. Health insurance costs are one of the top three expenses for City residents that make it unaffordable. It is also a reason that our public and safety net hospitals and community clinics are struggling financially.

I am working with experts to explore strategies that could create affordable health insurance options for New Yorkers not covered by existing programs, including undocumented immigrants. I want to expand on the City’s efforts through NYC Well, improve on the patchwork of programs that currently exist to serve City residents. And do so at a reasonable cost.

In addition to the establishment of a new program, I will invest in our public hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare facilities that provide critical care to low-income communities decimated by COVID and are so necessary to the health and well-being of the communities they serve. COVID is impacting not only physical health but mental health, and this crisis has brought into sharp focus the need to make affordable mental healthcare accessible for everyone who needs it. Too often, the NYPD is the only resource available to respond to people experiencing mental health emergencies. To combat this, I will begin by reviewing and reorganizing how the city supports mental health services. Some of the programs I will look to maintain, create or expand

are:
1. Support and connection centers that offer short-term, stabilizing services for people with mental health and substance use needs who come into contact with the police;
2. mental health urgent care centers, and drop-in centers for those with mental health concerns to avoid incarceration and involuntary hospitalization. These should be services people can access without a court order, with culturally competent training and language accessibility.
3. drop-In Centers--multi-service facilities for homeless New Yorkers that provide a variety of services including food, social work, and referrals to needed programs.
4. Mental Health Urgent Care Centers to provide individuals experiencing a mental health crisis with a short term alternative to hospitalization. This is especially important during

COVID, as our hospitals are already experiencing immense strain. Mental Health

Urgent Care Centers are also far more cost-effective than jailing people.
5. Expand Safe havens to provide immediate temporary housing for homeless individuals

and offer supportive services, including mental health and substance abuse programming. Additionally, I would integrate homelessness outreach and mental health services to build on this model, and utilize caseworkers to help find stable permanent housing.

We will do a full audit on the NYPD to ascertain how dollars are being spent and how they should be reallocated to support public safety, including mental health, rehabilitation services and violence prevention. Based on this assessment, we will move funds currently used by the NYPD on mental health responses and redirect them to EMS services, who will be trained and equipped to respond to mental health emergencies.

If elected, what (if anything) would you do differently versus your predecessor (or previous Mayors) and why?

My leadership is different than any Mayor that has come before me in both substance and approach. On substance, the New Deal New York plan that I rolled out earlier this year is an example of that difference. It is big, bold and beneficial to communities of color and low income communities hit hard by the twin pandemics of structural racism and COVID-19. It lays out a plan to invest $10B in City Capital spending in critical infrastructure - including green infrastructure, NYCHA and social infrastructure -- and lays out a way to engage in new kinds of investments that support our recovery while addressing the structural issues that cause racial and gender inequities. New Deal New York will target investments based on a comprehensive analysis of capital needs across five boroughs, using metrics including racial disparities in income, unemployment, capital need and city investment over the past decade, to ensure capital dollars are utilized in the most underinvested communities first.

My approach to governance is also different. I know that I do not have all of the answers, and believe that anyone who tells you they do is lying. I don’t lie and I don’t pander. That is why I believe that, as a strong leader, I must always begin by listening . Listening to the expertise of community members and stakeholders before making a policy determination is key to rebuilding trust in government and to enacting policies that will improve New Yorkers lives. The Gun Violence Prevention Plan that I released in November is an example of this approach. Gun Violence Prevention was the first policy that I released because as I talked to people in communities across the city it kept coming up. Families who had lost loved ones said over and over that neither their current elected officials or candidates were doing enough

to solve the crisis, and those that were talking about it at all were ignoring their ideas. So I convened a People’s Assembly on Gun Violence and developed a plan that includes an $18million Participatory Justice program that will give communities the resources they need to invest in their own communities.

What is your plan to help NYC recover from the economic crisis caused by Covid-19?

We don’t just need a recovery, we need to reimagine what New York City looks like. COVID has not hit every community the same, and our plan needs to reflect that. While some industries have partially recovered, people of color continue to suffer the worst, economically. As of September, Black and Latinx households had much higher rates of food and housing insecurity, and Asian households were experiencing considerable housing insecurity. Nearly a third of households with incomes below $50,000 were food and housing insecure. These examples make clear that while some in the city are doing okay, entire swaths of New York are struggling just to get by and are in danger of being forgotten. This is why, as the first plank of my Economic Recovery Plan, I announced New Deal New York, a $10B capital investment program to put residents back to work and invest in the future of our communities. My plan will create a 5-year centrally managed $10B capital spending program for public works projects. The program will fund much-needed development, infrastructure repairs, and enhancements. The fund would consist of committed unspent capital funds and new capital dollars financed by City debt. It will also prioritize new kinds of investments that support our recovery while addressing the structural issues that cause racial and gender inequities. New Deal New York will target investments based on a comprehensive analysis of capital needs across five boroughs, using metrics including racial disparities in income, unemployment, capital need and city investment over the past decade, to ensure capital dollars are utilized in the most underinvested communities first. On Day One I will appoint a New Deal Czar who will report directly to me in City Hall and be responsible for implementing the program.

I have also put forward a plan for Universal Community Care -- is an ambitious interagency plan that rebuilds economic growth in sectors dominated by women of color and ensures that these jobs are good jobs, addresses the crisis of affordable childcare and eldercare, and fights for fair wages and protections for workers in the care economy. Universal Community Care recognizes that care exists in many forms: from paid childcare and elder care to direct services provided by frontline nonprofit workers to care provided within the home by family, to neighbors helping neighbors. This model will redirect $300 million in diverted resources from incoming NYPD and DOCCS cadet classes to give 100,000 high need informal caregivers a $5,000 annual stipend to compensate them for their labor. Using the Universal Community Care Model, I will also build community centers providing free childcare, eldercare, and other services in each neighborhood. And it will create strong, meaningful worker protections for our city’s care workers.

Describe how you’d effectively address police misconduct and brutality, particularly as it affects communities of color.

We need to put the Public back in Public Safety. This means a top to bottom restructuring of the NYPD, beginning with strong civilian oversight at the front end of policing -- policies that make clear what policing is and is not, what conduct will not be tolerated, as well as the priorities of policing, which I believe to be problem-oriented, rather than punitive. When I am Mayor, I will do the following:

1. Run a full audit of the NYPD’s budget -- including the out of budget expenses such as settlements -- to assess the facts and make necessary cuts, including to the number

of uniformed officers.

Move mental health calls, routine traffic violations, and school safety out of the NYPD
and eliminate the Vice Squad.
Assert civilian oversight of all policies and priorities of the NYPD on the front end. We
cannot only assert civilian oversight to engage in discipline. We must prevent the
nefarious acts from happening at the outset.
Hire a police commissioner that has not just moved up the ranks of the NYPD rank
and file. We need a new model of leadership to work as a partner with the people to
transform policing.
Create a shift from “containment and control” policing that produces strategies like
unconstitutional “stop and frisks” and make “community and problem-oriented policing” the model, which requires collaboration and partnership with other agencies and communities. This approach focuses on underlying conditions identified and understood with communities and drawing in and working with other governmental partners to solve them. Eric Garner lost his life because he allegedly sold an untaxed cigarette. A community and problem-oriented approach would have worked with store owners, who were complaining, and also other agencies to address what was happening and how to find solutions that did not require an arrest. Too often the NYPD responds to problems of poverty, not of crime. We need to ensure that if the NYPD receives a call about a poverty problem, the right city agencies are involved and the NYPD is not.
End the criminalization of poverty and close Rikers while creating more alternatives to incarceration and re-entry programs.
Invest in what keeps our communities safe like youth programs, job and workforce creation and other community-sourced safety initiatives. The Gun Violence Prevention Plan that I released in November is an example of this approach. This plan is entirely focused on investing in the programs that actually keep our communities sage, including the creation of an $18million Participatory Justice program that will give communities the resources they need to decide what and how they want to invest in their neighborhoods.

Describe your plan to address/reduce the NYPD budget while better ensuring public safety and meeting community needs?

When I am Mayor, I will run a full audit of the NYPD’s budget -- including the out of budget expenses such as settlements -- to assess the facts and make necessary cuts to the department. I strongly believe that we must rightsize the NYPD and, yes, that means reducing the number of uniformed officers in the force. For years the NYPD has made unsupported statements to defend their budget. This has in part lead to a bureaucracy that is top heavy, with a senior leadership that is bloated and redundant, where too many resources go to funding administrative positions that don’t impact the department’s ability to respond to and investigate serious crime, illegal guns, and threats of terrorism. I will also significantly reduce the sizes of the upcoming cadet classes, and will redirect those funds towards my Universal Community Care Plan.

I believe in investing in community driven solutions to crime. This approach focuses on the underlying conditions that foster crime and emphasizes working with community and governmental partners to solve them. As laid out in the Gun Violence Prevention Plan that I released, I will invest in a Participatory

Justice Fund to support these solutions, increase the money going to violence interrupters, and invest in creating education and employment opportunities that prevent crime and reduce arrests by addressing crime’s root causes. We must institute a shift from “containment and control” policing that produces strategies like unconstitutional “stop and frisks” and make “community and problem-oriented policing” the model, which requires collaboration and partnership with other agencies and communities.

We need a new model of leadership to work as a partner with the people to transform policing. Require collaboration and partnership between the NYPD and other agencies through “problem solving policing.” Too often the NYPD responds to problems of poverty, not of crime. We need to ensure that if the NYPD receives a call about a poverty problem, the right city agencies are involved and the NYPD is not. We must end the criminalization of poverty in New York City.

What would you do to further LGBTQ+ rights, equity, and justice if elected Mayor?

I am running for Mayor to transform New York City, not tinker. We must reimagine our city and take on structural inequality, racism, homophobia and transphobia to finally fix what has been broken for far too long for Black, Brown, LGBTQ+, Indigenous, Immigrant, other marginalized communities and women of all races. As Mayor, I will appoint a police commissioner that makes sure there is no tolerance for homophobia and transphobia in the department and makes stopping hate crimes against the LGBTQ+ community a priority. It is essential that the New York City public school system serves the needs of all its students. I plan to greatly increase the number of mental health professionals in our city’s public schools and I will make sure they have the capability to address the unique mental health challenges of LGBTQ+ students. I will also work to expand anti-bullying programs while making sure that all public school students have access to comprehensive, age-appropriate sex education that includes discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity.

My administration will expand funding for culturally competent mental health services for the LGBTQ+ community and work to increase access to HIV and STI prevention medications. I will also provide funding for staff at city hospitals that will act as case managers and advocates for Transgender, non-Binary and Gender Nonconforming patients. No one should be denied access to health care because of their chosen gender expression. I will expand funding for The New York City Commission on Human Rights as well as employment programs tailored to Transgender, non-Binary and Gender non-conforming New Yorkers. I also recognize that the LGBTQ+ homeless population faces unique challenges, especially LGBTQ+ youth. My administration will invest in supported SROs, increase outreach through ACS to create more supportive loving foster opportunities for LGBTQ+ youth and work to construct more culturally competent affordable housing targeted to the LGBTQ+ community.

Do you commit to retaining the New York City Unity Project, the City’s first Mayoral-level effort to coordinate LGBTQ+ policy efforts across city agencies, and if so, what actions would you take to build upon or revise the project?

I commit to retaining the New York City Unity Project if elected Mayor. The New York City Unity Project has been an important vehicle for improving services for New York City’s LGBTQ+ youth. It is essential that city agencies that deliver services to a specific population coordinate and work together to deliver the highest quality services as efficiently as possible. Currently, 16 different city agencies provide services to New York City’s LGBTQ+ youth. As Mayor, I will work to expand funding to the New York City Unity Project and focus more on analysis of program structure, effectiveness and areas of need. I will then increase funding for the City’s most effective programs, institute the reforms needed to improve those that are underperforming and either expand or create new ones to address gaps in service. One program I can commit to refunding right now is New York City Unity works, an employment program aimed at homeless LGBTQ+ youth. Although COVID has created a revenue crisis we cannot rebuild our city by cutting programs aimed at the most vulnerable New Yorkers. A smart recovery is an equitable recovery and relies on investment, not on austerity measures that tell hungry people to simply tighten their belts.

What would you do differently than your predecessor(s) to address New York City’s affordable housing crisis?

If elected, my administration will fight for affordable housing in every borough on multiple fronts. First, we need rent subsidies to address the immediate eviction crisis facing our families while standing up with fellow advocates to fight in Albany for universal rent protections and to preserve affordable rentals. Next, we need to change the City’s approach to land use and re-zonings in ways that creates and maintains affordable housing, with a focus on deep and permanent affordability over simple unit production. All land use and housing plans should include a fair distribution of resources, prioritize the construction of affordable housing, and take into account community needs while correcting for historic disinvestment and displacement. We must rethink our planning processes and economic development programs to be based on key principles and include real community and stakeholder engagement, so people have a real say and control over the destiny of their neighborhoods, without abandoning fair share principles. I support the expansion of the ULURP process to include a racial impact study for all neighborhood rezonings, a process that has been led by community groups through Council Bill 1572A. I also support expanding the ULURP process’ definition of “environmental impact” to include impact on housing, transportation, schools, and available healthcare services.

Also, my administration will pursue homeownership strategies and innovations such as nonprofit development, ways to increase access to credit, and community land trusts. Additionally, communities should have the opportunity to acquire their own housing. This means exploring programs where distressed properties, including commercial buildings, are acquired by the City for use as permanently affordable housing to be managed by nonprofit affordable housing developers, investing in community land trusts, keeping housing built on public land permanently affordable, and exploring measures like TOPA/COPA at the city level to put housing in the hands of residents. I will work to implement creative solutions to expand our affordable housing stock by converting tax liens, buying up vacant properties left behind in the wake of COVID, and stimulating more non-profit housing development.

Relatedly, and keeping in mind the City’s legal and moral obligation to provide shelter, how would you improve shelter and services for New Yorkers experiencing homelessness, particularly as it relates to reducing the number in need of shelter?

In this current crisis, we need to ensure that people can stay in their homes. As Mayor, I will fight for a stronger eviction moratorium that is long enough to ensure we avert an eviction crisis that will trigger massive homelessness stemming from this pandemic. I support the expansion of right to counsel to provide free legal representation to tenants facing eviction. In order to keep people in their homes and realize the humanitarian benefits and financial savings from doing so, we need to make a significant initial investment in direct rent relief. New York City received $251 million in Emergency Rental Assistance funding in the last COVID-19 relief package. While this funding will provide some much needed relief, it still does not come close to addressing the massive housing crisis that has been exacerbated by this pandemic.

I have put forward a plan to:
1) Provide long-term solutions and stability instead of continuing the destabilizing pattern of providing month-by-month aid that does nothing to ease the painful psychic burden of housing uncertainty.
2) Stop New Yorkers hit by the crisis from being evicted.
3) Help small and nonprofit landlords who cannot afford to absorb the loss of non-payments.
4) Address the reality that many families will still fall into homelessness and require rapid relief to remain in, or return to, housing.

I have learned that all New Yorkers are housing ready. We need to find ways to immediately house people. Approximately 4,000 people are sleeping on the streets on any given night. At the same time, around 100 hotels will likely go bankrupt due to the pandemic. As Mayor, I will explore ways for the city to acquire these properties to convert them into permanently supportive housing. We need to build on the success of the housing first model by moving homeless individuals to subsidized housing and then linking them to support services. We would save money by investing in permanent supportive housing and models such as supported SROS. In the long term, the best defense against homelessness is ensuring that New York’s housing stock is safe and truly affordable for all New Yorkers.

Keeping in mind the specific needs of LGBTQ+ New Yorkers experiencing homelessness, will you commit to increasing capacity for clients (youth and adults) who require single room placement for reasons of health and safety including clients with mobility issues and/or who identify as TGNC (because placement in traditional single adult shelter may compromise their safety)?

New York City must move away from our current shelter system which is inefficient and has proven to be incapable of serving the needs of our city’s homeless population with the dignity they deserve. As Mayor, I will invest in single room occupancies and other models of supported housing that allow every New Yorker to have a space that is their own where they are safe and can live with dignity. I will work to increase rent subsidies for homeless New Yorkers and explore creative solutions for expanding housing for the homeless, like converting hotels that have gone bankrupt due to the pandemic into permanently supportive housing. I understand that these changes will not happen overnight. Until they can be fully realized my administration will make sure to address the needs of at risk homeless populations. When

making placements my administration will prioritize the needs of the LGBT+ homeless population, as well as those who have specific medical needs or disabilities and avoid placing them in traditional shelters where they might be unsafe or inadequately served.

Describe what you believe is meant by “gender equity” and what steps you’ve taken to date and will take if elected Mayor to support and further gender equity?

We live in a City where there are still massive discrepancies between men and women in terms of pay, wealth and positions of power and influence. These gaps are even more pronounced when you account for race. African American women currently earn sixty six cents for every dollar earned by a man. The historical legacy of discrimination against women, especially women of color and transgender and gender non-conforming persons and the discrimination these groups still face today both contribute to this injustice. Gender equity is about confronting this reality and proactively pursuing solutions that correct for historic wrongs while dismantle the structural prejudice that still exists today. I have dedicated my life’s work, both inside and outside of government, to transforming systems that perpetuate discrimination, and dehumanization and have worked tirelessly to institute reforms and policies aimed at correcting their effects.

That is why the economic recovery proposals my campaign has released focus on historically marginalized communities, especially women of color. My campaign recently released my Universal Community Care Plan which rebuilds economic growth in sectors dominated by women. Currently, American women spend 243 minutes doing unpaid labor every day, or roughly 28.4 hours a week. My plan redirects $300 million in resources from incoming NYPD and DOCCS cadet classes and $200 million in underutilized federal funding to give 100,000 high need informal caregivers a $5,000 annual stipend to compensate them for their labor.

As council to the mayor, I increased minority and women owned business enterprise (MWBE) contracts from $500 million in spending to $1.6 billion in one year and laid the foundation for what has become the Mayor’s Office on MWB. As Mayor, I will build on this work and expand city contracts with women owned businesses, especially women of color by leveraging the power of our tens of billions of dollars in annual government spending. New York City’s budget is larger than that of most states, and our spending has a big enough impact to further important social and economic goals.

If elected, I will also make sure my administration continues to close the gender pay gap in city government and that senior positions in my administration and city agencies are filled in a manner that increases gender equity for women transgender and gender non-conforming persons. I will do the same thing with gender representation on Mayoral boards and commissions. Economic recovery will be one of the most critical components of my agenda, but to meet this moment, we cannot just rebuild our economy, we need to transform it. We can and will place economic justice and equity at the center of our response and ensure an economy that works for all New Yorkers. This means addressing the racial and gender wealth gap, pay gap for women, and economic security for all.

If elected, do you commit to using inclusive and gender neutral language in all official documents and press releases, and will you order city agencies to do the same?

Yes, if elected Mayor I will use inclusive and gender neutral language in all official documents and press releases and I will make sure all city agencies do the same. As Council to the Mayor, I strongly supported mandating that municipal buildings provide bathroom access that aligns with a person’s gender identity and was very happy to see Mayor De Blasio sign an executive order making that a reality. As Mayor, I will look for ways to build on his actions in making city government more welcoming and supportive of TGNC New Yorkers. It is essential that every New Yorker feels seen and heard by their city’s government.

How much money has your campaign raised to date and what are your key sources of support? Relatedly, are you rejecting contributions from specific sectors, such as lobbyists, real estate interests, pension fund managers, police unions, etc.?

As of January 11th, we have raised over $720,000 from 7000 donors and will have over $3M on hand when we receive our public matching funds in March.

In order for us to reimagine New York, we must rebuild trust in government. My campaign does not take any contributions from real estate developers, city lobbyists, or police unions and I am participating in the new public campaign finance program that caps donations and helps keep big money out of politics. I do not come from the political machine and do not have political ambitions beyond my mayoralty. I am running a grassroots campaign that relies on the support of everyday New Yorkers in every borough, not the connected few. They are my key source of support. Over seventy five percent of the donations to my campaign have been for a hundred dollars or less. One of the goals of my campaign is to give voice to so many who are traditionally left out of the conversation. This is why I have and will continue to have People’s Assemblies, to ensure that regular New Yorkers are part of the decision making process. No New Yorker should be able to gain access or influence based on the relationships they have or the money in their pocket.

Why do you want LID's endorsement? If LID endorses you do you commit to including that endorsement on your website, social media, and all campaign literature on which you list or make mention of endorsements?

LID has long been at the forefront of change in this City. In 1989, LID endorsed David Dinkins and played a major role in the election of New York’s first Black Mayor. New York has not elected a Black person since 1989 and has never elected a Woman to lead our great city. I want LID’s endorsement because of LID’s change making history and ability to not just recognize and fight for what’s right – but to actually have the ability to execute this change and win hearts and minds, and ultimately, elections. I am running a campaign for mayor that is centered around fairness, equity and justice for all New Yorkers. Though we must rebuild, it’s not enough to just return to the New York that predated COVID. We must reimagine our city and use this crisis to face structural inequality, actual racism and finally fix what has been broken for far too long for Black, Brown, LGBTQ+, Indigenous, Immigrant, and women of all races. For more than

forty years LID has been giving LGBTQ+ New Yorkers a voice. As Mayor, I will make sure that voice is heard in City Hall. For my entire adult life, I have been an advocate for marginalized communities. If elected Mayor, my administration will work to further the rights, equity and justice of our city’s LGBTQ+ community. On issue after issue, police reform and social justice, affordable housing and homelessness, the New York City Public school system we share the same values and goals. If I received your endorsement, I would proudly include it on my website, social media and all campaign literature where I list or make mention of endorsements.

Eric Adams

2020 LID Questionnaire Response

Art Chang

2020 LID Questionnaire Response

Aaron Foldenauer

2020 LID Questionnaire Response

Kathryn Garcia

2020 LID Questionnaire Response

Ray McGuire

2020 LID Questionnaire Response

Dianne Morales

2020 LID Questionnaire Response

Scott Stringer

2020 LID Questionnaire Response

Loree Sutton

2020 LID Questionnaire Response

Maya Wiley

2020 LID Questionnaire Response

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