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.