Transcript: Mayor Mamdani Administration Celebrates Launch of 3-K & Pre-K Applications
Zohran Mamdani on NYC Mayor's Office transcripts.
Passages
This is a key part of what will be the focus of our work and also why we are so proud of the commitment that we secured from the state. Of the $1.21 billion dollars that were committed, more than $100 million was committed specifically to fixing 3-K, to ensuring that not only could we offer every child a seat that wanted one, but also that we could make it easier to actually take the city up on that offer.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceWe are fully confident in both of those things and what I really appreciate in everyone that we have up here from our team is that we are not going to rest on our laurels to simply wait for applications to come in. We are going to go out to New York City and to New Yorkers to make the case that this is a program for them and we need to make it as easy as possible for them to actually hear about this program.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceIn a moment such as this, it only heightens the importance of city and state collaboration to be funding these kinds of programs and we are fully confident of our ability to deliver on these programs and also we will take every opportunity to remind New Yorkers across the city of the sanctuary city policies that we have in place here in New York City. Those are policies that ensure that ICE agents are not allowed to enter into a school property or a New York City property or even a property owned by a New York City contractor that is doing business with the city unless they can provide a judicial warrant signed by a judge. And I know that there are many families, especially undocumented families across the city and immigrant families at large, who have been unsure as to what their rights are. In a moment such as this, we are going to do the work just as we're reminding New Yorkers they have until February 27th to sign up for this program. We're also going to remind them of the rights that they have as New Yorkers.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceWe will continue to advance this vision for child care, and I also take heart from what the governor said in regards to the earlier threat around child care funding from the federal administration, of her confidence in being able to win that case in court.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI will continue to make the case for New York City, and I think that's been at the heart of every conversation that I've had with the president, whether it's in the Oval Office or through the handful of texts and calls that we've exchanged, it's always about making the case for this city. And when it comes to the threat to restrict federal funding to New York City, I want to be very clear that our values and our laws are not bargaining chips. We will stand up for them, and we will stand up for them even in the face of these kinds of threats.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI reached out to President Trump. We haven't yet connected.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceWe are guaranteeing every single parent a seat when they apply for this, and we are doing the work to make sure that those seats will be far closer than they have been in the past.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceThe plight of small businesses is not new. Neither is the recognition of that plight. What has been missing, however, is the action on that issue. And this executive order directs every city agency to create a single inventory of every single fine and fee that a small business faces. We're looking at more than 6,000 regulations that small businesses have to jump through, speaking of refrigerator fees and frozen dessert fees, and then directs them to start to reduce them. And I think what will make this different is that this is not an additional concern of ours. Rather, it is a central concern of our City Hall in that we want to make it easier not just to open the doors of a small business, but also to keep them open. And today, when I was speaking to Yesenia Rodriguez at Sweets and Things, she shared that her story of becoming a small business owner could only begin after she'd spent years of working out of other people's kitchens and other people's businesses, having pop-ups, because of how many hoops she had to jump through. And we want to make sure that we don't celebrate how someone was able to open their doors in spite of those fines and fees. Rather, we make it easier for them to do so because of what [the] city government's doing.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceThere is a timeline for the inventory, and then as soon as the inventory is completed, then the work begins of reducing the fees.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI'll answer the first one. This is going to be part of a full-court press from our city government to inform each and every New Yorker of the fact that the enrollment period begins today, and it goes until February 27th. And, I will be making the case, our schools chancellor will be making the case, our entire early childhood education team will be making the case. We'll be making it ourselves, we'll be using press conferences, but we'll also be advertising on LinkNYC, on taxi television, as well as using digital media to get the word out. Because a program is only as good as a New Yorker's knowledge of it. And we do not want to pat ourselves on the back for something that is being done while most New Yorkers are unaware of it. We want to ensure that this program connects specifically with the New Yorkers who are anxious about their ability to afford more than $20,000 in a year's worth of costs. And actually, before the chancellor and I met with New York's cutest, we met with a navigator who was helping a parent and her young child enroll into 3-K. And she was picking the various different schools that she liked that were close to both her home as well as potentially close to her job. And we want to let New Yorkers know that you can find out of these possibilities, whether you're going to the website, whether you're calling on the number, or whether you're going to a welcome center in person, of which there are more than 10.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceWhat we are going to do is do all of the outreach within our power to make the case to New Yorkers and then see, in the hopes of having the largest possible number of New Yorkers enrolling in these very programs. And, can you say the first question again?
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI think a lot of these estimates, frankly, are based on the absence of any kind of sustained outreach from City Hall in prior years. And we are making that outreach a focal point of our city government's focus for the next six weeks. And frankly, this is not just going to be tasked with those who are here next to me. This is going to be a responsibility for all of us. Because every day we meet New Yorkers, and that's another day where we can say, February 27th, you have until then to enroll your child.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceThe importance of standing up is to do so consistently, whether in public or in private. And that's what I will continue to do as the mayor of this city. And whenever I reach out to the president or the president reaches out to me, I always make the case for our city. And this is in line with what I've said over the course of the campaign as I ran to become the mayor, is that wherever there was a possibility to advance an agenda that would benefit New Yorkers, I would take that opportunity to speak directly to the president. And wherever there's disagreement, I will also be frank and honest about that disagreement.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceThere are times when the president reaches out. There are times when I reach out to the president. I always ensure that whatever that occasion is, we use it as an opportunity to put forward the needs of New Yorkers.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceWe are preparing for every single eventuality. And what that requires is a whole-of-government approach. And it also requires ensuring that you have a Law Department that is prepared for something like that. And that is a large part of why we selected Steve Banks as our nominee for Corporation Counsel, as someone who is incredibly skilled, fluent, and capable of taking on any potential hypothetical in this moment.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceSo what I will support is measures that will reduce the cost of living across the city, and I will also do so in tandem with a vision that makes this a more livable city. And what we've found time and time again is that we have to make public transit the most convenient, the most affordable, [and] the most rational option that New Yorkers can take. And that is, in many ways, a central part of what I've tasked my DOT in doing, in trying to make our streets the envy of the world.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI think for a lot of New Yorkers, it's not just a question of cost, it's also a question of time. And for me, the reason that I was supportive of Governor Hochul's actions to start to reduce auto insurance rates is that this is another way in which New Yorkers are being pushed out of the city. The focus will always be, how do we make it as easy as possible to get around this city, as cheap as possible, and there's no competition with public transit.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceAny cut in funding would have a significant impact on the city's ability to not only fulfill the budget that it has today, but also to fulfill an agenda that would ensure that more New Yorkers can afford to stay in this city. And I am proud of the team that we have ready at hand to be able to respond to these kinds of threats, so that we are not simply on the defensive of the little that New Yorkers are given in this moment, but frankly, advancing a larger agenda as well.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI think it's hard to say a dollar amount in a moment such as this, but we take these kinds of threats seriously, and we also will not bargain with our values or our laws.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceWe'll take that, absolutely. You have many tools in city government. You have the tools of a Law Department, of a potential Corporation Counsel. You also have the tool of informing New Yorkers of what their actual rights are. Today, we're gathered to tell New Yorkers about 3-K and Pre-K and how they can enroll, but as the question came earlier from Univision, there are many New Yorkers — it's not just a question of do they know about these programs. Do they know about their rights? And we are going to be very direct with New Yorkers as to what protections they have under the law, because there is an anxiety that lives in many New Yorkers' day-to-day lives where they do not know what they can expect from their city and what safety that they have. And our job is to make it as clear as possible for them. This is a city that will stand up for them. This is a city that will also make the case for every New Yorker at every opportunity we get. Thank you. ###
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source
Every passage above is taken from this recording: NYC Mayor's Office transcripts, Transcript: Mayor Mamdani Administration Celebrates Launch of 3-K & Pre-K Applications.