Transcript: Mayor Mamdani Announces Redesigned Bike and Pedestrian Connection to Brooklyn Bridge Ahead of World Cup
Zohran Mamdani on NYC Mayor's Office transcripts.
Passages
Brother, could I steal your DOT hat just for the Q&A portion? [Crosstalk.]
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source I'll definitely have my administration follow up on that. Thank you for flagging that.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source Let me start with the first question, and then I'll go into my predictions. As an obsessed soccer fan, I was at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, and I was born in Uganda in East Africa; was rooting for Ghana as they played Uruguay in the quarterfinals. I was at the game. It would be the first time that an African nation had ever reached the semifinals. And beyond Luis Suárez's violations of the laws of the game, the most difficult thing was not just crying in that stadium. It was the two-hour wait after the game while I cried outside of the stadium, waiting for the bus to get back. And so, what we want to ensure in this city is that when a soccer fan is in despair, they can still get to where they're going. And one of our major focuses is, how do we use this opportunity to also make investments in city infrastructure that will last far longer than the World Cup? You know, I was taken by something, actually a former colleague, Michael Asher, when he came back from the — I think it was the Paris Olympics; he wrote this op-ed about the ways in which they had used that Olympics as an opportunity to make significant transportation investments across the city. And while we don't have the luxury of time before the World Cup, we still do have at least a few months. And so, we're looking to make these kinds of investments. And also, I'll just pass it over to both our World Cup Czar and our DOT commissioner, looking to make the kinds of changes to ensure that transit continues to be reliable and also meets the needs of fans who are going to be coming here. Because too often we see in cities across the world that it's as if city government is taken by surprise when fans show up for a game and that they want to get there and that they want to get back.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source I'll just say that we continue to believe in the importance of making buses fast and free in this city, and we are heartened by the fact that that is a call that many New Yorkers support, including elected officials at the state level. In both the Assembly and the Senate One-Houses, there was support for the introduction of making a number of buses free. And here we are in New York City, ensuring that we also make buses fast. And so together we can deliver on this. Those conversations in the budget, they continue. We're heartened by them because we see the necessity of delivering a kind of public transit system here in New York City, one that has so often been forgotten in terms of our bus network and making it the focus of many of our efforts here.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source So, the Speaker and I are in regular conversation. I'll say that when it comes to this legislation, I'm aware of the serious concerns that New Yorkers have raised regarding these bills limiting New Yorkers' constitutional rights, and I will consider those concerns in my decision-making. I'm always looking forward to charting a course in this city that protects the right to prayer and the right to protest. And these are pieces of legislation that have had significant amendments from the time in which they were initially proposed to when they were passed, and I look forward to now reviewing the final version of both of these bills. By the legal timeline that I have to.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source I'll be honest. I often don't even know what I'm doing in 15 minutes, so I will get back to what exactly I'm doing tomorrow. I think that rallies are an incredibly effective way for New Yorkers to both organize together and make it clear what their vision is for this city, for this state, [and] for this country. And I think that what we've seen is that there's an attempt to make many in our city feel as if they are alone when they believe that ICE has no place in our city. When they believe that every single New Yorker who lives in this city belongs in this city and should be made to feel as such. And these rallies are also an opportunity to realize that you are not in the minority when you have those beliefs. You are, in fact, a part of a growing coalition of people who want to see a shred of decency, dignity, and humanity come back to our city and our country's politics.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source So, in the preliminary budget, we allocated $1.7 billion in savings. We provided a directive to each agency and department to find with a lens towards efficiency and cutting waste and any instance of fraud. And so, the examples that we provided to New Yorkers are just some of the few that have resulted from those chief savings officers doing those investigations. That is to achieve that mandate of $1.7 billion. The $5.4 billion is the current gap that we face between where we are and what we need to balance the budget. We continue to be hopeful about the nature of the conversations we're having with our partners in Albany to ensure that we not only eliminate that budget gap, but [also] do it in a manner that meets a structural crisis with structural solutions. And that is something that will continue that conversation over the next weeks and months. I've long said that I believe that the form of that solution should be raising taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers, the most profitable corporations who can afford to pay that little bit more, and ending the drain that has long characterized the city's relationship with the state.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source I think first and foremost, we're making clear that no one is above the law in this city, that everyone has to follow the rule of law. And I have made clear to the president, both in our private conversations and our public conversations, about the fact that I believe that ICE is a rogue agency. It's a reckless one. It's one that delivers nothing towards the furthering of the cause of public safety. And I've also been public about my belief that ICE is an entity that should be abolished. And that is critically important in our city, where we've seen too many New Yorkers living in fear of even going to what would otherwise be routine immigration check-ins. And I was actually standing next to former Comptroller Brad Lander just a few nights ago, where he was speaking about this new finding and the fact that it has taken so much activism from so many New Yorkers to even get to this place. And what we've had in the interim is a federal entity that has been operating with a level of impunity. And that has to come to an end.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source Let me go with your first question, and then I'll go to your second question. On the first question, I've long said that I think there need to be changes to Tier 6 because we need to make it as easy as possible for New Yorkers to enter a life of public service. And we're looking forward to seeing what those changes are and their proposal. And we believe we can do these kinds of things as long as we're — and we can do them in tandem with everything else that we're pursuing in Albany, which also means putting our city back on firm financial footing. Look, I am someone who loves the fact that we're a city of five boroughs. I love the fact that Staten Island is a part of this city and it's not just one part of the city. It's in many ways a glimmer of what draws so many to this city. As a city where we are now the most expensive in the United States of America, Staten Island has for some time been one of the last places where New Yorkers can dream of being homeowners. It's the shining example of what free public transit can look like. It is the home to one of the greatest rap groups in American history. It is also a place where you can get the best Sri Lankan food in New York City. It is so many different things. And I would love to continue to be the mayor of five boroughs, not four boroughs. And I know that, you know, there will be disagreements when it comes to politics and policies. One thing that I will never lose sight of, though, is what makes this such a beautiful city is every single one of the people that calls it home. And I'm so proud that I get to be the mayor of a city that also has Staten Island as one of those parts. Thank you. ###
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source
Every passage above is taken from this recording: NYC Mayor's Office transcripts, Transcript: Mayor Mamdani Announces Redesigned Bike and Pedestrian Connection to Brooklyn Bridge Ahead of World Cup.