Transcript: Mayor Mamdani Appears on NY1's Inside City Hall with Errol Louis
Zohran Mamdani on NYC Mayor's Office transcripts.
Passages
They can expect that the city is putting forward the most ambitious plan for affordable housing the city has ever seen. We're talking about 200,000 new truly affordable homes being built over the next 10 years; 200,000 affordable homes being preserved over that same period of time; an investment of $5.6 billion into NYCHA, the largest city investment in NYCHA for decades. And all of this while investing in tenants across the city, ensuring that code enforcement is not seen as a suggestion but rather a requirement so that when a tenant misses an HPD inspection they can actually reschedule when that inspector will come back, [or] if a tenant calls and makes a complaint about heat starting from October 1, the city will investigate every single one of those. That's what tenants can expect, and they can expect it from a City government that is serious about delivering on the housing crisis.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI would describe it more as an "Inshallah" system, where you call and just hope that you'd be home when they came, and if you missed them, they'd leave a paper on the floor and you just hope it would work out again. New York City isn't built on that; it has to be built on actual plans. So, when it comes to these kinds of things, now, if an inspector comes by and you're not home, you're going to get a text message and you'll actually be able to schedule when that inspector will come back so you can show them the exact reason you called when you were in the first place.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceBecause we are invested in ensuring that homeownership is something more than a dream for New Yorkers. And you know this as well as I do, which is that for many New Yorkers, it seems as if they're further and further away from that being a reality. And what we are looking to do is actually make it easier for New Yorkers to become homeowners. That's why in the thousands of units that we've already broken ground on over these past six months, some of them have been units affordable enough to rent, [and] others have been units that are affordable enough to buy. And the mortgage assistance program is one example of how we can unlock that for New Yorkers, because we don't just want this to be a city where you can think about living here today, tomorrow, the next month, the next year. We want this city where people can actually lay down their roots.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI think to me, what I want to see is stability. And I think for many of those New Yorkers, stability comes through homeownership. For others, it comes through their long-term tenancy. And what we want to ensure is that the city is doing everything it can to deliver that stability. Because right now, if you're a homeowner, there's a real question of the stability when it comes, especially with deed theft. When you're tenant, that instability also comes from landlords being able to violate these laws and not face any kinds of consequences.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceThat continues to be a focus for us is conducting those interviews, and the beauty of this is this is all happening while our EDC is still running full speed ahead on all the different initiatives coming out of it, including our city-run grocery store program, which is coming through EDC, and I will just say on the question about modular housing one of the things that excited me most about our interviews for our HPD commissioner was when I got to learn of her history of being able to deliver modular housing in her prior capacity. This is something we do want to bring to New York City.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceYou know, I think that we're incredibly appreciative of the partnership we've built with Governor Hochul, with Majority Leader Stewart Cousins [and] with Speaker Carl Heastie, and in that partnership we've been able to secure not just funding that was critical to ensuring that we could eliminate the fiscal deficit [and] that we can have a fairer relationship with Albany, but also new revenue that would be critical in being something that [is] sustained. Beyond that, the renewal of mayoral control is a key part of how we can ensure that we can deliver on our transformative vision for early childhood education. As you know, we've been investing in 3-K, [adding] 2,000 additional seats there for the first time in New York City history, free childcare for two-year-olds. All of this is unlocked through that authority. And then beyond that, we also incredibly appreciate the work that is being done to tackle a number of the different costs that the city has been facing that often we've unfairly borne ourselves. And then I think as we're having a conversation around housing, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention SEQRA reform. That's a key part of how we're cutting a lot of these times and delays down, and the deputy mayor has been at the heart of a lot of those conversations.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceC'mon now – it's been there for a while. I am.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source�Por qué no los dos? I think this is going to be a summer that New Yorkers are going to remember for a long time. These are the kinds of problems we want to have. The logistical problems of the Knicks being in the finals for the first time since '99 and for us hosting the World Cup. And so, I'm confident in our ability to balance all of these things and to ensure that New Yorkers can actually celebrate. Because as you saw, the city is alive. And it is truly an incredible moment to be in New York.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceWe're going to have watch parties for the finals, and it's not a question of if; it's just a question of where. Last night, you know, [at] Radio City Music Hall [and] Brooklyn Bowl, had the t-shirt launchers in the music hall. I think people had a lot of fun. We're gonna keep having fun.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceYou know, it was a pleasure to serve alongside Micah Lasher and Alex Bores. I know there are a number of candidates. I am – you know, I haven't actually received all that much mail on it. I know anybody else has been receiving mail. Nobody's door knocked. I'm keeping my eye on it. I will be voting.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceWell, I think at the heart of it is the 250th anniversary of this nation, and we're so incredibly excited that we will be hosting a number of different events to that end, along with what is an annual celebration in this city, and, you know, I can't tell you much more about the wedding. I don't know all too much in terms of the details. We're excited for all of this. Thank you. Real pleasure.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source
Every passage above is taken from this recording: NYC Mayor's Office transcripts, Transcript: Mayor Mamdani Appears on NY1's Inside City Hall with Errol Louis.