Transcript: Mayor Mamdani Appears on the Shade Room
Zohran Mamdani on NYC Mayor's Office transcripts.
Passages
What's going on? Thank you for having me. It's a real pleasure.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI'm still on a high. I mean, it's still orange and blue skies out here in New York City. And I gotta tell you, it’s 53 years of wait. And I mean, we hadn't even been in the finals since 1999. And for us to be able to see this team go all the way, it's still giving New Yorkers a spring in their step no matter where they are.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceThere's only one place to be, and it's New York City.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI was speaking to New Yorkers, and I also know that there are more than just New Yorkers who have been aghast at this genocide over the last few years, and not only the continued denial of that genocide but also the fact that it continues itself. And I hear that anguish; I hear that despair no matter where I am in New York City, and I also know that it's something that is true across this country and, frankly, across the world. And I think it's important to be honest with the people of this city about both the truth as well as what we believe accountability looks like.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceYou know, we often talk about Black history, and one of the things that I want to make sure is that in this city we can keep writing Black history and not just remember what's already been written. And one of the ways we do that is actually making sure that this city is affordable, whereas right now it's the most expensive city in the United States of America. And we've seen over the last few decades, 200,000 Black New Yorkers have been pushed out of this city. From 2010 to 2019 alone, we saw the population of Black children and teenagers declined by 19 percent. And when we look at what these costs are that are driving this kind of a reversal of the Great Migration, housing is one of the primary costs; childcare is another one of those costs for working families in this city. And so, one of the focuses of our administration has been delivering universal childcare to New Yorkers. And so, just on day eight of our administration, we secured an agreement with Governor Kathy Hochul for $1.2 billion so that we could deliver free childcare for two-year-olds for the first time in New York City. And this fall, we're going to have 2,000 seats of free childcare for two-year-olds; next fall, 12,000 seats; and then by the end of year four, a seat for every single two-year-old. And that is what will take what would otherwise be a more-than-$20,000-a-year expense and make it free for families no matter where they live in the city.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceWell, I think, you know, you said it yourself in the question, which is the fact that for too many New Yorkers, and frankly, for too many Americans, sports has become a luxury commodity. It's something that they could only afford if they're willing to give up a rent payment. And we didn't want the World Cup, which is the most watched sporting event across the globe, to be one that New Yorkers just knew they were physically close to but would never even have a chance to go see. And so, we were proud to secure a thousand tickets that would be $50 a piece — the only host city that was able to do that — and also proud to take Fan Fests, which, when I became the mayor were set to be things that New Yorkers would be charged to attend and instead made them free. And we wanted that because we want everyone to feel the magic of the game. And we also know that as we see these profits climb that too often the lesson of that is that you can keep charging more and more and more. But what makes these sports moments so special is that they are actually built on the passion of everyday people. And if those people can't afford these games any longer, then sport is becoming something that, frankly, it shouldn't.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceYou know, there's the phrase, “don't sweat the small stuff.” And one of the things that surprised me about being the mayor is that actually the small stuff is not only critically important, because I think we all understand that what City government should do, but it's also important to New Yorkers. Like, I'll give you an example. We fixed a bump on the Williamsburg Bridge, and we thought it was good to do; it was right to do and important to do. But we thought maybe in about a few days, people would have forgotten that. That is still something that people bring up to me, because it shows that if people can't trust government to deliver on the smallest of issues, then why would they ever believe that government could deliver on the biggest of problems? And when you can win that trust by earning that trust, it's something that leaves people far more willing to believe that tomorrow could actually be better than today.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI got to say, putting us on a path to universal childcare. The team did incredible work so that Governor Hochul and I could be standing together on that eighth day. Sometimes politics feels like it's irrelevant from a working person's struggle, from a working person’s life. When we stood together on that day and announced that there's going to be free childcare for two-year-olds — for thousands of two-year-olds this fall, for even more next fall — it was something that you didn't have to explain to someone because when they're spending $20,000 a year, that explains itself.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceThis week, you know, at the top of the week, we introduced a program called OPEN, which is more than 50 reforms that we are going to do to change the regulations for small businesses to make it cheaper for them to keep their doors open, to make it easier for them to deal with City government and to cut a lot of the fines and fees that they have to deal with on a daily basis.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceToday, honestly, it's a tie between being here with you guys and having survived being in a stuck elevator earlier this afternoon.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI was like, I gotta be in The Shade Room.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceBiggest fumble — you know, someone was talking to me about this today. It wasn't even when I was the mayor, but it still lives with me: which is eating a burrito on the train and taking a photo of it. Shouldn't have done it.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceOkay, playing me would be Ashton Kutcher from the popchips commercial. If you don't know what I'm talking about, check it out. And playing my wife, nobody can play my wife. Yeah, I guess it's just going to be Ashton Kutcher as me.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI know it is not a recent song but “Stay Schemin.” I think that's French Montana's best verse.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceOkay, I have to give it to Mississippi Masala, which is a movie that my mother directed. And not only do I love that film, but I also wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for that film because that's how she met my father. I would say the Odyssey, but I'm alive already, and that didn't make me alive. Brought me back to life.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceBrother, you're gonna be praying for a long time.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI mean, you see the Celtics are posting Knick's highlights right now. That's how good things are.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceAbsolutely. It was a real pleasure. Thank you, guys. ###
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source
Every passage above is taken from this recording: NYC Mayor's Office transcripts, Transcript: Mayor Mamdani Appears on the Shade Room.