Transcript: Mayor Mamdani Appoints Rafael Espinal as Commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment
Zohran Mamdani on NYC Mayor's Office transcripts.
Passages
Good morning, everyone. I would like to say thank you first and foremost to everyone for joining us here today, including Speaker Menin and reps from SAG-AFTRA, IATSE Local 52 and Local 764, WGA, MPA, and our Arts & Culture Subcommittee. Today marks the first day of a new week in the greatest city in the world. Hours ago, before the sun began to climb, countless New Yorkers started their days conducting our subways, driving our taxis, putting out our fires, literally and figuratively. And yet, what might feel mundane to the people of this incredible city is fascinating to the rest of the world. There's a reason that countless films and television shows have been created depicting life in this incredible city. The daily routine here is so vibrant that it demands artistic expression. And we know the art that reflects this city also shapes this city. So much of the collective memory of New York is drawn from how it has been captured on screen. The Central Park foliage from When Harry Met Sally, the summer heat of Do the Right Thing, the culture of hustle of Marty Supreme. And yet, that memory does not exist on its own. It comes from a city that treasures the arts. That invests in the arts. That makes it possible for artists and all who contribute to making New York's entertainment industry to live lives of creativity. I'm thinking of the actors, the writers, the stagehands, the camera operators, the makeup artists, the technicians who make New York City a union town. And I say that not just as the mayor of New York City but as a former PA myself. City Hall is tackling the cost-of-living crisis so that artists can raise their children here, [so] that they can afford studios and homes here, and so that they can take fast and free buses to shoots here. But we don't want our efforts to be limited solely to making New York affordable for those making the arts. We also want to make New York affordable to make the arts as well. So together, we are going to do just that. I am proud to announce that Rafael Espinal will be serving as our commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment. MOME does incredible, often unseen work. Most productions that are filmed in this city interact with this agency. And I was struck by Rafael's passion for this specific work and the importance that it holds for New Yorkers across the five boroughs. Because art is much more than just imagination. It demands organization, resources, logistics, and often a great deal of external support. MOME has long existed to support the industries that work across our city's creative sectors. And with Rafael leading its work, I want New Yorkers to hold high expectations. For many New Yorkers, especially the Brooklynites he represented in the City Council, Rafael's name is synonymous with fierce advocacy, with a love of this city, and with a commitment of uplifting those too often forgotten by our politics. And for those of you who may know some of the videos that we made in our campaign as I ran to become the mayor of this city, some of the incredible artists that were a part of that, Melted Solids, actually found their way in working for Rafael many years prior. And more recently, as Rafael has become the president and executive director of the Freelancers Union, he played an integral role in the state passage of the Freelance Isn't Free Act, which provided protections to freelancers across our state. This industry has long been an example of how creative work can and must be valued work, from the line workers to the craftspeople. And under my administration, MOME will make sure of exactly that. We will stand alongside the union workers, who have long lacked champions in elected office. And we will work tirelessly to expand the number of highway jobs available to New Yorkers. I can think of no one better equipped to lead this office in this particular moment. Because we want New York to chart a path where the city known across the world for our cultural contributions also becomes known as the place where [the] government proved that it can play a pivotal role in fostering creative imagination. Let our success be felt when the most talented, driven artists in the world want to shoot their projects on our streets. And when the youngest talents who already call this city home, making their first projects in playgrounds and public parks, know that their imagination will be supported by that same city. So much of New York's greatness has been depicted already. And yet we all know that the best shot has still not yet been filmed, that the best score has still not yet been recorded, that the most ambitious visions have still not yet been screened. So together, let us usher in a golden age of New York expression, one that all of us can enjoy and afford, whether by watching it or by creating it. Thank you so much, and now, our Commissioner, Rafael Espinal.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source Now, many of us may know her as the current speaker of the City Council, but she was also a former commissioner. And we're very excited to have Speaker Julie Menin here with us today as well.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source You know, I'll leave the former mayor to answer the second part of that question. But what I will tell you is that we will be withdrawing those proposed rules. And much of the reason for that is that we view a number of these proposals as being an attack on the press and the free press, and there's no need for us to be advancing that same vision. When going through a number of the different specific proposals, we just see time and again that the intent is not to strengthen whether the public’s access of information or even the way in which we work with the press corps, it more felt as if it was an intent to tighten and restrict the press's ability to engage with the Mayor's Office. And that is not something that we want to be putting forward.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source I think we also have to make the case for New Yorkers and for New York City. And part of making the case is emphasizing the importance of this industry. I think the speaker said it herself, in terms of the sheer magnitude and scale of this industry, is one that's often lost in our landscape. And the reason that we both made the decision to have Rafael as our new commissioner and to announce this position at this juncture, is because we want MOME to take a different kind of prioritization within our own administration, and that means active and affirmative outreach to all those who would be considering to shoot and make productions here in New York City. But also, separate from this, how do we make it easier for artists who are already here to start to actually act upon their imagination? Too often, it feels like the world of arts and culture and the world of New York City politics are completely separate. And we want to do the work to ensure that we have someone who is seasoned both in the inner workings of government, as well as has the imagination of someone who's been outside of it, and how we can mix those two things together.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source I think even more than Rafael’s recent experience, he has always stood out to me as someone who sought to bridge the worlds of arts and politics. And I really do go back, we have Anthony here in the crowd from Melted Solids. We can give Anthony a round of applause. I do just want to highlight this for one moment. When Rafael was a City Council member, when Rafael was running for public advocate, he was already utilizing the kinds of digital tools that have now become a fixture in our politics. But at that time, it was advancing a different kind of vision of how to share the stories of New Yorkers with New Yorkers. And I am the proud son of a DGA member, and my mother would always tell me that if we don't tell our own stories, no one else will. And I think that we know there are so many stories of this city that are being told on a day-to-day basis, and we also know that there are more stories to be told. And something that stood out to me about Rafael, both in his remarks today but also in the conversations we've had, is his passion, born and raised in East New York, for becoming an artist in this city, and then the obstacles he faced time and time again, in no small part because of where he was born and raised and where he was coming to that moment from. And what we want to do is make it as easy as possible for any New Yorker who has that imagination to become an artist in this city. And I think that there is obviously a larger scale case we have to make. What we also want is someone running MOME who understands the logistical barriers, the organizational barriers, the kinds of barriers that someone can then use as an example of why they would want to do something elsewhere. Go to another city, another place where it's easier to interact. It's not actually always about money, it's also about ease. And that is something that I am so excited about, is that we will finally be bringing this ability to look at both worlds and how to actually bring them together.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source I think we're going to take every opportunity to highlight the importance of this sector, of the incredible New Yorkers who make it a living, breathing thing. And also the part that, this is a sector that is in pre-production, it's in production, it's post-production, right? There are so many different approaches to this work and different timelines. And all of them require the recognition of the mayor of the city. We're going to keep doing that each and every day and also look at what tangible ideas we can be putting forward through MOME as policies and proposals to make it easier to do work in the city.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source No. And to the question of our commissioner and of MOME, I have to tell you, it was far more of a reflection of being inspired by his vision [and] his passion than a question of what has preceded it. And I would also invite the commissioner to share some thoughts to that end, because there is so much that can be done for artists in this city. And what I've appreciated, and this is partially to Katie's question, his experience is also understanding that an artist goes beyond the categories that we’ve typically used in this city.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source And is that in reference to Adrian Cevallos? I believe that any death deserves a thorough investigation. We also have to acknowledge that our officers are being placed in difficult situations and tasks with responding to mental health crises, as opposed to tackling serious and violent crime. And so, our focus is going to be on both reckoning with what the situation is currently and also charting out our new path forward.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source I think that this is part of the many questions that we are looking at when it comes to the Department of Community Safety.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source So that is something that I've made clear, is that I think that cyclists should not be subject to criminal summonses and that's a conversation that we're having.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source
Every passage above is taken from this recording: NYC Mayor's Office transcripts, Transcript: Mayor Mamdani Appoints Rafael Espinal as Commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment.