Transcript: Mayor Mamdani Holds Ethnic and Community Media Roundtable on Extreme Weather
Zohran Mamdani on NYC Mayor's Office transcripts.
Passages
Morning everyone, thank you again for being here. It's a real pleasure to have all of you here at City Hall. And we are gathering because of the fact that while we know that our city has long dealt with summer hazards, with the acceleration of the climate crisis, we are seeing the intensification of these kinds of events. And within the past month alone, we have seen our city deal with hazardous air quality, extreme heat [and] flooding. We also know that hurricane season is on the horizon. Now we have been hard at work to prepare for this moment and all of the moments that will come after this. Not that long ago, I was standing alongside our DEP commissioner to celebrate the Bureau of Coastal Resilience and the more than $40 million that we were investing to increase the operating capacity around initiatives that include having new flood walls that are learning from the legacy that our city had when it came to Sandy. And we also know that the information that we are sharing, it is only worth as much as people are actually hearing it. And so much of the importance of all of you being here this morning is that we know that so many New Yorkers look to you, they look to your outlets, they look to your publications, they look at your TV channels to get a better sense of the world around them and the city that they live in. And what we want to do is to make sure that no matter what language a New Yorker speaks or what publication they read, that they all understand that the heat that we are talking about right now, the potential of flash flooding; these are not just things to shrug your shoulders at and persevere through; these are things to also prepare for. So, I appreciate all of you being here, and I also want to say thank you to leaders that we have within City government as well in joining us this morning.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceYeah, I think first, thank you for your question, because as you've laid out, there are a number of New Yorkers for whom their workplace is outdoors. And when the weather reaches this level of intensity — again — we are talking about a heat index of around 100 degrees. We know that the consequences for those who are outside can be serious. And to your question — yes — we are continuing to work on this. This was the subject of an executive order that I signed not that long ago, where guidance is being created across City government. Even in advance of that, we have been sending out information to employers to encourage them to create plans for their employees who have to work out in the heat. And we know that there are many workers for whom the absence of those plans have real impact on their health. At that press conference where I signed the executive order, we heard from an airport worker who spoke about the fact that the heat index is one thing. Oftentimes in these workplaces, it is even higher because of the nature of the job. So, when he was loading bags onto a plane, I think it was at least designed to protect— [Audio Drops].
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceOur plan, first and foremost, is a plan about safety. How do we ensure that every New Yorker is living in a safe and habitable place? And one of the ways we do that is by bringing basement apartments up to code. And so, what we have done differently in our administration is we've actually invested more than $1 million in bringing a program to life for homeowners who want to ensure that they have a habitable basement apartment that they can rent out. And the reason, as you've said in your question, is that there are many New Yorkers who already live in basement apartments. However, they are living in apartments that do not have all of the standards that would make them a healthy place. And then, in a moment of this kind of flooding, that is brought to bear. And amidst this, I also know that we can pass it over to NYCEM, but NYCEM also has specific messaging for residents of basement apartments. A specific messaging line [and] a specific chat that is looking to always ensure that New Yorkers know when they need to get out of that apartment, when they need to get to higher ground. Because as you've said, April, we've seen in previous storms that a number of these fatalities have occurred in these kinds of apartments. I used to represent Astoria and Long Island City in the State Assembly during [Hurricane] Ida. That was some of the closest calls that we had, and we know that some people lost their lives elsewhere in the borough of Queens. I don't know if there's anything you'd want to add.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceSo, I — when it comes to the MTA, we have been having conversations with them as to all that we can be doing together to combat flooding. As you know, we have seen this in our city for years and decades, and we also know that it's not acceptable. And a lot of this is a legacy of sewage infrastructure that is more than 100 years old. And yet, we are looking at every single avenue we have to make it easier for New Yorkers to get around the city, because we know that no matter how hot it gets, no matter how cold it is, there are still many New Yorkers who have to get to work. And we want to make sure that this is as easy as possible for them. Separately, a lot of what we see when it comes to flooding, we are looking to take as many preventative measures as we can. I'm proud to say that in large part, thanks to the incredible work of DEP, we have cleared over 71,000 catch basins in the seven months that we've been in office. We are talking about a period of time where a fourth of this year so far has been under a flash flooding advisory. And when we clear those catch basins, we know that that makes it much easier for us to actually ensure that the water is going into our system, as opposed to it being blocked from that because of garbage or whatever else you may have. When it comes to the rideshare companies and the surcharge, you know, this is the business model that they have. [It] is one of surge pricing at different points. I would say that it is as good a moment as any to remind New Yorkers that yellow cabs do not have [surge pricing], public transit does not have these kinds of surge pricing, and these are exactly the places that if you want to find stable, consistent pricing, you'll still find them in the midst of these conditions.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI think the first thing I would say to these neighborhoods is: “We hear you.” We are speaking about neighborhoods in our city that have either been last on the list or not on the lists at all. And I think that the clearest way to show a recognition of that is to demonstrate a different course of action. And so, one of the critical parts of our response has also been investment. How do we ensure that we are investing the requisite amount of money to transform the material reality of these New Yorkers? You spoke of southeast Queens; we have a multi-billion-dollar commitment of investing in flood prevention initiatives in southeast Queens. And when we're looking across the city, the different kinds of things we can do; it goes from porous pavement, to bioswales, to cloudburst technology, to any which way that we can both absorb more water as well as prevent the kind of flooding that we have seen become the norm. The other thing I would add is that I understand that it will take time to earn New Yorkers' trust in these neighborhoods, because when it was flooding in Hollis recently, and I went and I spoke to a number of homeowners, a woman told me that she has had to deal with this for 30 years. That's many different mayoral administrations; I would not begrudge her if it takes her time to trust this one. And we are looking at everything we can do differently. You know, we procured flood kits that — I'm sorry, pump kits — that can actually help these homeowners to pump out some of the excess water that they have had to deal with. And that's now a part of our response strategy. And we are exploring a number of different ways in which we can turn the page on what's really been a story of neglect for many, many years. [Inaudible.] Yes, that it includes every single option that we have, absolutely. Thank you
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI'll start, and then I'll pass it over to you. I think your question also highlights the importance of roundtables like this one, because we know that there are many New Yorkers for whom English may not be their first language. And the publications around this table may be the ones that they read; the radios may be the ones that they listen to; the TVs may be the ones they watch. And we want to make sure that there is no hierarchy of information based upon what language you speak in the city; that every person who lives in the city understands both the heat wave that we are speaking about, the ways in which they should prepare, and the tools that they have on offer. So, language access is critically important to us, also in the services that we provide. And I'm just going to pass it over now to NYCEM to add a few additional details to that.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI will always look for any possible partnership, whether at the federal or state level, to deliver for New Yorkers. I will also be honest that while we leave that door open, what we have found instead when it comes to the federal administration has oftentimes been cuts to funding to programs that are incredibly important. Today, we are speaking about a heat wave, and we're also speaking about the health impacts of that heat wave. If we speak about federal policy as it pertains to health, it's been a lot of very cruel cuts that have significant impacts on New Yorkers' ability to stay healthy in the city. And I know that that is a lot of what Commissioner Martin's work focuses on. I don't know if there's anything that you'd want to add, too. Dr. Martin: Absolutely. Thank you. Our responsibility at the health department is to protect the health and safety of New Yorkers, and core to that is making sure that New Yorkers have health coverage they can rely on and depend on. And what we've seen recently, at least with regard to federal policy — I’ll give you a specific example of HR1 — attempts to chip away to undermine that sort of core, that bedrock that New Yorkers rely on. We’ve seen it recently with cuts to the Essential Plan, which have meant that hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers now don't have access to reliable and affordable health insurance. And we're also concerned about the coming changes that will begin in January when these Medicaid changes take effect. But our role, our responsibility at the Health Department and across city agencies under this mayor, is to step in when the federal government steps back from its responsibility, and that's what you can expect from us.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI think we have to be realistic as to what the administration's focus has been, what policies they've pursued, and always leave the door open in case there is a change of approach. We will never be above working with anyone if it can benefit New Yorkers.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI really appreciate this question, and I think you heard it from our DEP Commissioner that we do have the best drinking water in the world. And one of the most beautiful things about it is that this water is water that you don't have to purchase a water bottle to have. You can find it at a water fountain in your local park. Just yesterday, I was alongside a number of incredible Parks workers helping to bring to life a few additional water fountains in Prospect Park. This is work that is going to continue because we want to make it easy for New Yorkers to stay hydrated wherever they are. And then you heard it earlier — when it comes to this heat wave, when it comes to heat indices of around 100 degrees — we want to encourage everyone to drink even more water than they would think they need to. It is important to stay hydrate in this time. It is important to take every precaution you can. We will have water available at our hundreds of cooling centers. We also have cool vans, which is a new approach that we've started, where these are mobile vans that have electrolytes; they have cold water; they have a place for people to cool down with air conditioning. They also have food to ensure that people are staying healthy. And that will be the case across the five boroughs. And it will also be the case that we have check-ins with older adults that are vulnerable to this level of temperature, because we know that every year around 500 New Yorkers lose their lives as a result of the heat. And we'd never want people to simply treat this weekend like any other. We want them to be prepared for what is very serious conditions and take every precaution they can.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source
Every passage above is taken from this recording: NYC Mayor's Office transcripts, Transcript: Mayor Mamdani Holds Ethnic and Community Media Roundtable on Extreme Weather.