Transcript: Mayor Mamdani Holds Press Conference To Make Infrastructure Announcement
Zohran Mamdani on NYC Mayor's Office transcripts.
Passages
Good morning, my friends, and welcome to the Throne Labs warehouse here in Queens. I first want to acknowledge and to thank City Council Member Sandy Nurse, who — let's have a round of applause for Sandy — who has been a leader in this fight for years. It is an honor to make today's announcement alongside her. I also want to acknowledge leaders from inside of City government that we have here, including our deputy mayor of Operations, Julia Kerson. We have our Parks commissioner, Tricia Shimamura. We have the co-founder and CEO of Throne and the entire Throne team, Fletcher Wilson. We also have our NYC DOT commissioner, Mike Flynn, our EDC executive vice president of Asset Management, Giacomo Landi. And we also want to say an acknowledgment and a shout-out to the World's Borough Bookstore, who is going to be a partner — a local partner — to the Tap Card Distribution Initiative. Now, there is one universal experience that binds New Yorkers together. I'm not talking about the shared betrayal we all feel about the disappearance of the dollar slice. Not talking about getting sweatier than you ever thought was possible on an F train platform in mid-July. I'm talking about a universal experience that every New Yorker has had at one point or another. Heading out into our city, excited for the day ahead, only to suddenly, horrifyingly realize you have to go. Many of us have pleaded with baristas and maîtres d’s. We have listened intently as a worker at Chipotle whispers the bathroom code to another paying customer. We have bought that $9 latte. And all of us have, at some point or another, just turned around and had to go home. It is estimated that our city has only one public toilet for every 8,500 New Yorkers. And while some prior administrations have paid lip service to the issue, promising to build bathrooms that never materialized, others have cast the need aside entirely. In doing so, they have told New Yorkers, to paraphrase Donald Fagen, that City Hall is a, quote, “Fool to do their dirty work.” But not us. Today, I am proud to announce that we are delivering on a commitment we made just 10 days after taking office: the launch of a one-year pilot bringing a new kind of bathroom to New York City. Beginning this month, we are installing 17 modular public toilets in high-traffic areas across the five boroughs: 17 formerly bathroom-less locations that will soon become New York City's number one place to go number two. Or number one. You don't need to tell me or anyone at City Hall. These modular toilets will be operated, cleaned and maintained by our partners here at Throne Labs. Each bathroom will be ADA accessible, free and open daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. And they will include sinks with running water, toilets that flush, air conditioning in the summer and heat in the winter, as well as baby changing stations. Unlike permanent bathrooms, however, they are affordable to manage and maintain because they do not require drilling into the pipes, sewer systems and utility lines deep in the bowels of our city. And they can be redeployed and relocated as the need for bathrooms across our city changes. These toilets go beyond the simple act of providing New Yorkers a place to go in a pinch. They are a critical addition to our public health infrastructure. This is how we keep the streets clean. This is how we deliver New Yorkers the basic public services they need to live lives of dignity; whether they're a mom with a child having an emergency or a delivery worker on a 12-hour shift. At City Hall, we have begun to call this work of delivering public goods and public excellence to New Yorkers "pothole politics." But decades ago, it had a different name: sewer socialism, an approach to governance pioneered by a group of Milwaukee mayors at the beginning of the 20th century that focused on addressing the material issues affecting people's lives. Today, we are putting the sewage back in sewer socialism, and we're doing so because we believe that there is no problem too big and no task too small for City Hall to help you with. Thank you very much. And now with that, I will pass it over to our deputy mayor for Operations, Julia Kerson.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceSo, one of the reasons why, when I began my remarks, I also began with acknowledgement of the World's Borough Bookstore is that we are partnering with a lot of local institutions that are going to be passing out these tap cards so that people can actually have a physical manifestation of them. And that is going to be a critical part of ensuring that this is something for all New Yorkers. I'll also just invite Throne Labs CEO to add some additional details to that.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceBrother, I'll tell you that when you need one, if you can find one, makes a difference. So, 17, yes, it is an important first step toward, you know, you heard from the Council member about a larger vision. But to us, this is also what it looks like for a City government being responsive. I mean, I can tell you the time when I discovered the public bathroom in the Times Square subway station was an incredible moment for me. And I hope that many others have that same moment when they discover these 17 Throne Labs across the five boroughs.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceSo, I really appreciate the question because so much of the way in which Throne Labs have set up these modular bathrooms is specifically geared toward the kind of outcomes that we want to see. So, there are a few things that I'll just rattle off and then feel free to come up and add some additional details. One thing that is critically important for New Yorkers to know is that every single unit is cleaned by a real person and is done so on average every 15 uses or fewer. The other is that these are bathrooms where there's, you know, you start to have flashing lights after a certain point to encourage people to get out of the bathroom. Because, again, the average time of using a public restroom is, I think, somewhere below four minutes, about three and a half minutes or so. And so, the kinds of things that you're speaking of is typically a much longer use of time in the bathroom that doesn't actually need to be accommodated by this. I don't know if you want to add some details.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI haven't thought about the bathroom — so which bathroom specifically? There are a number of them.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI think that everyone should be able to use every bathroom that is, you know, within public access. I'll get back to you about the specifics of the City Hall bathroom. What I will say is that for us, part of the reason that this is a pilot is we want to evaluate the results of this. We're hopeful, and what I would love to see is that at the end of this year that we can see the success of these 17 modular bathrooms and then, as the Council member said, build this into our larger vision. Because we're a city of 8.5 million people, and we need to have enough public infrastructure for people's day-to-day needs. And I think, especially when we're thinking about New Yorkers who work outside as well as parents who are taking their children around, they shouldn't have to have that panic or have to look for a Google Maps list of different businesses that you can get into to use their public bathroom. And I think that there are too many New Yorkers who have had to deal with that, frankly.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceWe're going to be looking at all options. Just to give you one example, over the time that we've been in office, we've also opened an automated public toilet as well. I had made an announcement, I think, as this Council member had referred to in the early days of the administration, and that very site actually just opened up its automated public toilet this week. So, that's one example of a way to do it. The modular restrooms are another example of the way to do it. Frankly, Marcia, I'll be honest, I don't think that there's a shortage of places that could accommodate a public restroom. The interest and demand is so high. And when you look at these, what is so exciting about them is that they do not require what most restrooms require in terms of the connection to so much of the infrastructure of our city. And also, the cost that we're talking about, 17 of these — and I think the deputy mayor of Operations can correct me if I'm wrong — 17 costs about what one public restroom has historically cost in New York City. And that is part of why we have not built that many, because we've seen the cost of these restrooms just escalate year after year.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceYou know, I think the next step is, what are the issues that people are dealing with in terms of their quality of life. We've seen New Yorkers come forward to say it's the pothole on their block — that's a priority for us. We've seen others come forward and tell the Council member, the Council member [has] brought it forward of, "I need a place to be able to take my kid when they need to go to the bathroom." That's the priority for us. Anything that a New Yorker is struggling with in their day-to-day life, that's a priority for us, because we want to show that City government can help you live a better life in this city, and for far too long New Yorkers have been rightfully skeptical of that. [Crosstalk.] What's your favorite public bath in New York City?
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceTo also just say succinctly that this is not a place to scroll on your phone. I know that many people do that. This isn't one of them.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI think one of the key parts of this, and we've heard this, is the feedback loop for New Yorkers to provide of the cleanliness of the unit, of the use of the unit, and that actually triggers a response in terms of it being cleaned faster and sooner. So, that's very important for us, because you heard it from Henry, who's, I think, indicative of many New Yorkers, at one level sympathetic because of what they've had to experience and another level also skeptical because of what they've heard. And we need to make sure that we can address those needs while also being able to address the concerns around it. I think one of the other critical parts of this is to have local partners within a 10-minute walk of these Throne Labs — is a critical way such that it's not just those with phones, but also those who have tap cards, and that that card is something that can be used to get into these bathrooms. I don't know if there's anything else — okay, all right. It's a great name, by the way. It's an incredible name, I don't know— [Crosstalk.]
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceSo, what was the last part of it? New projects you expect them to take on? Okay. I'm very excited by the fact that we have Lina Khan as our board chair, and she has showcased a drive, desire and ability to deliver for working people across this country for many years at a national level and has also been instrumental even just as one of the co-chairs of our transition. She will help to develop that vision, and I'm also very excited about the leadership of the head of our EDC, Tony Shorris, who has just recently started and is an integral part of ensuring that we are able to not only deliver economic development for New Yorkers across the five boroughs, but also economic justice, and that this be a city that isn't just one that is thought of as the wealthiest city and the wealthiest country in the history of the world, but also one where we can address the fact that one in four New Yorkers are currently living in poverty.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceThese are conversations that are ongoing internally within our administration of all the different steps that we can be taking to reckon with a question that is on the forefront of Americans' minds coast to coast. And when it comes to the City Council's announcement, I do welcome efforts by the Council to ask these kinds of questions, to probe these kinds of companies, to explore the role that the city can take in potential regulations. And yes, I'd be open to those meetings, and frankly I think that what we are really looking forward to is not just having individual meetings, frankly, but to have a policy that can address the scope and the scale of the questions that are in front of us.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI do not have any plans to attend any protest at the UN General Assembly, and I have also been in touch with our PD in general as we prepare for the UN General Assembly. Right now, there are no expected threats that we know of, and we [continue] to be confident in being able to deliver safety and security for New Yorkers. To New Yorkers, I have never encouraged them to protest. What I have always told them is that they have the right to do so in the city. We respect that right. And this is a city that is proud of the Constitution, proud of the First Amendment, we'll continue to do so.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceSorry, I think — you're referring to the commissioner of International Affairs or deputy mayor? She's the commissioner for International Affairs. No worries. I just wanted to make sure that I knew of the same thing that we were talking of. So, our Law Department is reviewing this lawsuit. And we are fully committed to transparency. And we're working to return FOIL requests in full accordance with the law. And then on your first question, you know, I have made very clear about my views, my thoughts, my assessments. Also, when it comes to the UN General Assembly, my focus is ensuring that our city remains prepared to host representatives from across the world to keep New Yorkers safe. And I think also to ensure that we're able to both address the global conversation that is happening here in our city and the very local concerns that New Yorkers have about traffic and their ability to get from point A to point B over the course of that time period.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceSo, these are conversations that are ongoing within our administration. We take very seriously the importance of delivering street safety and, frankly, to do so in a manner that develops a network across our city. And we also know that while we are proud of the fact that the number of fatalities has decreased since the time that Vision Zero was announced more than a decade ago, that we will not rest until that number is zero. That number continues to be more than 200, and that is why yesterday we announced a whole suite of initiatives that we are going to be taking, and that is also going to be complemented by a streets plan that we will be releasing soon.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI welcome them. They can have a vigil, or I've heard some describe it even as a protest. Whatever it is intended to be, they have the room and space to do so outside of Gracie Mansion. I think that at the time that they are there, I will probably be somewhere else across the city. ###
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source
Every passage above is taken from this recording: NYC Mayor's Office transcripts, Transcript: Mayor Mamdani Holds Press Conference To Make Infrastructure Announcement.