Transcript: Mayor Mamdani Releases Preliminary Citywide Racial Equity Plan and True Cost of Living Measure
Zohran Mamdani on NYC Mayor's Office transcripts.
Passages
Can we hear it once more for Dr. Ramsey? Firstly, it is a pleasure to be here and to be here also to celebrate what I've now just learned is the most-enrolled major at Medgar Evers, biology, and the 900 students who are studying to be biologists. They are deeply needed because I am a mayor who has very little knowledge of biology. It is a pleasure to be here to announce the release of our Preliminary Racial Equity Plan and NYC True Cost of Living report. And I want to say thank you first to our chief equity officer and our commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Equity and Racial Justice, Afua Atta-Mensah, for her steadfast leadership. In addition to thanking our commissioner as well as the Medgar Evers president, Dr. Ramsey, I want to thank Council Member Sandy Nurse and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, who are here with us. And we have a number of our leaders from within City government. We have our city planning chair, Sideya Sherman. We have our commissioner, Alister Martin. We have Dr. Sarah Sayeed of the Civic Engagement Commission. We have our SBS commissioner, Kenny Minaya; our DOP commissioner, Sharun Goodwin; our chief climate officer, Louise Yeung; and our commissioner, Yesenia Mata, as well. Now, as I look back, I also see our lawyer, Ramzi Kassem. And I want to give an acknowledgement as well to our chief of United Way of New York City, Grace Bonilla, who is here with us. Truly. And I'll just end with some final acknowledgements also to the ED and chair of the Commission on Racial Equity, Linda Tigani; one of the commissioners, Kirsten John Foy; as well as members of the advisory board on the implementation of the racial justice charter amendments, Fred Davie and Udai Tambar. And a special shout-out to Dabash Negash, a deputy commissioner of MOERJ, and the nine equity planning commissioners; if we can, give them a round of applause. So, as we provide these acknowledgements, they are also an acknowledgement of the many who brought this day forward, the many who ensured that this would be something we would actually act upon. And that is not just work that has been done over the last few months, over the last few years, but frankly, over the last few decades even. And I want to give a special remembrance for Bob Law, the radio legend. He was a tireless advocate for racial justice. And when we take a step forward on a day like this, we also do so looking to pay tribute to his memory. And we do so here at an institution named after an incredible man in the name of Medgar Evers, the legacy of someone who dedicated his life to fighting for the dignity of Black Americans across this country. Now, Medgar Evers spoke at Mount Heron Baptist Church in Vicksburg, Mississippi, in 1957 about our obligations to one another. He said: “As men living in as highly diversified and complex a society as ours, it is our duty and responsibility to our fellow men and our children to tackle the problems that lie ahead with faith and courage.” Nearly 70 years later, that same directive guides us in our work here in New York City, where extraordinary wealth and devastating poverty live side by side. The people of our city understand that our faiths are bound up in one another and that we owe each other courage as we confront the problems facing our city. And that is why New Yorkers in 2022 voted to develop a Racial Equity Plan and NYC True Cost of Living Measure. And I want to say thank you as well to someone who is here with us in Jennifer Jones Austin, who was at the forefront of ensuring that that was the case. Now, though the prior administration delayed both of these reports by 580 days, our City Hall has made a promise in the early days of the admin to deliver these long-awaited reports within our first 100 days. And today I am proud to say we are delivering on that promise. Today's announcement has two parts: the Preliminary Citywide Racial Equity Plan and the inaugural New York City True Cost of Living Measure. Together these reports establish a framework for how our city will both measure affordability and plan for the future. The True Cost of Living Measure confirms what New Yorkers have long known to be true: too many people cannot afford the city that they love. New York City is home to skyscrapers, million-dollar listings, nine-dollar lattes, and yet more than three in five New Yorkers, 62 percent, cannot keep up with the cost of living in this city. Despite the incredible wealth of our city, our poverty rate is double that of the national average, and it is getting worse year over year. And while today's True Cost of Living Measure confirms that the affordability crisis touches every corner of our city, we know that these effects are not applied evenly. So often it is Black and Brown New Yorkers who are hit the hardest. This Preliminary Racial Equity Plan is the first step in developing a whole-of-government approach to tackling that reality. It is a plan that lays out these first steps to solve decades of neglect and discrimination, and it places the work of 45 city agencies within a singular framework. Too often, the story of Black and Brown New Yorkers is one of being forced to stretch that same dollar that little bit further. Every year, as wages stagnate, as well as an exodus, an exclusion continues to take place. When I say exodus, I refer to the fact that from 2000 to 2020, more than 200,000 Black New Yorkers were pushed out of this city because they could not afford life in the most expensive city in the United States of America. Because rent was too high, child care was too expensive and groceries cost too much. Now, I ran for mayor on an affordability agenda because we know that we cannot solve this crisis without reckoning with the fact that the neighborhoods hit hardest by rent and the rising nature of it, by child care costs and the suffocating manner of it, are the same ones that have been hit for years by institutional neglect and racism. In that way, New York City's affordability crisis and its history of racial inequity are bound together. That is why when we secured $1.2 billion in partnership with the governor to place our city on a path to universal child care, we made sure to begin with the neighborhoods that have so often been overlooked. Neighborhoods like Canarsie, Brownsville, Far Rockaway and others. We also know that the dream of homeownership has been denied to too many New Yorkers due to redlining, FHA loan discrimination and deed theft. That is why we are not only fast-tracking the building of more than 1,000 affordable housing units, but [also] breaking ground on new developments, [such as] Myrtle Avenue in Bed-Stuy, Jerome Avenue in the Bronx, and Farmers Boulevard in Queens. And every single day I've been in office, we have delivered nearly $100,000 back to working-class New Yorkers, small businesses, and so many others who have been ripped off by large corporations that they struggled to make their ends meet in this city. Now as we finalize this plan, we will continue to tackle our city's affordability crisis without turning away from the decades, and frankly centuries, of disinvestment in Black and Brown New Yorkers. Now we will need New Yorkers' help with this work. The plan we are announcing today is a preliminary one, and to complete it we are opening a 30-day public comment period. Now I know one thing we love about this city is we have no shortage of opinions, and we are asking New Yorkers to share them with us, because we know that in those opinions we will find the answer as to what government can be doing better to finally reckon with both the true cost of living in this city and the racial inequities we've seen pervade for far too long in this place that we call home. Now as we chart this new path forward, we do so with the wish that it be guided by a very simple purpose, that in the wealthiest city in the world, no longer should so many be forced to make do with such little. We will create a New York City that belongs to all who build it, and we will do so together. Thank you, and now I will introduce our Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice Julie Su.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceNow we'll have our commissioner, Afua Atta-Mensah. Chief Equity Officer and Commissioner Afua Atta-Mensah, Mayor’s Office of Equity & Racial Justice: Good morning, everyone. It is a pleasure to be here with you today as we mark an important milestone for our city. I want to thank so many of our fellow commissioners for being here today. This plan was born during a defining moment in our city's history, when New Yorkers were in the streets in the midst of a global pandemic, calling for justice, demanding accountability, and bearing witness to brutality unfolding on our streets and on our screens. In that moment, our city was asked to reckon with the deep systemic inequities that have long shaped life here and to do better. New Yorkers across all five boroughs answered that call. Their voices, their advocacy, and their persistence are what brought us to this moment. The release of the Preliminary Citywide Racial Equity Plan is a reflection of that collective mandate. It is not just a document — it is a commitment. A commitment to confront institutional and systemic racism within our city and to begin the work of dismantling it. This effort represents collaboration across New York City government. Forty-five agencies and more than 200 public servants came together with a shared purpose to build a more equitable, inclusive and just city. That type of coordination only happens when there is a clear understanding that this work is both urgent and necessary. The Office of Equity and Racial Justice is helping to lead this effort, and as a commissioner I want to be clear that this is just the first step. A step we took in spite of tensions around doing so. Our responsibility now is to move from planning to action and to do so with intention, transparency and accountability. Because plans alone do not create change — action does. This plan lays out a roadmap to address inequities through both targeted programs and deeper structural reforms. It challenges us to examine how systems operate, how decisions are made, and how resources are distributed and to change what is not working. But this work cannot happen in isolation. Community input must remain central to how we move forward. The voices of those most impacted by inequity must continue to guide us, shape our approach and hold us accountable. So, I also want to take a moment to recognize the individuals and partners who helped guide this work. We are deeply grateful to the Racial Justice Charter Amendment Advisory Board for their leadership and insight; the racial equity planning team members across the city and the nine racial equity planners who are here with us; planning managers; our accountability partners at CORE; and Dr. Ramsey; Esmeralda Simmons; Dr. Brenda Greene; [and] Lurie Daniels Favors of Medgar Evers College, a hallowed institution named in honor of one of America's most prolific civil rights leaders. We also recognize former MOERJ Commissioner and current DCP Chair Sideya Sherman, whose leadership helped bring this plan to New Yorkers through her work both with the Racial Justice Commission and all the iterations that [are] now the Mayor's Office of Equity and Racial Justice. And importantly, we thank the New Yorkers who continue to show up, speak out and remain committed to change. This work belongs to you. As we move forward, I implore each of you, agency leaders, partners, and community members alike. to stay engaged, to lead into the work, and to hold yourselves accountable and hold each of us accountable. Because the success of this plan will not be measured by its release, but by its impact. Together, we have an opportunity to confront the inequities embedded in our system and to build something better, something more just, inclusive, and more reflective of the values we share. Thank you so much, and it is my pleasure to call up our public advocate, Jumaane Williams.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceSo, I'll start with the first question and then go to the second. We, as New Yorkers, have long suspected in our bones that this cost-of-living crisis was affecting far more people than typical indicators would show. And what today's true cost-of-living report illustrates is that this is something which is affecting the lives of millions. I mean, 5 million New Yorkers do not earn enough to match the true cost of living in this city. It inspires us to redouble our commitments in two ways. One is to ensure that as many New Yorkers in this city as possible can earn a living wage so that they can actually keep up with the cost of living in the city. And two is to tackle the costs that are pushing that cost of living so high. So, some of those costs we know in this city are housing costs. Some of those costs are also childcare costs. Part of the reason why we've been so focused on delivering universal child care in this city is that we know that if a family has a child in this city, for them to find child care, it's considered a good deal to pay $20,000 a year. If you can tackle that cost and you can bring that down to zero, that is a transformative impact on working-class New Yorkers' ability to live and to dream of a future in this city. That's why we're so excited about delivering 2,000 seats for two-year-olds of free childcare this fall, 12,000 seats next year, and a seat for every single two-year-old by the end of year four. Now to your second question, we are looking to continue to grow not just jobs but also industry in this city and to ensure that growth reaches every single New Yorker. Now, I say reaches because what we've seen in this city is an economy that has grown — and we celebrate that growth — all amidst working-class New Yorkers being pushed out of this city. This report also reveals that working-class New Yorkers are four times as likely to leave as wealthy New Yorkers when it comes to the state of affairs across these five boroughs. And we need to confront that exodus and do everything we can to keep those New Yorkers here in this city. And then also make room for everyone else who would like to be a New Yorker. Because we know — and I'm so glad that we have our DCP head here who's with us — because so much of this comes back to building as much housing as we can to ensure that those who live here can continue to do so, and those who want to live here can find space as well.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceThis report focuses on the cost of living for New Yorkers at large. It brings to light statistics like the one I'd shared about working-class New Yorkers leaving at four times the rate of wealthy New Yorkers. It also shines a light on the fact that the median household wealth for white New Yorkers in this city is $276,000. For Black New Yorkers, it's $18,000. The disparities that we're seeing within this city, and I think as the public advocate put it very well, which is that we are here to fight for each and every New Yorker, and that these statistics are not an indictment of anyone who calls this city home. They are an indictment of policies, politics, and a system that we have allowed to flourish for far too long. And so, what this report is a reminder to all of us to do, is to build a city where equity is not a footnote or an acknowledgement but is also a framework for how we deliver for the people of this city.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceWe are going to continue to do everything we can to increase jobs in this city, and we look at every single thing that happens in this city as having an opportunity to that end. We are less than 70 days away from the beginning of the World Cup. Now, I will tell you, as a soccer obsessive, that I have — have dreamed for many years about this moment, purely thinking about what happens on the field. But now as the mayor of this city, I'm thinking about the immense economic opportunity, the billions of dollars that this could yield, and the responsibility we have in our city administration to ensure that is an economic opportunity that extends far beyond just the typical areas where a tourist might go and into the beauty and the breadth of these five boroughs. And when we're talking about corporate America in our city, we're seeing commitments, whether it be from Bank of America or American Express or so many other large-scale companies to not just the present of this city, but also the future of this city, and that's work that we will continue to do.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceAbsolutely. So, we put forward an executive order early on in our administration to catalog for the first time every single fine and fee that a small business would be facing. I'm glad that we actually have our small business commissioner who's here with us, because that is the kind of work that we're going to be looking at to reduce the burden of not just opening a small business, but sustaining that small business. And I'll just share a few facts as it pertains to the economic health of our city. We are looking at property data and office leasing figures that all suggest that demand for space in our city is rising again. It's not stagnating or even collapsing. In fact, we're seeing in Manhattan's office market that demand has reached its highest level since 2014. Now, none of this — this is not facts or figures that we can rest on or just use as an indicator that there's nothing more to be done. But it is a glimpse into the fact that this city is one that is not only committed to the economic vitality of the five boroughs as a whole, but also one that we're seeing other companies are becoming a part of as well.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI can't speak to the prior administration in terms of the delay in following through with the law. What I can tell you is that this is a report that was put together over many months. We made a commitment early that we would release this within our first hundred days. I want to really acknowledge our commissioner, Afua Atta-Mensah, who ensured that that was a commitment that we would deliver on, not just in a technical sense, but also with a fulsome report. And just for effect, this is the report that we were speaking about. Now, this covers 45 agencies, more than 200 goals, more than 600 indicators. So, it is meant to shape decision-making across our city administration. In this, we inherited work that was underway, we strengthened it, and then we made a decision to put it in front of New Yorkers so that this work could be informed by them, as the council member was saying, through the public comment period that is starting imminently. I'm just going to pass it over to our commissioner if there's anything you'd like to add.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceSo, I've made my critiques of the database clear, and the NYPD has also implemented a number of reforms as per the recommendation that came through. And the implementation of those reforms and the results of that are part of the active discussion that we're having.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceWe'll absolutely follow up on this. Thank you for flagging this. [Crosstalk.]
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceThank you. I'm going to pass it over to my chief counsel. It's better when he says it. Thank you very much. ###
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source
Every passage above is taken from this recording: NYC Mayor's Office transcripts, Transcript: Mayor Mamdani Releases Preliminary Citywide Racial Equity Plan and True Cost of Living Measure.