Ask The Mayor: Displacement Prevention, Court Backlogs & Police Misconduct

Brian Lehrer: It's The Brian Lehrer show on WNYC. Good morning again, everyone. Now it's time for our weekly Ask The Mayor call-in, my questions and yours, for Mayor Bill de Blasio, at 646-435-7280, or you can tweet a question, just use #AskTheMayor. Good morning, Mr. Mayor. Welcome back to WNYC.

Mayor de Blasio: Good morning, Brian. Brian, I am feeling your neighborhood today. You're Inwood, right?

Brian Lehrer: Correct.

Mayor de Blasio: You're right next to Washington Heights. I went to In The Heights last night and I went there in the Heights at that extraordinary beautiful theater up there on Broadway in Washington Heights. What an amazing movie. I want to say to you and all New Yorkers, go see this movie, it captures who we are as New Yorkers in a way almost no movie I've ever seen does. It's joyous and it's a total sign of our rebirth. It's amazing. The timing is perfect to show the rebirth and the energy of New York City.

Brian Lehrer: I would expect nothing less from Lin-Manuel Miranda, and I can't wait to see it myself, but we can say five stars from Bill de Blasio, right?

Mayor de Blasio: Five stars.

Brian Lehrer: Well, early voting in the primary election begins tomorrow. May I ask if you plan to vote in person or by mail?

Mayor de Blasio: I am going to vote in person on election day. I have to also make a reference here to a very pressing surging election situation because we yesterday did a demonstration for the people in New York City of how ranked-choice voting works and did a pizza topping ballot. I swear, Brian, sometimes you got to do something that people can relate to. Now 13,000 voters have already voted.

I want to encourage people to vote because it is a way to actually start practicing your ranked-choice voting skills. I'm not going to give away early results because I don't want to bias the election, but people have to get used to ranked-choice voting. It's a fun way to do it. Go to nyc.gov/pizzavote, vote for your favorite toppings, vote for five choices, one through five, get used to this new approach.

Brian Lehrer: Here's the very short version of a ranked-choice strategy, a tip that I've heard going around. I'll adapt it to what you did yesterday, Mr. Mayor. I would rank spinach first, mushroom second, and I really don't like olives. I know who doesn't like olives, but if you really don't like olives, don't rank olives fifth. Don't rank them at all. If there's a candidate you really don't want in office, don't rank them at all rather than put them last on your ballot. We'll get more into ranked-choice voting strategies on Monday.

Mayor de Blasio: Friendly amendment. You have obviously eight candidates who are on the stage for the Campaign Finance Board debate and there are more than that. I want to urge people to think about-- Brian's point is well taken, if you abhor someone, if you think they absolutely cannot be Mayor, of course, don't rank them. I'm going to push people and say, look at everyone, really study. Choose the five in order of your preference, because literally, your first four in the process could go by the wayside as each round of recount happens.

Your fifth vote may still be alive in this process and it could be a very close election. I would urge people don't leave anything blank. Literally do the work, do the thinking to get one to five. Leave off the people you absolutely can't stand, of course, but push hard to see if you can find five choices in order, because that's how you actually maximize the impact of your ballot.

Brian Lehrer: I'd be happy enough if anchovies wins, but not olives. Now you've been holding off on saying who or whether you would endorse at all in the race, but here we are with the polls about to open tomorrow, so have you decided on either?

Mayor de Blasio: Not yet. I'm watching carefully. Obviously, there was another debate last night, there's one more CFB debate coming up. I'm watching very, very carefully. I'm going to make a decision, my own personal decision, obviously, but also if I want to say something publicly. I'm going to take this one close to the end unquestionably.

I actually think, Brian, I talked to a lot of New Yorkers, the vast majority of people are making a decision late this year, much later than usual. They're still seeking information. They're finally beginning to focus. This has been unlike any election I've ever seen. I think it's going to be volatile right up to the end. I think people are going to be deciding, many people day before or day of, or even as they're walking into the booth.

Brian Lehrer: Tillis in Queens, you're on WNYC with Mayor de Blasio. Hello, Tillis.

Tillis: Hello.

Brian Lehrer: Hi there. You're on the air.

Tillis: We would not think to ask children with special needs to enter a lottery to decide which children's needs should be met. However, for the coming school year, exceptional students that require an accelerated education to meet their needs had to enter into a lottery to determine enrollment and the city's gifted and talented programs. As Mayor, what will you do to meet the needs of all incoming children in need of accelerated education?

Brian Lehrer: Thank you very much. Mr. Mayor?

Mayor de Blasio: Thank you. Great question. Very, very important question. I'm going to say two things. One, the system we put in place just for this year's admissions will allow us to reach a lot more kids. Next year we're going to reach more kids who have those abilities, who have, whether it's in one subject or multiple subjects, or the ability to do more advanced learning. We're going to be able to accommodate a lot more than the previous very narrow gifted and talented program, which is now gone forever.

In September, we will announce a new model, which will be the permanent model. I intend it to be something that reaches many thousands more kids each year. Remember, the gifted and talented model that we inherited and struggled to find an alternative to, honestly, that reached only a few thousand kids a year. We've come to the conclusion it was so broken, we needed to go in an entirely different direction that could reach thousands, even tens of thousands of kids.

Many, many kids have a particular talent and ability. After a lot of consultation with stakeholders in the next few months, in September, we'll announce an entirely different approach that will absolutely reach many, many more kids than ever before.

Brian Lehrer: Andrew in Jackson Heights, you're on WNYC with the Mayor. Hello, Andrew.

Andrew: Hi. Good morning, Mr. Mayor. Thank you, Brian. We spoke two months ago. I'm the co-president of the 89th street tenants association, the devastating 8-alarm fire that destroyed our two buildings in Jackson Heights, Queens in April. We represent over 500 residents, Mr. Mayor, essential workers, a 99-year-old woman who's reaching her Centennial, kids starting pre-K in the fall, newborn kids, including my own son.

Thanks to you, last time we were given a brief hotel extension, but now we're facing an eviction to shelters on June 20th, Father's Day, which will be my first. Mr. Mayor, we need the following. We need a humane hotel extension until September 2021 so we can find housing as close as possible to home before the new school year starts.

Two, we just need HPD to expand housing options for us. Any voucher programs for our 200 plus families. I'm just going to conclude, but there's zero HBD shelters in Queens. We needed displacement prevention programs that keep us in our community so we return home. We surely are not the last fire or emergency and Mr. Mayor--

Brian Lehrer: Oops! Andrew's line just disappeared. He got disconnected somehow. Do you remember? I don't expect you to remember every call that comes in.

Mayor de Blasio: No, no. Of course. This was a horrible fire and displaced so many families. I do remember speaking with Andrew here on this show and I remember what we did after. He's right. We provided additional time and hotels, but more than that, I spoke to the housing commissioner, Louise Carroll this morning. In fact, all the families have been asked to fill out permanent affordable housing forms and a number of families have been offered--

I want you to hear this, Brian, because it's really an amazing example of the compassion of the city. A number of families have been offered permanent affordable housing in Queens. Now, some folks will say immediately, well, is it in the exact same neighborhood they were in? No, the honest truth is no, but it is in Queens. It is permanent affordable housing, affordable for the incomes of these families.

I think considering that folks went through this tragedy and the city of New York's response is not just, "Here's a hotel room for a little while," but actually, "Here's long-term affordable housing for your family." This is an important indicator of the way we try to really support people. The message is to all the families, we need everyone to fill out forms for permanent affordable housing. We're going to get you options, as many as we can.

We want to accommodate everybody. We're certainly going to look at the hotel situation to be as flexible as we can in the meantime. The goal is, every one of those families will get one kind or another of permanent affordable housing option provided to them.

Brian Lehrer: That is good news if it really works out that way. Andrew certainly sounded like they were on the brink, and it doesn't seem apparent that they're going to be taken care of as of this moment.

Mayor de Blasio: Well, respectfully, and I appreciate every journalist should always be questioning, but I'm giving you actually news here, Brian, [chuckles] directly from the Housing Commissioner that these offers are already being made. Again, remember, in many places, someone might go through a tragedy, and maybe they would get help, and maybe they wouldn't, or they get very temporary help.

To think that people went through this tragedy and the city's response is "We're going to give you a long-term affordable option that we create for you," that's a whole different level, and it's a very good thing. Real, live apartments, in some cases, brand-new apartments and brand-new affordable housing developments. We'll happily get you the details, so you can become a believer, but I'd like us as New Yorkers to recognize the level of compassion in this city. It doesn't happen in most places in this country. This is quite exceptional.

Brian Lehrer: Thank you. I want to ask you about something that has come up in both the mayoral campaign and the comptroller's campaign. It came up in the comptroller's debate last night, and maybe in the mayoral debate last night, which I didn't watch because they shouldn't have scheduled it at the same time as the comptroller's debate. It's that the city budget has gone from about $70 billion to $90 billion a year on your watch. If those numbers are accurate, that's a big jump in just eight years, and, of course, it costs the taxpayers. Can you justify it?

Mayor de Blasio: Sure. The only reason the budget was able to grow was because there was revenue. In some cases, it was federal revenue. Originally, it was a lot of FEMA money after Sandy, more recently, of course, stimulus. In some cases recently, thank God, state revenue, the amazing work of the legislature, and finally bringing us justice on education funding, the CFE case and giving us our fair share of education funding. In other cases, it's been prosperity.

In the last years leading up to the pandemic, we added almost a half-million jobs in this city since the beginning of my administration, and we had the most jobs in the history of New York City, and therefore, a whole lot more revenue. What we've done with that money, pre-K for every child for free, now pre-K will be universal as well. Affordable housing, it's going to be for 700,000 people when our initiative's over. It cost a lot of money, but it's absolutely worth it.

The mental health services we created after school, services for immigrants, and working people. This is exactly what we should be investing in. I believe in a redistributive approach. I believe that if you're going to fight the inequality, you need to take resources, especially from those who have done very well, and redistributed them to working people. That's what we've been doing and pre-pandemic it led to, honestly, the greatest prosperity we've ever seen in this city, and the most shared prosperity.

Brian Lehrer: Dominic in Brooklyn, you're on WNYC with the Mayor. Hello, Dominic.

Dominic: Hello, Mayor. Since January 2020, I've been involved in a holdover eviction with a veteran who was diagnosed with PTSD. Because of his erratic behavior, I had to do this. The problem is, I'm now held hostage in my own apartment with a person that won't get vaccinated. He runs his air conditioner and electric heaters 24/7. My electric bill this month is $369. I'm not kidding, $369. If I won't drop the case, he wants an extortion of $25,000 and then he'll leave. I had shingles last year, I was diagnosed with shingles. I actually slept in Prospect Park in a tent. The police came.

Brian Lehrer: Dominic, let me jump in and get clarification on why this is a question for the mayor. Is there something about city policy that's preventing you from getting rid of this roommate you don't want who you feel is a threat?

Dominic: Yes, I went to social services, but everything's closed. My court case, was March 23, 2020, and the court closed three days before, so I've been stuck with this person. I'm in Massachusetts, actually right now. I stay at my girlfriend's house, and she's moving to Canada and I can't go there.

Brian Lehrer: I get it. Dominic, I'm going to jump in again. Mr. Mayor, what can you do to somebody in a situation like that?

Mayor de Blasio: It's a very obviously complex and painful situation. Dominic, please give your information to WNYC. I'm going to have someone follow up from our Veterans Affairs Office, and also our Social Services Department. Look, what I'd say here is, I feel for everyone involved, if we have a veteran who served our country and has PTSD and is dealing with mental health challenges, we got to support that individual. Everything Dominic saying about his situation also sounds like he needs help and support, and we've got to find a way to mediate this. We will get our city agencies to work with Dominic individually to try and fix this.

The bigger point, Brian, thank God, the courts are coming back across the board. This has been something I've been calling for and pushing for for months. It took way too long for the court system to come back, but at least it's back now, and working off backlogs pretty quickly, it seems. I do think a lot of issues, beyond the one Dominic raises, are going to start to get some resolution in the court system. We'll reach out and see if we can help resolve this case directly.

Brian Lehrer: Christine in Cobble Hill, and, Dominic, hang on and give your contact information to us off the air if you would like to. Christina in Cobble Hill, you're on WNYC with the Mayor. Hello.

Christine: Hello. Thank you. Thank you, Brian, and thank you, Mayor de Blasio, for taking my question today. I'm calling in relation to extended use permit fees that are charged to outside organizations to provide after-school programs in New York City public schools. This past year, those fees went up exorbitantly, which we understand was due to increased cleaning costs due to COVID. We certainly understand that our children's schools need to be safe.

However, our school, just yesterday in Brooklyn, we're trying to set up an after-school program for next year, and we're not able to get a lot of information about exactly what the fees will be. We understand they're still going to be exorbitantly high. There's one school in Brooklyn that received a bill just yesterday for their permit for an after-school program and it was $259,000. That is on top of the charges that the program has to charge on families. It's simply untenable that families can bear the cost of these exorbitant payments.

I wanted to ask when we will receive clarification on the fee structure for these permits in the coming school year, and we'd also ask that you direct the DOA to waive all fees for extended use permits for after-school programs, whether they run by external organizations, or internal. The internal programs that are funded by the DOA and the DYCD do not have to pay these charges, that all families need either free or affordable after-school care. We simply can't have parents being able to go back to work full-time and office buildings and getting to the city back to normal if we don't have childcare after-school for our families.

Mayor de Blasio: Well, thank you, Christine. That's a really thoughtful and important question. I think your rendition of the history of what we all had to do this last year is good and important, and there was a lot more requirement for cleaning, et cetera. Thank God, that is going to be different going forward, because we've found out a lot more about COVID, and the issue of surfaces is much less of a concern than it was thought to be, so we can approach that differently. There still has to be a substantial amount of cleaning but not the same as before.

To your point, I will have the Chief of Staff to the Chancellor, Gabriela Ramos call you and talk us through to see how we can help address your situation. Please, give your information to WNYC. On the larger question of waiving all fees, I'm going to look at that. I could see an argument for that, I could also see some problems with that. Let me take a look at that and see what we can do. I hear you loud and clear, and we will certainly consider that.

Brian Lehrer: Christine, hang on. We'll take your contact information off the air. Mr. Mayor, I want to ask you about the latest developments in the police killing of Kawaski Trawick, which we've brought up several times with you on this show. This week, as I'm sure you know, the Civilian Complaint Review Board called for the firing of the officer who shot and killed Trawick in his own home. Even as the New York Post describes what happened, Thompson was charged by the board with using his taser and gun improperly, entering the property improperly, and failing to get medical attention according to sources they cite.

The other officer who is more experienced and did repeatedly tell his partner not to use force, and yet he did, but my understanding is, Commissioner Shea has already cleared officer Brendan Thompson in this case. I'm confused, isn't the police commissioner supposed to wait until the CCRB makes its determination and then he makes a final ruling?

Mayor de Blasio: Yes, there's more than one level of accountability, Brian. I don't blame you for being confused in something that was very unclear to the world and we're working real hard to make clear. If you go online you can see the disciplinary matrix that the NYPD agreed to with the CCRB, actually helped to create with the CCRB. This was a two-year process to come up with very clear standards that if an officer violated one of the rules of the department or the law in any way and was after due process found guilty, you can see the exact penalties that that officer would receive. I've said, the police commissioner said we are going to honor that matrix 100%.

What it means, therefore, is, even when the police departments had their own internal review, and they look at the situation, and I've seen the video, it a complex situation. The police department says, "We think, in this situation, the officer did what they could do or should do." The CCRB is another level of oversight. That's what we have in the independence civilian complaint review board and something we've strengthened in recent years.

Now the CCRB has said, "We've looked at it separately and we think these charges should be pursued." Now that we'll proceed to a due process and then the ultimate decision would be based on the outcome of the due process and will align to the discipline matrix.

Brian Lehrer: CCRB is independent to a point. It's still in the hands of Commissioner Shea to make that final call. You've supported it remaining in the hands of Commissioner Shea. Now that you've seen the CCRB finding, will you call on the commissioner to fire that officer?

Mayor de Blasio: Again, I'm being real clear about a massive reform that was done and we believe in due process. It has to be due process. I'm not going to ever say something should have happened until we've actually gone through the evidence and had due process. As a progressive, I'd say to all fellow progressives, "Don't believe in due process for some and not for others." We have to have due process here.

This is actually to me checks and balances working, CCRB independent of the police departments, as think there is something here. We think there needs to be a trial, a proceeding to trial. If the verdict is guilty then the penalties have to be within the range prescribed by the discipline matrix and the commissioner's going to follow that. I'm going to follow that. Whatever the range of penalties is, it will not be anything but what is prescribed by the discipline matrix. It's a massive reform. It has never been done in this city. It doesn't exist hardly anywhere else in this country. It's absolutely transparent.

Brian Lehrer: Roberta in Harlem, you're on WNYC with the Mayor. Hello, Roberta.

Roberta: Good morning. Good morning, Mr. Mayor. I am a retiree of the city of New York and we have only recently found out that you, together with the municipal labor committee, are participating in the sale of our Medicare benefits, benefits that are federal, that we've paid into all our working lives to a private organization called Medicare Advantage. Why are you not instead working on a project so that everybody in the city of New York can have single-payer healthcare? Why are you privatizing our benefits? This is unacceptable.

Mayor de Blasio: Well, Roberta, thank you for the question. I think that's just not what's happening, with all due respect. First of all, I do believe in single-payer and I fought for it here and around the country. Second of all, we have guaranteed healthcare for all. In New York City, it's the most advanced healthcare system anywhere in the country. Any New York that can't afford healthcare will either be provided an affordable plan via New York City or will be provided NYC Care card, which means even if you're an undocumented person, even if you can't pay anything, you'll be given a primary care physician at one of our public hospitals and clinics.

Nowhere in the country has gone as far in guaranteeing healthcare as New York City. For our retirees, we want to make sure that the benefits people have continue. We also wanna make sure that the retiree health care system is solvent. We've been working with Municipal Labor. This has not been done in isolation. It's been an ongoing cooperative effort with the Municipal Labor Council to determine a way to keep the system funded long term to protect you and all retirees but keep the level of benefit the same. That's what we're doing.

Brian Lehrer: David in Harlem, you're on WNYC with the Mayor. Hello, David.

David: Hi there. Good to be on your call here. Mr. Mayor, I'm concerned with-- and I hear it from the screener that this has been addressed before. Can I apologize ahead? I haven't heard it discussed before. The number of unlicensed motorcyclists that tend to take over the neighborhood, mostly on the weekends but it could be any evening. I have a young child. My wife and I are very active in the city. We're runners and pedestrians and walk everywhere.

On number of occasions, we've had some close encounters with these unlicensed vehicles. Frankly, we've been quite threatened over the health of our child and ourselves, including one time in Central Park circle. Those motorcyclists coming the wrong way against traffic. I'm just wondering how high is the priority here to do something about this?

Mayor de Blasio: I appreciate the question a lot. David, I'd like you to give your contact information to WNYC because I'd like the local precinct that covers Central Park to talk to you about your experience so they can hone their enforcement approach. This is a real issue. It requires a very focused enforcement. It is a priority. Of course, number one priority right now is getting the city back 100% and addressing the gun violence that emerged here and everywhere in the country in the wake of COVID. We will turn that around.

As we do that, we'll focus more and more on a variety of quality of life issues too. This one's a real issue. The fact is that in many cases these unlicensed motorcycles and other vehicles can be confiscated instantly because they're illegal on their face. We are asking New Yorkers who know where these vehicles are to report them. If you call in a location where they're being stored, and we've gotten a lot of calls from communities and we've confiscated hundreds and hundreds of these vehicles, we literally can take them from their owners and they will not cause harm to the people in the city, because they are literally not legal, not allowed in New York City.

There's an effort to go at the root cause but we're also working on enforcement. Please, let's make sure you connect with that precinct commander so we can do better at the enforcement there.

Brian Lehrer: The other thing that comes up with those groups and some related car drivers is the noise. That came up in the Manhattan borough President's televised debate the other day, for example.

Mayor de Blasio: A lot of debates. A lot of debates, [unintelligible 00:27:16] Brian.

Brian Lehrer: A lot of debates. With respect to how noise is enforced, there was the incident in Washington Square Park last Saturday night, where I gather, maybe you're going to say it was about something else, but originally to keep loud music from playing on a Saturday night at just 10:00 PM with the 10:00 PM curfew cops in riot gear from the Strategic Response Group, which as I understand, it is supposed to be like an anti-terrorism group, came to clear out Washington Square Park at curfew. Do you personally think this is a good use of that organization, which I believe that you accepted a recommendation to de-emphasize?

Mayor de Blasio: Sure. Brian, respectfully that's just not what happened. Let me please give you a chance to hear what happened. There are a lot of concerns from the community and you're right that music and very large gatherings and amplified music, loud amplified music was part of the problem. The work as always, the first work is being done by our community affairs officers. That's one of the reforms we made. That's a good reform that works. After a lot of attempts to mediate and all, there were folks in the park who were not willing to abide by the rules. When you say riot gun, media likes to do this, the only difference between what the officers are wearing-- in that kind of situation where unfortunately people are throwing things at officers, they put a helmet on.

The fact is, we don't want to use SRG in that situation, but if we say, "Here's a curfew. This is for the good of keeping peace and quiet in the park based on lots of concerns from the community," we set a deadline, and that's what we're doing for a limited period of time, and people try to resist that deadline and, in fact, commit acts of violence, of course, the officers have to respond.

If things are being thrown, like bottles, at officers, they're going to put on a helmet. I think this is a very temporary thing. We're trying to be proactive, not reactive, stop a problem before it grows. I think we'll be able to establish a much better balance going forward in Washington Square Park in the weeks ahead.

Brian Lehrer: Last thing on this, because we've gotten a number of calls this week about this. There've been reports of similar early park closures in Crotona Park in the Bronx, in Coffey Park in Red Hook. We haven't seen those same crackdowns against Prospect Park or Central Park where a different crowd can be found partying and drinking wine late into the night. People are saying this looks like it's about race and class to them. What's your response?

Mayor de Blasio: Obviously, Washington Square Park is in one of the most privileged communities in New York City and then primarily Caucasian community. Each of those communities is different than you just named. I think that immediately shows this is a very selective, specific effort when there's a particular problem. It is not something we're going to do on an ongoing basis. It's something that would be used sparsely when there's a particular problem to address. One thing I think we've learned is, address a problem proactively not reactively, and absolutely, we're trying to find the most peaceful resolution and we're going to do the same thing in all communities of all backgrounds.

Brian Lehrer: The Crotona Park and the other case indicate that it's not being done equally across the board. You know that the park goers in Washington Square were less white than the neighborhood.

Mayor de Blasio: I don't know that honestly. I've seen lots of the crowd together-

Brian Lehrer: That's been reported.

Mayor de Blasio: -but again, respectfully, I've seen the crowds in Washington Square Park, and I think they represent that neighborhood quite a bit. I'm sure there's a mix of other people as well. The bottom line is, this is a very rarely used approach. I want to confirm exactly what happened in those two other parks, because many times I've gotten media questions about things like that, that turned out not to be the whole story.

What I'll say to you is, once in a while, if we think there's a need to proactively stop a conflict and address an issue, we'll do that. It's a rarity and it's something that we are going to do when we think there's a problem to solve. Then the goal is to get things back to the normal approach as quickly as possible.

Brian Lehrer: Thanks as always, Mr. Mayor. Talk to you next week.

Mayor de Blasio: Thank you, Brian. Take care.

 

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