Speak to the Speaker: Homelessness, Rezonings, School Lunches and More

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Brian Lehrer:

Brian Lehrer on WNYC. Good morning again everyone, it is Speak to the Speaker Time. City Council Speaker Corey Johnson joins me now for his February visit to the show and we have a lot to talk about with a lot of New York City news relevant to city council and if you want to speak to the speaker, our lines are open at 212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692 anything relevant to the work of city council.

Brian Lehrer:

Mr. Speaker, welcome back to WNYC.

Corey Johnson:

Good morning, Brian.

Brian Lehrer:

First, before we get into policy issues like homelessness and affordable housing and Medicaid spending, do you have any comment on former Mayor Bloomberg being in the democratic debate tomorrow night specifically as relevant to you? I'm curious if city council or, for you as speaker really, knowing everything you know, is there a specific question about Bloomberg's record as mayor that you'd like to see asked to help Americans decide if he would be the best president, let's say other than about stop and frisk, which we already know.

Corey Johnson:

It's a great question and as your listeners know, he was mayor for 12 years. So a lot happened over that time. I would say one of the big most important issues that we need to focus on, not just in municipalities like in New York City, but a big question for the country is a question around housing. And a lot of the issues and problems that we have seen in the New York City Housing Authority had been going on for decades now. So I think a question on what lessons he learned in being mayor of the largest public housing system in America, how that would inform his policies moving forward, what he sees as a way to actually stabilize public housing as it relates to infrastructure. I think that's an interesting question.

Corey Johnson:

And then I think another interesting question would be his thoughts on incarceration. You know, Rikers Island, again, has been a plagued horrible place for decades and decades. You know, both the public housing system and Rikers Island being a mess probably predated his time being mayor, but he was mayor for 12 years. I think those are two sort of local issues that you could nationalize in some way to have a conversation about housing policy and also have a conversation about incarceration nationally.

Brian Lehrer:

You know, every time I give Mayor de Blasio a hard time on this show about homelessness rising on his watch, and you have a big report on homelessness now and has something like 90 recommendations for going forward and we'll get to some of them, but every time I bring it up with the Mayor, he named checks Michael Bloomberg and says his pulling out of the what was known as the Advantage Program and other things created the conditions for the spike in homelessness that Mayor de Blasio is dealing with on his watch. I'm curious how much you agree.

Speaker 1:

Well, I mean, looking back, it was a colossal mistake in 2011 for the city and the state to zero out the Advantage Program. And for folks who are listening who may not be super in the weeds on this, it was a rental assistance program, as you said, which prevented homelessness. And once that program was zeroed out, it was basically a 50/50 split between the city and the state. You saw homelessness significantly, significantly rise in the years after that. So I think there was a direct correlation between seeing a rise in homelessness. And again, that cut was made in 2011 after the great recession here in New York City in New York state when they were needing to cut things from the budget. I don't think it was the appropriate thing to cut.

Speaker 1:

The other thing I would just say, Brian, about the debate tonight is-

Brian Lehrer:

Tomorrow night.

Corey Johnson:

Tomorrow night, Wednesday night, is that I hope, and I think it's important that the democratic candidates draw contrasts amongst themselves, but let's keep our eye on the big prize, which is this autocratic or racist, I would say sociopathic president, who is literally destroying our country and the world every single day. And what we saw in the days after him not being thrown out by the Senate in the impeachment proceedings was him getting rid of the Colonel who testified, him getting rid of ... him interfering in the Roger Stone case, him getting rid of Gordon Sondland, the ambassador to the EU. He has is unleashed as ever and I hope that the democrats who were on stage actually focus their fire in a unifying way about getting rid of Donald Trump. That is the most important thing we can do from now until November.

Brian Lehrer:

Okay. So I think homelessness is the number one issue relevant to you. Since you were last year, last month, you have this report with Council Member 11 that looks at how the city has tried to solve the problem over the years. And you include something like 90 recommendations for going forward. Am I right that the one you think could have the biggest impact is increasing the housing voucher amounts so more people can leave shelters and find landlords to take them in?

Corey Johnson:

Yes, and this goes back to the conversation we were just having on the rental assistance vouchers and how important that was towards preventing homelessness. Brian, I'm really proud of this report. It's titled Our Homelessness Crisis: The Case for Change, and I didn't sort of put this together in a short amount of time. It wasn't three months, six months, or even a year. I spent 18 months working on this report. The staff at the city council did a wonderful job and it has all of those recommendations. It looks at things in a holistic way and we focused on six strategies.

Corey Johnson:

Number one, prevention. Number two, increasing pathways to permanent affordable housing. Number three, supporting our unsheltered neighbors, people who are experiencing chronic street homelessness. Number four, supporting our sheltered neighbors, folks in the shelter system. Five, integrating housing and homelessness policy. And six establishing a longterm vision.

Corey Johnson:

But as you mentioned, I think the biggest thing in there is saying that right now the voucher assistance that we give people in the shelter system isn't working. It's not enough money. For example, right now the shelter allowance is just not enough to get by. It's $1,665 for a studio and that's not enough. So you know we need to increase that amount. We spend right now, Brian, $5,900 a month sheltering a family of four and we spend, right now putting in hotels which are doing for a lot of homeless families, $8,200 a month. But the voucher amount is on average around 15, 16 $1,700, so if we increase by that by $500 per voucher, that could be a big cost, but we'll actually be saving money given what we're spending right now on sheltering in our hotels. So this report looks at the longterm needs, some of the short term things, integrating housing and homelessness policy and it's one of the biggest issues facing our city and the number has been under-reported, Brian. I think it's important to finish with this.

Corey Johnson:

People have been saying for years and years and years, the shelter population is around 60, 61, 62,000 people a night. The number is actually closer to 80,000 people. When you look at all of the different agencies that are involved. DHS, the Department of Homeless Services, around 60,000. But when you look at DYC-D, the runaway homeless youth shelters, when you look at HRA, the domestic violence shelters, when you look at HPD, the specialized shelters, when we looked at the unsheltered population, that number's closer to 80,000 and more than 20,000 of that 80,000, 1 in four are children under the age of 18 years old in the wealthiest city in the United States. It is a shame and it is unacceptable that's the current state of affairs.

Brian Lehrer:

It's Speak to the Speaker with New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson here for his February visit and Mufti in Manhattan. You're on WNYC. Hello Mufti.

Mufti:

Hi. Hello speaker. Nice talking to you. How are you doing?

Corey Johnson:

Good morning, Mufti.

Mufti:

Yeah, I am representing downtown Manhattan, 172 and East Street, so we have a lot more of than thousand in the Muslim community living there. I'm also president of United Islam Council USA. I have a question for you regarding Halal food served in public school. I have a five years old boy in PS 134, he keep asking me when he gets Halal food. What is your suggestion about it? What can you do for us, please?

Corey Johnson:

Thank you for that.

Mufti:

As you know, 1 million Muslim took board out in New York City as you know that.

Corey Johnson:

Thank you. Thank you for that great question, Mufti. I want to just alert you that not last year, but the year before in 2018, the city council put more than a million dollars in the city's budget to create a pilot program for kosher and Halal foods in schools across New York City.

Brian Lehrer:

I'm surprised they're not already offered.

Corey Johnson:

Yes, they should be offered because there are a lot of children who otherwise can't get food that works for them and for their families, so I support, Mufti, us figuring out how we expand Halal and kosher food across the entire system, ways to do that because we want to make sure that children have dietary options that work for them and a much bigger question, Brian, is the type of food that we are serving in schools. Are we serving the healthiest food? Are we coming up with scratch, cook food?

Corey Johnson:

I put out a report last August on food policy in New York City, especially as it relates to young people and children across New York City and what we need to be doing. We need more community gardens. We need gardens in schools. We need to upgrade kitchen facilities across the school system. We need a deli and cafeteria style setups in those schools. We need to do all those things while bringing healthier food options to children into low income communities across New York City, but on kosher and Halal, I support it and I think the Department of Education with their purchasing power that they have should be trying to leverage what they have to bring this option to children across New York City.

Brian Lehrer:

Bobby in Flushing, you're on WNYC with Speaker Corey Johnson. Hi, Bobby.

Bobby:

Hi. Good morning Mr. Speaker. I live here in downtown Flushing. Flushing as a lot of homelessness. We can't even use the library of Main Street because brothers and sisters are homeless in the library and now they plan to build Session West, which I consider nothing by the giveaway. It's nothing but a luxury condos and luxury hotels. They won't even use unionized workers, and so I'm asking you, please take a stand on this. The building I live in who, as Brian would know, because I've been complaining to the mayor. It's 91 unit. They already kicked out 35 families. The next building next door to me is totally empty. Buildings after buildings here, they are kicking out the poor people, especially our Asian brothers and sisters. You need to do something about this.

Corey Johnson:

Thank you, Bobby, for your question. On the first part about the Flushing library, the public library, the Queens public library branch on Main Street. Brian, interesting fact for your listeners, which I think is a wonderful fact, is that the Flushing branch is the busiest library in the United States of America. In the entire country, it is the busiest library, so we're glad people are using it. But for the homeless folks that are there, we want to make sure they're getting permanent affordable housing and the care that they need. On the project that Bobby was referring to, I just want to be perfectly honest to tell you I haven't had time to actually learn about it. It's in Councilman Peter Koo's district.

Corey Johnson:

I typically do not get involved in most of these land use issues. In certain circumstances it's different, but in most circumstances until the council member comes to me or brings it to me or it's coming to the city council, I believe that that project is that the community board right now, so I'm not sure the borough president has weighed in or the city planning commission has weighed in. These projects changed throughout the land use process and I think the concern that I heard was on not enough affordable housing and not using unions for the construction jobs and the other jobs and potentially some other pieces. But I haven't had an opportunity to sit down with Councilman Peter Koo and to learn about the project to see where he is. But we see these concerns on these rezonings all over New York City about the type of housing that is being built. Is it affordable for the local community? Is there enough affordable housing and one of the other potential benefits involved? Are they getting a school? Are they getting other things that the community needs? I don't know, because I haven't had a chance yet.

Corey Johnson:

I was in, Brian, Flushing last week for an event calling people to come out and shop and eat in Flushing given the Corona virus scare. And I had a bunch of folks come up to me and tell me that they had concerns about this project as well. So we'll get to the council in the next few months and I look forward to working with Councilman Peter Koo to learn more about it.

Brian Lehrer:

Bobby, thank you. Keep calling us and here's another land use decision that you may be a little closer to getting. City Council is about to vote,. As I understand it, on the Lenox Terrace rezoning plan that would add 6 buildings to this complex in Harlem and 1600 units, 400 of which would be affordable. The council member who represents that district, Bill Perkins, has come out against it, which traditionally would doom its chances, but the developer says if that happens instead of 400 affordable units out of 1600 new ones all together, they'll just build what they can without rezoning, which means no new affordable units. Will the council negotiate?

Corey Johnson:

Well the council member is opposed and I that's very meaningful in the city council and it's not just the council member. There are a lot of community members and community leaders that I have heard from up there who are opposed to this as well. I think the sort of bigger question here, Brian, is what type of development is appropriate development in New York City? And we saw a big Times story in past few days about that development on Amsterdam Avenue that now has to take 20 floors off because they were not abiding by the zoning laws in New York City. I think they had a 39, 38 sided zoning lot because they were combining lots. There is not enough affordable housing going up in New York City. I think it's one of the biggest issues.

Corey Johnson:

When we talk about affordable housing. The real question is affordable to who I don't have the details on the affordable housing at the Lenox Terrace project about the area median income bands, the income restrictions of who was going to get in there, because again, I wasn't negotiating this project. I don't negotiate for the other 50 members. But I think the big question is are we building the right type of affordable housing and that affordable housing I think should be targeted towards people who are extremely low income, low income and moderate income. Those are the bands we need to be looking at and you need to tailor it to those specific communities depending on what the median income is in those communities. But that's a big question that on all of these projects we have to look at.

Brian Lehrer:

Kathy in Hell's Kitchen, you're on WNYC with City Council Speaker Corey Johnson. Hi, Kathy.

Corey Johnson:

I think I've talked to Kathy before on your show yet.

Brian Lehrer:

Really?

Corey Johnson:

Yes. Hello Kathy.

Kathy:

Good morning. Good morning. Thank you. I've just read recently that in Mumbai, India they are trying something to link the traffic lights to sound sensors so that if there's too much honking going on, the lights stays red. And I think that would be a great thing to have around here because when the streets just turn into a huge parking lot with honking and honking and honking, which of course doesn't get anybody anywhere except it ruins life for the rest of us. So I think this would be a great thing to try here.

Brian Lehrer:

Thank you very much. And for you who's committed, you've been out on this show and elsewhere saying you want to re-invent, what's the word you use? Revolutionize-

Corey Johnson:

We have to reorient our city streets. And on this idea, I think it's interesting, I hadn't heard of it, but if Kathy is calling from Hell's Kitchen, she has to experience likely every day, what happens on Ninth Avenue, basically from 37th Street where the entrance of the Lincoln Tunnel is and most days that backs up all the way to 57th Street. It's a little parking lot. And then on 10th Avenue the traffic starts around 25th, 26th Street and goes all the way up to the entrance of the Lincoln Tunnel on 10th Avenue, sometimes even higher to the West forties and so in both of those places there is a persistent nonstop honking and there isn't much enforcement on that honking.

Corey Johnson:

So if there are other innovative ideas that we could use to deal with it, that could be a good idea though. I think in this situation, just specifically where she's talking about the traffic is so bad already, I'm not sure that keeping the lights red makes a difference because the cars are sitting there for one, two, three, four lights that are going green to red, green to red because traffic is so bad, which is why we need to improve mass transit. Get people out of their cars, get the subways and buses moving in a real way. Hopefully that will help actually have less traffic on the streets and speed the people up who actually do use the streets.

Brian Lehrer:

Before you go, you and two of the other presumed 2021 mayoral hopefuls made a joint appearance last week I see. To promote the new rank choice voting that will go into effect for that race. You're a fellow candidate, Brooklyn borough president, Eric Adams, was there, your fellow candidate controller, Scott Stringer was there. Adam said rank choice voting or not. It's going to be a quote "dirty campaign". He laid a claim to be joking. What do you say?

Corey Johnson:

I think he was joking. You know, he's a jovial guy and I think he was joking, but rank choice voting is something that I support and just to remind voters, there was a charter revision commission that was created and it was created through local law from the city council. The first time the city council had ever created a charter revision commission. In the past, they were all created by executive order from the mayor and that charter revision commission is what decided to put rank choice voting on the ballot and voters weighed in pretty disproportionately in favor of ranked choice voting. It saves taxpayers money, it gives voters more choices and increases candidate diversity. It means we won't have a runoff two weeks later where turnout decreases significantly and a cost folks a lot of money. It's not a binary choice. Instead, you can go in and say, I like Brian Lehrer number one, and I like Corey Johnson number three, and you get to make that choice.

Corey Johnson:

You know in the past, people felt like, I like this candidate, that candidate, now they can rank it. I think it's going to be a good thing. Though the press conference was about us actually trying to educate the public on how it works and getting money set aside to try to do that because this will be the first time ever for a citywide election this happens. You probably remember this, Brian, we used to have rank choice voting in school board races across New York City many, many years ago and then it was taken away and we haven't had it since then. So most voters are not used to using rank choice voting, but it's going to make things very interesting in 2021, because you want to be a lot of voters second choice as well. If you're not their first choice, you want to be their second choice or their third choice. So it's going to really change things.

Brian Lehrer:

Shades of the Iowa caucus except the app is going to work.

Corey Johnson:

Well, I just want to say that we are definitely not going to know on primary night in June of 2021 who the winner is. It's going to take potentially days.

Brian Lehrer:

Are you serious? You're talking about the New York City democratic mayoral primary.

Corey Johnson:

For rank choice voting. You're hearing it here now, 17 months before the election that-

Brian Lehrer:

Because it takes more time to count those votes?

Corey Johnson:

It takes more time to count the votes and we have to reassign votes and you go through multiple rounds of reassigning votes. So we definitely will not know that night. We may not know the next day and people should understand that, that night candidates are going to stand up and stand at a lectern and say, rah rah, but not be able to say who actually won or not. And so New Yorkers should be prepared for that so they're not super frustrated ahead of time. It's going to take days to figure it out, I think.

Brian Lehrer:

How progress actually takes us back to another era of not expecting to turn on your TV, see breathless coverage and an instant projection of who won an election.

Corey Johnson:

And Brian, we saw it happen in Iowa. We're going to see what happens in Nevada. I think we should get rid of caucuses and have primaries where people can vote all day and not have to be in the gymnasium or in another facility at night between certain hours. It's not fair to people who work or have children. Abolish the caucuses, have primaries, have election day on a weekend when people aren't working. Make it as easy as possible for people to vote.

Brian Lehrer:

Although Nevada is really interesting right now with their caucus coming on Saturday, but the rank choice, early voting caucus taking place all week. we don't have to get into this, but people are actually going into polling places just filling out first, second, third choice for democratic presidential nominee and going home. The people who choose to caucus in person and go to the gyms and all of that will do that on Saturday. So they've got this new hybrid in Nevada right now. Pretty interesting.

Corey Johnson:

We should have regional rotating primaries where New England all votes on the same day in the Midwest, all votes in the same day and the Pacific Northwest all votes on the same day, where candidates can campaign in those states and have regional primaries and not have caucuses, have open, have it be on weekends. That's what we should do. Iowa and New Hampshire should not be going first. They are not diverse and caucuses are a total mess and disaster.

Brian Lehrer:

And the regions, I know that model would rotate. So the Northwest goes first one year, the Southeast goes first, the next presidential election cycle-

Corey Johnson:

and we should have rank choice voting at the national level as well, because I think a lot of Democrats right now are struggling to figure out, Oh, well, I like Warren, but I also like Bernie. I like Klobuchar, but I also like Pete. I like that. Why do I have to make one choice? We should have that at the national. Maine now has it for federal elections, for their congressional seats, and we're going to have a Senate race with Susan Collins coming up where they're going to have rank choice voting. We should do these things that we're doing in New York City, nationally. New York City Council Speaker, Corey Johnson. Thank you. As always.

Brian Lehrer:

Thanks as always, Brian.

 

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