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What is the United taxpayers party how poor is our city planning what is your party stand on the private housing by still one of the city's subway problems mayor Wagner's fault for the answers to these and other questions listen now to your study stations campus press conference and there's transcribed discussion the editors of college newspapers question a prominent personality in the news in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Federal Communications Commission W N Y C is granting equal time to each of the legally qualified candidates for mayor in the forthcoming election the opinions expressed on this program are those of the guest and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this station Marvins labor award winning reporter and columnist for The New York Journal American is the moderator now to introduce the panel and tonight's guest here is Mr Slater Good evening and welcome to another edition of campus press conference our guest tonight is Mr video peep the Teesta candidate for mayor on the United taxpayer's party ticket Mr Potato has never held public office before he is an architect a city planner and he's also been in this political year one of the severest critics of our city administration so let's find out specifically what he thinks is wrong with the way our town is run and how he could make it right if elected here to interview Mr Battista or our campus press conference report is Ruth Corps neck of the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism Jim Farrow of the Fordham lexigram ridden row at Columbia College Mike Spielman of the C.C.N.Y. campus and Berkshire brick of the N.Y.U. square journal and what about the first question from you Mike Spillane Mr Batiste What does the United taxpayer's party stand for the United taxpayers party stands for. Lower taxes all the intelligent distribution of the tax dollars in running local city government the elimination of waste the elimination are in a Christian thing and the proper planning of our communally in order to make New York City a better place to live work play into business and ours take them one by one lower taxes specifically what you mean by lower taxes for the city lower taxes I mean by abolishing the New York City Housing Authority and sell it back to private enterprise and that way we'll be able to put the public housing back on a tax rolls Number two we are having a two years residence law for evening recipients number three the proper city planning which would eliminate waste number for the elimination of soft payroll jobs and elimination of unnecessary services in a city arc such as judges secretaries will receive twelve thousand dollars a year and do no work for except sign the checks. Now let's get to the City Housing Authority Why do you think the City Housing Authority wastes money and how do you think putting it under private enterprise would save money I think the New York City Housing Authority has been an experiment we've had the experiment of twenty five years and we've discovered that public housing is not the solution to our housing problems that the New York City Housing Authority in its planning of these projects has created nothing but social racial economic ghettos it has done exactly the opposite I what we think in terms of integration question from Jim Fassel was there in your campaigns your you have advocated the control of rents and how can the use that you point out yourself with a private landlord cannot afford to provide low cost housing at the rentals at their present ceiling Jim that if we abolish the City Housing Authority who is there to provide services are in the house we want to point out you've mentioned about rents I think that's a state issue and at this time I would like to discuss local problems bringing this back to the city sure Namely if you abolish the City Housing Authority who is there to provide low cost low rent housing for these people out of the very minor and these these projects could be sold back as cooperatives to the people in the bellies of selves and since you buy everything on time refrigerators and automobiles with a few brownies or a few dollars a week or a month whatever the financial range is could be made over a twenty year period they could buy into these projects and it could be cooperatives and when the income therefore be much lower than the rent they're paying to the city now the income to the city not only can I come out of the owners get operative owners as cooperative owners these people could could good very well a price likely more and the City of New York would gain in taxes because if you go around to these low cost housing projects you will find better automobiles and you and I drive slightly more than one hundred percent rents there are now coming right city and that's where they will own the property and it would be their own. Watchmen their own property owners right now there's no sense of responsibility these projects are nothing more than ghettos socially and racially and economically I think they've been poorly planned from the original concept they were should not have been pleasant in the manner in which their record was on your criticism is not always fair planning or the final results it's it's it's planning planning is one of the basic criticism and another one is the question our government is in a housing field we should get government out of business well you mentioned a get out situation as public housing is created to tie public housing in a way to the youth problems now in New York City I think I think the some of the problems that the youth ran and you'll find there in good deal is probably counting the crime rate is very high and in fact are spoken to many police officers and they told me that we can't give you policemen up in our area where I live and I pay a thousand dollars in real estate tax to get police protection because after Senate Republicans and now you say a little if they pay a little more as a and own that as a cooperative apartment you know what do you mean by a little more for people who are paying forty fifty dollars a month rent Well maybe a few dollars more well I know you've got a dollars maybe five dollars a month over a period of twenty years thirty years this whole thing of buying a downpayment of these buildings could be easily fine is another thing I might argue that since this public housing has been arrested many years ago and there's an inflation now that really these people would divine into something very economically because the tax dollar today is worth a lot less That was ten years ago so really they would be getting a break and the same time the same in Iraq would get our business I'm interested in getting the city of New York out of the housing business because they are created situations which are inside of all. Rearden row it is about age two you mention that selling the public houses with the rhythm of an hard core of undesirable tenants just what are the owners are able to enhance now in the city housing Well the undesirable tenants there are I don't think they're under zero but here's what they're hung up on a view of economics what they've done now recently concentrated introduce one dollar hundreds of people who are depressed economically and because they're not well and they can never help themselves because they have nobody in the project to even look to as a god because once a person is economically able to rise above themselves he must get out of this project and I was resolved after ten years of running a public housing project you have a concentration of people in either welfare or in the press which awaken which is un-American which is un-American because in my old neighborhood where I live in the bush exaction we had three families in six where we houses you weren't compelled to live with people on the one social racial economic set up not only that but if you made more money you were compelled to leave as a result you had somebody to to look up to you had somebody in which you could have been inspired by the success of the person next door that does not exist in public housing and because they're all there under there ARE made it socialistic to drive and I don't think it's a good good thing we've got over twenty five years and we've seen that it's failed a question for my experiment on Mr Batiste How will turning these projects into co-ops remove the slum problem from our city if people have to wait twenty years until they can own the property and then presumably go on paying what they're paying now how is this going to solve our farm slum problems it's all a call what you call a slum now and yes I manage public housing projects there slums to date are built because some of the people that you put in an air even house broken. Question from Burt Kaepernick work the public cows are designed to eat lemonade the people living in what to most decent people would seem a part of the knowledge that I want to tell you something it's all according what your definition of a slump is all I can tell you is this I'm in favor of eliminating slums on those buildings or cannot be rehabilitated anymore but I'm turning or it's not right to go ahead and build public housing on roll in a birth through the city where private property where private housing could be built another thing of course not of slums do you know that you're slums in a city New York a result of the Wagner ministration and his commission of housing compelling because a lot of these properties up in New York the people I don't aren't going to support the inspectors who get paid off and that's why you have slums there's nothing wrong with living in Iraq right because I lived in a railroad flat and I can tell you that living in a railroad track didn't make me a bad citizen Well how would you remedy this in the Department of Buildings and there's apartment buildings number one I would see that there's several service workers got a decent salary and you had top professional inspectors people were professional licenses and people were a little integrity and a little more ality and the only way you can get that is by giving decent wages the city New York today does not give decent wages to employees because they are catering to the low economic levels and civil service has been hard because the tax dollar is not properly distributed among the monkey civil servants of the community well I notice that one of your platforms in your campaign is you want to reduce the three three percent city sales tax if you're going to reduce the sales taxes who's is one of our biggest money produces in the city to pay our yearly expense budget and it's going to increase our ease. How are you going to get I explained I was a budget list of a sleeper I think I explained before that if you were volage the New York City Housing Authority and if you get a residence lawyer and you eliminate all the payroll jobs and you don't make all the city planning blunders that you're making and if you don't stop if you don't permit the Triborough Bridge it's are you condemning more homes every year and taking more taxable property off the tax rolls which the small taxpayer the small home owner was paying you can start reducing this three percent sales tax not overnight you can go from three to two and from two to one but the way things are set up now this thing my got the five percent someday in fact the board wiser report which the Mayor Wagner as. Has set up made a report which stated that the only way they're going they see the conditions of the city New York is every city income tax and otherwise they're looking for more taxes not for less taxes my experiment Mr Batiste in the campaign bulletin that you circulate you say that in wiping out the New York City Housing Authority this would wipe out communist influence in the C. Ha Now do you believe that the C H A is under communist influence what I read in the press is true and I have great reason to believe the press it has been proven conclusively that there are people who had membership cards in a communist party living honoree in these public housing projects and if that's true I think you should have a permit Do you believe that they're. Caught holding members of the Communist Party in the housing projects today. I said Miss the sleeper that according to The New York Press reports that have been people who held cards in a communist party that many public housing projects I'm only quoting to you what I read and I didn't there's no crime in is that what you would say in the Authority itself I don't know why even in those papers mention it there was communist influence in the in the S.R.D. itself in fact the mayor of the city New York now and I understand is is going to try to to to to appoint all new members because of the the proof the report the process reports of Sanjay that in essence the New York Daily News. Exposé Of this of this housing mythology very characteristic pertains to your claim that there are communists living in the public housing you know when to admit that there are probably just as many communists living right on Park Avenue yes but there is this difference of people on park and you are paying for themselves not what subsidies of the government funds but public housing is receiving the tax dollar and I think we don't want to have anybody taken advantage of getting help from us receiving our tax dollars and then be ungrateful by belonging to the Communist Party which someday might ride well rulers. Question from record next almost a pretty surreal or its that the saying I'm sorry is the reinforced as far as maintaining higher standards of profit having and yet you want to set the table have hands off completely as far as financial administration of public housing I believe that is which as you know the telling is there is I think that where I was the whole concept of conflict housing was wrong we've had this experiment for twenty five years and you see it doesn't work and otherwise I say there's that a good many the slums are exactly now in Manhattan and other parts of the city are the result not because the buildings themselves became stronger became slums because the exploitation of minorities by some of these absentee landlords and they'd been gone with the acquiescence of the housing and buildings department because of the house in the palm of houses and buildings wouldn't inspectors would go there and and put violations on because of the the occupancy law and one argue you wouldn't have this situation you want to have as many slums and nobody's been able to tell me what a swell is I say that you it's as typical it makes slums not the buildings. You know I personally would rather live if you want to know my reaction to a low cost housing I would rather live in a in a railroad flat in a bush Ricks action then live in a low cost housing project on park until I've lived in a I lived in a railroad flat and there's nothing wrong with a policeman's Britain railway Mr Battista you say in your baldness nothing of a Geisha of the people of the name of the city of New York to support out of towners or newcomers it is aimed at any one particular group coming into New York and never to late or not it's not aimed at any particular group I say there is that we should help those people who are unfortunate those people that need help I don't want to be misunderstood that I am against helping people because it's my philosophy we should help those people who cannot make their way in life because they have which society does every sponsibility to them on the other hand I don't like to encourage the city New York to be a center or a haven for people on relief in fact I go a step further I say that anybody is on relief and is able bodied Regardless he should be made to work in the department of hospitals or as a secretary or gone in a party probably right please and always I would rather see a doctor or a small W.P.S. spread of worms so that these people are going to do it some work so they don't even have the stigma of being on relief. But this concept of making the city New York they haven for relievers I don't think is good I think it's a Marlise the population and it doesn't help these people getting really Jen ferals lexigram list proposal has been one that's been advance often by Councilman Barnes who is continually faced with the consideration that the Guardian had a face when he first instituted the NO residents requirement namely what are you going to do with the people that are here for those two or those people are inclined to a life of crime assault or audio put it well in the absence of any responsible subsidy from the city and other words if we don't pay them in the form of tax money they'll take it out of our pockets what's your answer to this one no I'm of the people are already here they're already here nothing can be done about it and there are more people that are going to come in to see their relatives in the immigration has not stopped so you are going to arbitrarily set it to your line within which they are to live in a city and I collect anything I don't understand the question you want to establish a two year minimum that's residence requirement What do you do with the people that are here that are here for those two years and who can I hope we can I say all I do put on the ID Well I say all approval are already here let's keep it status quo I'm talking about any new people that come from the dangerous floors passed on at least and we know we have a residence law you know where you can make a law retracting that's what I'm trying to get OK So they want to do come they want to rob you OK what about the ones that will come in and we'll have our own home under a some kind of a residence law and what do you know what signs of the Union have the same thing this is nothing new My question sir is what do you do with them while they are here for the two years if they need help they will do like other residents laws the law of the United States they will take those people and send them back where they came from that's what exactly what happens in other states. Rearden relit Well quite frankly Mr but he so the problem if you want to call it a problem here in your city is the Puerto Rican immigration problem and this is what this is aimed at actually if you don't envision aimed in they what are they are they are the largest group of immigrants into the city as are not true yes and that's really no I don't know that these are the people we must turn around and send back to Puerto Rico Well I can add water to cater for years that's the case and is the reason then I suggest this I suggest that this is a federal problem. Then why don't the federal government come in and redistribute these people throughout the United States so that there is no the concentration you see the whole trouble with you are opposing that Mr protesting why you might argue or ask another question you're asking a question I am not a question of really a reporter Regan's I say this for weakens the good citizens just like all the passages I came here but in order not to keep a concentration all in one bar of a one community I think it becomes a federal problem I don't like the final couple let the federal government come in and try to assess and try to distribute this population throughout the United States so that the burden is not a local want but it becomes a national one I've heard you recently advocated the freedom of choice of residence location service I thought you recently on the same program just now you've advocated the freedom of choice of residents location you are now taking it away from and all those freedoms don't freedom of choice but the point is you've got to have some standards on a question of residence law and if you don't you're just going to continue getting a big welfare budget I look at my tax bill will let me look at my tax bill I've got a right in front of me I pay a thousand dollars in it in real estate tax and one family house and I'm very much concerned because I can't get police protection yet and all of people in my neighborhood and all of people quit counting Kings County it's not nominal Branch mine the same problem the small property owners pay in a big tax bill and you can't get police protection I'm going to read you right on the back of my. Tax bill and it states well where two hundred sixty six million dollars And there are many many millions of more of indirect welfare thrown in through the other departments so that you will have a condition here and we're supposed to have a high level prosperity I ask you what will happen if we have a decline then you'll have a situation who's going to pick up this tax tab if you keep these depressed people all in one area all in one block all in one community are you going to solve it other than get government more government more government more government and then we might. And in your knowledge you advocate a socialistic concept of government we like to preserve free enterprise we like to preserve that a person should be guarded and helped in order to get earn his feet and if we have a problem here then we should try to solve it was not a local problem that would become a state problem or become a full blown bird care break or Mr Batiste you say that you want a democratic form of government then by what right with the federal government under the Constitution have to take people on a mass scale and shift them to various sectors of the country I say then set up the federal government went to Puerto Rico and made it made if were their citizens of ours went to Puerto Rico and made a book plenty of industries down there these people my not even going to come here then you're saying that the federal government should go in and astri No no I'm sure you are the final government should go down to Puerto Rico and try to help these people so that they might not want to come here I don't think they'd like to come here put themselves a little HOWELLS I like to know who's responsible who is protecting these people on welfare who live four and five in a room what department is protected is a department of housing a village that the Palm to enforce the laws of the city of New York why should they go in and and see that these buildings are properly maintained and properly and a laws are properly complied with somebody in the belly department is being paid off otherwise these days forms can exist and it seems that there are some people in government are in favor of this might this accusation Well it's not a service I'm an architect I practice architecture and department of ours in a building and I think I know what I'm talking about all you have to do is go uptown area and look at these violations why aren't they removed. Question for Mike Spillman if we may change the quite what about remember the line in question I love that Mr Reed knows me well what the questions come as I feel I OK. Mr Batiste How do you feel about the Sharky Brown Isaacs bill for integration in private housing Well I think it's an opera very clearly that you cannot legislate the minds and hearts of people by law what is your personal almost a wagon or I'll give it to you Mr Wagner says he disagrees Mr Wagner says that the people are ready for the slaughter and he's going to sign this law or after election I say nobody can speak for the people but the people themselves. Therefore we recommend a referendum do you believe that the Supreme Court spoke without or didn't heed the people or should have heeded the people when they passed the integration in school what I has not is not the issue this is the shark. Let's stick with us about it wait a minute think that you're completely off the Sharkey brown eyes expelled or integration of private housing is the question when I talk about school integration we have school integration there and nobody objects and incidentally as long as you raise that question I want to make the record clear I am director of the Institute design construction where I cater to young men I can get an education on the university level and I cater to them on the boys and girls from the lower economic levels I have Puerto Ricans I have colored I have all races in Crete at the end of eight months I get these boys jobs and it's true I have difficulty in getting some jobs but I go out of my way to get every young man a job in industry in the architectural engineering profession regardless of race color and creed and there is nothing in the bylaws of the Institute of which I am directed which compels me to do that I do it because it is a Christian thing to do well if you are not object to them getting jobs and you try to get them jobs why do you object to them coming into private housing because I think in private housing the people at OWN HOUSE own the building also have constitutional rights they also have rights for the pursuit of happiness and they also have rights in order to select their neighbors now if you want to eliminate that right of private property and you want to completely destroy the constitution that's something else in housing that supported by the city and federal funds as a law which says that you cannot have any I agree with you because that's the taxpayers' money I agree with you and referenced of public housing in reference to housing that subsidized by one penny of government funds you are one hundred percent right is the sleeper but in private housing. I can't go along on this time like spill what would happen if your other plan were adopted and all the houses were owned cooperatively by people do you think that some kind of integration bill should be passed and then when you don't you don't need you no need we have integration of public housing but it would be public housing in a minority owned by the by the well in either case in either case if the people want to buy slightly I'm for anything the people want and I'm married tell you there's a losers me a great deal to see the proponents of this bill very greatly for instance he goes ahead and lives in Westchester he doesn't want to live here even our own May It's a free he gets a free house but then he goes and buys a piece of real estate nicely raise taxes and I slip consensus to German to Massachusetts there's nothing wrong with that but don't forget he's proposing this bill I am not is a. Very caring of me Mr petitioner don't you think that the elimination of a bill requiring. That there be no discrimination as to race creed or color and private housing are coupled with the a limitation of public housing with Ventura tend to set up racial and social ghettos I'm afraid that it at this time if the people don't want it I say this that if the people don't want it all you're going to do in the city New York is create a situation where you're going to get those people who don't want to move out and out and out and as a result you're going to get your concentration your get as you get is will maintain themselves for them now if you don't do that and if you let this normal integration which is going on now in a perfect section in the Ridgewood section and all the sections throughout the community we have a a wonderful relationship with people so why destroy it why make racial tensions a come up Lige fall with this is a city government that's all this is you're making racial tensions big business you're making racial tensions A A A You're starting up a situation which even the colored people themselves don't want all Puerto Rican because I spoke to many of them and they resent the professional coming in and raising a rumpus with this bill recording I wish we had time to go into some of this controversy for a little bit before we do I wonder if you could give us some idea of your party's composition itself how its financial its members are and your relationship to the major parties and country I could give you all that I've been very happy but I wish you would get on a city Mr Slater but only if you get on the city planning issue that Mr Greenwood asked before I'll be very happy but as long as you well we've only got about a half a minute ask a short question and let's have a short answer for you and if to help or is our city planning our city planning is probably the poorest of the United States. It has nothing more but inefficiency waste and people on a payroll getting twenty thousand dollars a year can't even read a book I say that the only way you can get good plan in the city of New York is get good professionals and the mayor to send you off decides to take his orders from the sappy Shockey and prove I'm sorry I missed of a taste of what our time is just about you have been listening to an interview with Mr video produced it candidate for mayor on the United taxpayer's party ticket interviewing him or Ruth Corps neck of the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism Jim flower of the Fordham lexigram ridden row at Columbia College Mike Spillman of the C.C.N.Y. campus and birth of the N.Y.U. square Journal Many thanks for tuning in and a very pleasant week to you all editors of college newspapers have just interviewed video of people still united taxpayers Party candidate for mayor on campus press conference Marvin slipper a columnist for The New York Journal American is the moderator of this series three opinions expressed on this program were those of the guest and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the station in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Federal Communications Commission W N Y C is granting equal time to each of the legally qualified candidates for mayor in the forthcoming election be with us again next Sunday at nine pm for a campus press conference to transcribe the public affairs feature of your city station.