Question One:
As Mayor, I will launch a program that will preserve and build over 167,000 units of affordable housing units. I have a three-pronged approach to affordable housing: preserving the affordable housing we have, and making sure that affordable units like those in the Mitchell-Lama program are kept affordable; expanding resources by committing city funding to build affordable housing; and using innovative techniques like inclusionary zoning to give incentives for developers to build new affordable housing. As Mayor, I will invest $150 million/year to preserve approximately 85,000 units of affordable housing over 10 years, and build approximately 65,000 units of affordable housing by drawing on the Battery Park City trust fund, accessing federal funds and making a substantial capital investment.
As Mayor, I will do what I have done as Speaker of the City Council, where I used inclusionary zoning in May of 2005 to create 10,8000 new housing units in Williamsburg/Greenpoint, 33 percent of it affordable, and 3,500 new units in Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen, 28 percent of it affordable. While the Bloomberg administration was preoccupied with building a stadium on the West Side, I led the Council in negotiations that increased the Bloomberg administration’s original proposal of 16 percent affordable housing to 28 percent, while saving the city as much as $1 billion in financing costs. As Speaker, I also included in the budget proposals to spend $161 million over three years to renovate 17,500 housing units.
I have a consistent record of working to combat illegal tenant evictions. In 2003, I sponsored a bill extending the rent stabilization laws for three years. I have also worked to strengthen eviction protection laws and repeal high-rent vacancy decontrol. Making New York City livable for working families is a top priority, and as Mayor I will continue to fight for affordable housing and protection from sky-rocketing rent and illegal eviction.
Question Two:
As Speaker, I led the Council in 2003 in extending the time necessary to complete a Mitchell-Lama conversion, and make it harder to qualify for one in order to preserve the 25,000 units of Mitchell-Lama housing. More recently, I led the effort to provide tax-breaks for Mitchell-Lama units. In 2004, I worked to secure $4 Million for the Section 8 Preservation Program funds dedicating to preserving project-based Section 8 housing rehabilitation costs. As Mayor, I will continue to provide affordable housing through preservation and the allocation of funds to programs with a proven track-rate of success, like Section 8.
Question Three:
As Speaker, not only have I significant success in Williamsburg/Greenpoint and Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen with inclusionary re-zoning efforts, but I have also led the Council in securing more funds for affordable housing. While Mayor Bloomberg was preoccupied with building a stadium on the West Side, I fought to increase his proposal of 16 percent in affordable housing to 28 percent, while saving the city as much as $1 billion in financing costs and including $161 million in budget proposals to spend over three years to renovate 17,500 units. I have also been a strong and consistent supporter of 421a zones, and will continue to be as Mayor. In 2003, I led the Council in passing a four-year extension of 421-A to ensure that the City attracts developers to build affordable housing and residential units. As Mayor, I will continue to increase funds for affordable housing, and support the use of tax incentives for developers through programs like the 421-A in order to increase the units of safe, and affordable housing available city-wide. in collaborating with local economic development programs and allocating funds in the executive budget in order to increase affordable housing units in the neighborhoods that need them most.
Question Four:
Providing New Yorkers with the necessary tools for successful communication with city agencies and organizations is an integral part of my plans to address deficiencies in the school system. In 2003, I sponsored legislation to require city agencies, including the Human Resources Administration, the Department of Employment, and the Department of Health to provide free written translation and oral interpretation services. In 2005, I fought to secure $335,000 for the Department for the Aging’s English as a Second Language (ESL) program, which had been discontinued in January 2003.
As Mayor of New York, I will continue this record of fighting for education with my specific plan to reduce class sizes by 20 percent across the board. Under a Miller administration, there will be no more than 17 students in each kindergarten through 3rd grade class, 20 students in grades 4 and 5, and 23 students in junior high class. And I have a specific proposal to pay for my plan by extending the personal income tax surcharge that is due to expire January 1on making people making more than $500,000 a year and using it immediately to lower class sizes.
Question Five:
As Mayor, I will push for a comprehensive plan to add 1,000 cops to the force in order to concentrate on the task of counter-terrorism without neglecting what goes on in our neighborhoods. To be truly safe we have to pair advanced technology with our greatest asset- our top-notch police force. We must devote extra police to the places where they would be needed most- in our subway system, as well as our bridges, ports, ferries and heliports. That’s why I have a plan to hire a thousand extra police officers that we could put on the quality of life beat while freeing up more experienced officers to focus on emergency preparedness. I will also increase police salaries to maintain the quality of the force. As Mayor, I will also work to extend Compstat to include our parks and increase accessibility to these reports by making them available in the many languages spoken throughout the city.
Question Six:
As Mayor, I will work to re-open Park Row as quickly as possible and address the concerns of the Chinatown community surrounding this vital project. As Speaker this year I worked closely with community leaders in Chinatown to plan the construction of the $250,000, 45-foot-high entryway arch and as Mayor I will maintain these same relationships that led to the successful allocation of funds and planning implementation as we work together to re-open Park Row as soon as possible.
Question Seven:
To create a stronger economy for the City of New York, the city needs to invest in job training. On the Council, I have funded Economic Opportunity Centers to provide job training and readiness. I also passed a bill called City Access to Training and Education, which allows public assistance recipients to enroll in approved job training and education programs in order to meet their work requirements. This law provides people with the training they need to learn meaning skills that will move them into the labor force and towards self-sufficiency. As Mayor, I will continue to fund these and other job training programs.
One of my priorities for the city budget is to deliver tax cuts to the businesses that drive our economy. Small businesses account for most of NYC job growth, but the cost of doing business is simply too high. As Mayor, I will slash taxes on small businesses by $100 million. Every business with less than 500 employees will get a tax cut, to foster the creation of new jobs and to keep existing ones in New York City. I will also target $40 million in tax credits for growth businesses outside of Manhattan to help the entrepreneur opening a green building business in Queens or creating jobs in Brooklyn’s biotech sector, for example. Additionally, this mayor has not addressed the unacceptable rates of unemployment among our African American and Lationo men. The Council has lead the way in addressing the issue, with programs to provide job training to the formerly incarcerated and access to capital and training to entrepreneurs in communities of color.
Question Eight:
During my tenure as Speaker of the City Council I have worked to provide services for New Yorkers for whom English is a second language.
In 2003, I sponsored, and passed, legislation to require city agencies, including the Human Resources Administration, the Department of Employment, and the Department of Health to provide free written translation and oral interpretation services.
Question Nine:
As Mayor, I will continue to do what I have done as Speaker. In September 2003, I helped lead the Council in lobbying the Mayor to revise his immigration policy and expand protections for immigrants. The new executive order established a broad new privacy policy that would prohibit city workers from giving out information about immigration status and other confidential information. Unfortunately, the Mayor has not fully enforced that policy. As Mayor, I will make sure that no immigrant’s legal status is disclosed when they seek service from a city agency.
Question Ten:
New York City’s greatness lies with the people, the most diverse and accepting constituency in the world. One of the Mayor’s responsibilities is to recognize the individuality of all ethnic and religious communities while fostering a spirit of unity, despite all of our differences. As Mayor, I will work closely with leaders of all ethnic communities- Puerto Rican, Asian, Muslim, African-American, Jewish and LGBT communities and more- to deal with the everyday challenges facing our city. Every community has unique needs, and I will ensure that voices from across the spectrum work directly with me and with leaders from other communities to engage in a cooperative dialogue.
Click for other candidate’s response.
Fernando Ferrer
C. Virginia Fields
Anthony Weiner
|
