Statement From Attorney General James In Response To Mayor De Blasio's "State Of The City" Address
“I applaud the proposals Mayor de Blasio put forward in his State of the City address today. In particular, his retirement savings proposal is vitally important for ensuring the financial stability and independence of older New Yorkers. Through legislation and policy, I have long championed providing all New Yorkers access to retirement savings programs, and efforts to automatically enroll workers in those plans. This proposal will keep thousands of elderly New Yorkers out of poverty, and will preserve city resources. I also applaud the Mayor’s proposal to create an office of tenant protection. As my previous work as Public Advocate documented, for too long, landlords have used tenant harassment, neglect, and unjust eviction as a business model with almost complete impunity. Creating an office to strengthen and better coordinate enforcement against these unjust and illegal activities will teach landlords that those practices must end, and will provide tenants with much needed support.”
STATEMENT BY COUNCIL MEMBER WILLIAMS
"I've previously said that the Mayor of 2018 was not the Mayor I endorsed in 2013. But there were some optimistic signs I heard today that gives hope that the Mayor of 2019 may be different from the Mayor of 2018.
"It's been encouraging to see the Mayor put his support behind a number of progressive plans to address the state of our city. What we need now is to hold the administration to account for these bold promises and ensure that they deliver for New Yorkers.
"What's also clear is that we need to continue a push to make sure that people and issues are not left behind. NYCHA residents need real commitment that doesn't have to come from the terms of a consent decree. People struggling in our city's affordable housing and homelessness crisis need us not to continue a failed inadequate system but to re-structure the way we work on the issue and re-prioritize our solutions. In a year that saw the lowest crime levels since the 1950s, we need to expand and increase investment in what we know works, while finally bringing the transparency and accountability this administration, to this point, has been unwilling to provide. The state of our city can't be summed up in a slogan or a buzzword- it's felt by the people who live here. And we in city government need to answer to them."
COUNCILMAN AND CANDIDATE FOR PUBLIC ADVOCATE ERIC ULRICH CALLS ON BILL DE BLASIO TO STAY FOCUSED ON NYC
Today, Councilman and candidate for Public Advocate Eric Ulrich reacted to Mayor Bill de Blasio’s state of the city address by calling on the Mayor to actually address the needs of the 8.5 million New Yorkers he leads, rather than thinking about the 2020 Iowa Caucuses.
“Today’s speech should have been titled the – State of My Presidential Campaign - rather than the State of the City,” said Ulrich, “the Mayor has been sprinkling buzzwords and programs for a few days now, leaking information to national press who aren’t focused on his mismanagement the concerns of New Yorkers, all to avoid local scrutiny of New Yorkers who are suffering from his lack of attention.”
Obviously, the Mayor is seeking the unbridled support of the socialist wing of the Democratic Party, with Mayor de Blasio declaring his goal to redistribute income away from those who have earned it.
“Bill de Blasio has never met a tax he didn’t like,” said Ulrich, “and he displays a complete disregard for hard working New Yorkers and small business owners whom he expects to tax and regulate out of existence.”
In the meantime, the Mayor has done nothing to address his mismanagement of city agencies, other than ask Albany and Washington for more money, or create additional bureaucracies to further stymie the efficient operation of government.
Among the Mayor’s recent announcements:
- HHC Mandate: The announced he would add to HHC’s burdens without explaining how he would pay for it, or how HHC can actually handle the added patients.
- Business Mandates: Mandatory paid vacation for workers – despite the job killing impact it will have the Mayor wants to legislate benefits on small businesses and over regulate them.
- More Bureaucracy: Create a new repetitive tenant bureaucracy and add a new workers rights bureaucracy, all to address matters that the City Council has addressed, or that numerous state agencies already handle.
Meanwhile, NYCHA buildings continue to crumble, the Subways are in a state of perpetual dysfunction, and bureaucracy and red-tape dominate our city. The Mayor expects Albany and Washington to pick up the tab, but even if they do, who will fix the all management problems of his administration?
Small businesses constantly face a barrage of regulations, and the Mayor’s “progressive” innovations are littering our parks with drug paraphernalia. And during his speech, the Mayor dismissed this as the mere cost of doing business.
Mayor de Blasio simply wants to talk about “progressive” policies, regardless of the results.
“New Yorkers, want a mayor who will solve their problems and take responsibility for trying to find creative and innovative solutions,” Ulrich remarked, “not one who is desperate for approval from the progressive intelligentsia across the country.”
Moreover, just this week the Mayor announced that he is taking his show on the road, and in turn will be preaching to national audiences about his radical agenda, all while New Yorkers suffer from his lack of attention to management details in our great city.
“It’s time for the Mayor to do his actual job and run the city,” said Ulrich, “if he wants to moonlight as a ‘Professor of Government Waste’ he should do so on his own time. As Public Advocate, I’m going to hold him accountable to the people of this city for things that occur in this city.”
The State of New York City is one with an absentee mayor. We need a Mayor who shows up. Everyday.
ASSEMBLYMAN DINOWITZ STATEMENT ON MAYOR’S BUS PROPOSALS
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced during his State of the City address a series of proposals to increase the average speed of city buses by 25% by 2020. The proposals included expansion of bus lane installation to 10-15 miles per year, creation of a dedicated NYPD team to tow bus lane violators, installation of traffic-signal priority at 1,200 intersections in the next two years, and advocacy for other improvements outside of city control. Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz released the following statement in response:
“Mayor de Blasio’s plan to dramatically increase DOT’s commitment to improving bus service in New York City is tremendous news and a significant victory for my constituents in the Northwest Bronx. It is imperative that NYCT and NYC DOT successfully coordinate on improving bus service for the two million bus riders that rely on buses to traverse our city’s streets, and today’s announcement is a strong indication that those two agencies will do so as we move forward with the Bronx Bus Network Redesign launched by NYCT President Andy Byford in September.
“Expansion of traffic-signal priority, widespread installation of bus shelters and countdown clocks, and acceleration of bus lane installation combined with improved enforcement are all important steps that can be accomplished at the city level. I fully support passing state legislation to permit camera enforcement of bus lanes and will continue working with my colleagues to enact legislation that accomplishes this goal. I hope the MTA will join Mayor de Blasio in this step forward by accelerating the implementation of their new fare payment system to allow for all-door boarding so their customers can spend more time moving and less time waiting.
“While I thank Mayor de Blasio for his leadership today, there is still more work to be done to reduce commuting times and improve service quality for bus riders in the Northwest Bronx. We need more frequent bus service during morning and evening rush hours: 6am to 10am and 4pm to 8pm, when Northwest Bronxites experience the most overcrowding. We need a second MetroCard transfer so that people who don’t have access to the subway aren’t charged two fares just to get to work or school. We need more reliable express bus service so riders can regularly complete their commutes within the expected time. The best way to get people to drive less is by making mass transit a clearly superior option, and improving bus service is a huge step forward in that direction.”
