Friday, 29 Mar 2024

The Mayoral Candidates Take Our Questions

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It’s Tuesday.

Weather: Mostly sunny, with a high in the low 80s.

Alternate-side parking: Suspended today for Shavuot.

Next month, New York voters will be able to rank five choices from a list of eight candidates in the Democratic primary, which is likely to determine who the next mayor will be.

The New York Times asked the candidates how they would lead the city. Here’s what they had to say (with responses edited for brevity):

[Watch each candidate’s full responses to questions on policing, climate change and their New York City favorites, and read what we learned from the interviews.]

What is the most important police reform you would pursue as mayor?

Eric Adams: Mr. Adams described a plan to have a “cross-section” of community leaders and organizations interview precinct commanders. “Because if you have the wrong fit, like we are witnessing over and over in communities with historical tension between police and communities, you’re not going to start the process of rebuilding trust.”

Dianne Morales: “I don’t believe that we can reform the police department. I think we need to transform it. And I think that that means divesting from the department in the way that it is, investing in the services that we need and then fundamentally transforming the way the department operates in our communities.”

Raymond J. McGuire: “One, I would appoint a deputy mayor for public safety. Two, I would have chain-of-command accountability. And three, I would create an emergency social services bureau, 24 hours, seven days a week.”

What is the first thing you would do to help New York City recover?

Maya Wiley: Ms. Wiley would increase the capital construction budget to $10 billion. “This is money where we put people to work and fix what was broken even before Covid.”

Kathryn Garcia: “The first thing I would do to help New York City recover from the pandemic is really make sure we are investing in our small businesses and that we are bringing back the things that differentiate us from the rest of the country.”

Andrew Yang: “We have to get back some of the 66 million tourists who helped support 300,000 of the 600,000 jobs we’re missing, as well as all the commuters who are missing from Midtown and other parts of the city.”

How would you help students make up for educational losses suffered during the pandemic?

Shaun Donovan: “Let’s ask our young people, our CUNY students, our recent graduates who are thinking about becoming teachers. Let’s put them to work right now, side by side with our teachers, helping our kids catch up educationally but also socially and emotionally.”

Scott M. Stringer: “My N.Y.C. Under-3 child care program would subsidize quality child care for every child. And second, we need to put two teachers in every classroom.”

From The Times

New York and New Jersey Make Big Moves to Reopen

Is the Subway More Dangerous? Data Is Mixed, but Some Riders Are Scared.

Cuomo Set to Receive $5.1 Million from Pandemic Book Deal

WNYC Fires Bob Garfield, Co-Host of ‘On the Media’

Giuliani Seeks to Block Review of Evidence From His Phones

A Good Choice for Diners Who Don’t Need Choices

Want more news? Check out our full coverage.

The Mini Crossword: Here is today’s puzzle.

What we’re reading

Thousands of protesters rallied in Bay Ridge in support of the Palestinians. [NY1]

An Italian-American group filed a court petition to prevent the removal of a Christopher Columbus statue in Syracuse. [New York Post]

A New Jersey police officer ran a meth lab out of his house, prosecutors said. [1010 WINS]

And finally: The New York City Marathon returns

The New York City Marathon, one of the biggest events staged in the city each year, will return in November with a reduced but still sizable field of runners, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced on Monday.

The race will take place on its usual date, the first Sunday in November, with about 33,000 runners instead of the typical 55,000 leaving the starting line on the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge on Staten Island. The 26.2-mile race through the five boroughs, taking place months after the returns of teams and fans to baseball stadiums and indoor arenas, is expected to be a milestone in New York’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

“It’s the North Star,” Ted Metellus, the race director, said of the marathon’s return. “It’s the thing that says we’re back.”

The announcement comes as New York continues to emerge from the kind of pandemic restrictions that led to the cancellation of last year’s marathon. With vaccinations rising and coronavirus cases decreasing, the city and state continue to end or ease rules on everything from dining in restaurants to attendance at ballparks and fitness centers.

[Read more about the plans for this year’s marathon.]

Officials agreed to reduce the size of the field of runners this year to prevent overcrowding, though any plan to control crowds along the course — and any restrictions that might be imposed on them — remains unclear.

The smaller field will help to reduce the number of people on the ferries and buses that shuttle runners to the starting village at Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island and create more room for social distancing among participants once they arrive.

To compete, runners will be required to test negative for the coronavirus in the days before the race or show proof of full vaccination, though organizers must still determine policies about when tests will take place, who will pay for them and the consequences for someone who tests positive. Runners will not be required to wear masks while on the course.

It’s Tuesday — lace up your sneakers.

Metropolitan Diary: On the Manhattan Bridge

Dear Diary:

I was biking back to Brooklyn across the Manhattan Bridge and the sun was setting. It was beautiful out. I had the wind in my hair and a smile on my face.

It was one of those simple moments that just felt so perfect I wanted to share it with someone.

I looked over and saw a train passing by. I waved gleefully at an older man who was looking out the window. He brightened and waved back, and then he disappeared.

— Grace Carrier

New York Today is published weekdays around 6 a.m. Sign up here to get it by email. You can also find it at nytoday.com.

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