Transcript: Mayor de Blasio Visits Hanac Harmony JVL Innovative Senior Center to Discuss Mansion Tax

March 23, 2017

Mayor Bill de Blasio: Thank you. Thank you, everyone. What a pleasure to be with you today. I really appreciate the warm welcome and I want to say a few words – and then I look forward to going around and meeting each and every one of you. 

First, all the wonderful people here at HANAC deserve our appreciation. So, I want to thank John for his great work – let’s give him a round of applause. 

[Applause]

Evangiline Douris – the chair of the board – let’s give her a big round of applause.

[Applause]

And Allison Simmons Brownley, who does this wonderful programming here.

[Applause]

Now, I want to talk to you about affordable housing, because, just like John said, wherever I go in New York City – this is the number one issue on people’s minds, because we all, for decades, knew this to be a city where you could find a place to live you could afford. But that has changed in recent years. And, right now, I would say the number-one issue to New Yorkers is the affordability crisis. It’s [inaudible] people are afraid that they won’t be able to live in their own neighborhood and they won’t even be able to live in their own city, including so many people like you who helped to make this neighborhood great and helped to make this city great. 

So, we have a situation we have to deal with in a different way. And, I’ve got to tell you, it’s our job not just to pay lip service to senior citizens, but to give senior citizens what they need – more affordable housing. And we can do that – we can do it if we are willing to do bolder things. Now, right now, we have the biggest affordable housing program in the history of New York City. Right this minute, we’re in the process of creating enough affordable housing for half-a-million people – half-a-million people – but there’s still so much need. We have to do more.

We’re doing more than ever to make sure that anybody threatened with eviction from their apartment, or anybody not getting heat and hot water, or services they deserve, can get a lawyer for free to defend their interests – and you can do that by calling 3-1-1. We’re doing things differently. For anyone here who – even if you, or anyone in your family is in rent-stabilized housing, we’ve had a rent freeze for the last two years. Now, that’s made a big difference in people’s lives, but we have to do more. 

So, I’m here today to talk to you about an idea that could give affordable housing to 25,000 seniors in New York City. 25,000 people would know they have an affordable place to live for the rest of their lives. And the way we would achieve that is by an idea we call the mansion tax. Now, it’s called the mansion tax for a good reason – this is a tax that only applies to people who buy homes in New York City worth more than $2 million, okay? I think if someone can afford a home worth more than $2 million, they can afford to pay a little bit more on the transaction tax so seniors can have affordable housing. 

To give you an example of the kind of people who would be affected by this tax – the typical home that this tax will cover sells for $4.5 million. Now, will you agree with me that if someone can by a home for $4.5 million they are doing pretty well, would you agree?

Unknown: They’re doing very well.

Mayor: They’re doing very well, exactly. And, therefore, they can afford to give a little more to help people who are struggling to make ends meet, because, I’ll tell you something –

Unknown: But they won’t.

Mayor: Well, yes they will, if we get your help and we can pass the legislation we need in Albany. Let me just put it in really simple, human terms –  I have talked to seniors all over this city who tell me they work their whole life, they did everything right, and now because a lot of them don’t have a pension or don’t have a very big pension – Social Security doesn’t pay enough – a lot of people who worked hard their whole life now are choosing between rent and medicine, and doctor’s appointments, and food, and they literally cannot get them all into their monthly budget. 

I was with some seniors in Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn, all of whom had lived great lives, but they all said I can’t go to a doctor appointment when I need to because I can’t afford it – I can’t even afford the copays, or dental is not covered by my insurance and so I have to find a dentist who will put me on a payment plan. We’re in the richest country in the world and the richest city in the country, and yet people who do things right are forced to make those tough choices all the time. It shouldn’t be that way. We can right those wrongs if we can help cover the number-one cost in everyone’s life. For all of us, the number-one cost is housing, in this city especially. People pay more than 50 percent of their income for housing on a regular basis. 

So, let’s do something bold and create affordable housing for people who need it. But the only way that’s going to happen is if we tax the wealthy – those who have done very well – and we can do that if we get the votes in Albany. So, here’s the state of play, and we need you. Right now, the New York State Assembly has gone on record and said they support the mansion tax. So, that is – one of the two branches of the legislature already says they support it. Now, we need to move the State Senate, and more and more State Senators are coming onboard with this idea. If we can get the State Senate to vote for it, then it goes to the Governor, and we’ll need your help getting him to sign it. But if we do that and 25,000 senior citizens get affordable housing – and, I have to tell you, so many organizations have come forward, including AARP, and LiveOn, and so many organizations representing seniors to fight for this legislation because they understand what difference it would make.

We need you now to make your voices heard. Now, we have a flier, which I’m going to hold up, thank you very much. This flier is real simple – tell Albany to pass the mansion tax now. And it gives you the phone number for the State Senate and it gives you the phone number for the Governor. And it’s a democracy, my friends – if enough people start calling, then the politicians pay attention. So, you need to call your Senator, call the Governor – tell them you need this minion tax for people like you. And if we get it done, we can provide that affordable housing that changes people’s lives.

So, I just want to finish by saying – you know, a lot of times, people try and convince us that we should accept the status quo. I am not a big fan of the status quo when it is not working for people. I have met too many good people who can’t make ends meet, so something’s wrong. You remember that Albert Einstein once said, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result? If we just do what we’re doing today, a lot of people will not be able to make ends meet, a lot of people will not be able to afford to live here, a lot of people would be forced to move away from their loved ones. That’s not acceptable to me. That’s not a status quo we should find acceptable. 

We need everyone in this room to stand up and make your voices heard. If we do that, we can pass this mansion tax and change the lives of tens of thousands of seniors, and then go beyond that and keep getting affordable housing to more and more people who need it.

So, are you going to help out?

Audience: Yes.

Mayor: I can’t hear you – are you going to help out?

Audience: Yes!

Mayor: Excellent. Make them hear your voice in Albany, okay?

Thank you, everyone.