Transcript: Mayor de Blasio Appears Live on the Brian Lehrer Show

August 11, 2017

Brian Lehrer: It’s the Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC, good morning everyone. And we begin with our weekly Ask the Mayor series with Mayor Bill de Blasio. And as we’ve announcing – been announcing this will be the last Ask the Mayor until the November election because we’re heading into the serious campaign season and it would be unfair to other candidates to keep having the Mayor on once a week. Of course we’ll invite Mayor de Blasio or if it challenger beats him we’ll invite that person to get the series going again after the November election. And listeners, last call for Ask the Mayor for now at least. But, Mr. Mayor I can tell you as you join us this morning and good morning, that this series has apparently become such a success that before I give out the phone number our lines are already full.

Mayor Bill de Blasio: Well Brian I want to thank you, I think it’s been a tremendous experience hearing from so many New Yorkers calling in with, you know, every kind of concern. And I think it’s been very good for the civic discourse of this city, so I commend you.

Lehrer: And I commend you and I thank you really for being accessible to our listeners for the last year and four months since you’ve started coming on, I know people appreciate being able to ask you questions directly. And also hearing you in longer than soundbite form which is something that we like to offer elected officials and others as well here as much as we can. So I’ll start with a follow up from one of those listeners then we’ll get to the phones.

When you were here two weeks ago you promised to come back with more information and a policy response to a listener who’s active in trying to get more enforcement of the law against electric bicycles and have it focused on finding businesses rather than the delivery people who work for those businesses. And I understand you did follow up and you have a response now, so do you have a new e-bikes policy to announce?

Mayor: Well I’m ready to say we’re going to move for City Council legislation to change the approach because I think the caller was right that to penalize the delivery people and not those who employ them made no sense and obviously wasn’t working sufficiently. I want to be clear, despite a really imperfect law, the NYPD has been increasingly cracking down on e-bikes, there’s been three times as many confiscations of e-bikes in the last year than the year previous, and that’s good. But we came to realize after the caller raised the concern is that the law is just – it’s too vague, it does not make enforcement of the business logistically practical, it’s not tough enough. So we will engage the City Council and certainly other stakeholders, we’ll talk to the business community, the restaurant community, excreta. But I want tougher legislation. I want a law that makes enforcement easier, more straightforward, and directs the enforcement at the businesses that employ the delivery bicyclists. So, that’s the shape of things to come, and I’ll be getting to work on that with the Council in the coming weeks.

Lehrer: So what would that mean then specifically? Stiffer fines for repeat offenses? Or what would you be proposing specifically?

Mayor: Yes, I think it – so right now it’s very circuitous law that makes it hard to simply say okay here’s the employer, we’re going to fine the employer directly like we do in so many other situations and it’s going to be a substantial fine that then increases with any kind of repetition. That’s the model we need we just don’t have that, but we can repair that with the City legislation. And I think there’ll be a lot of receptivity in the City Council to get that done.

Lehrer: I know that one of the caller’s concerns was that the law is in place or a law is in place, but the NYPD hasn’t been enforcing it very much. Like the NYPD considers it not worth their time compared to other things that they could be spending their time on. So do we need – maybe we need a new law but maybe what we need is a directive from you for the NYPD to take this more seriously.

Mayor: Well I want to challenge that assumption. Again, there’s been three times as many confiscations of bikes as in the previous year. It’s about 700 that have been confiscated so far in 2017. So I think the NYPD has been focused on it. It’s unquestionably. Look, there’s a safety concern that goes along with these e-bikes. There are other challenges the NYPD addresses that maybe even more critical but this one is very real. But when you have a law that makes enforcement difficult, it makes it unwieldy and less effective. It does not encourage, you know, putting as many resources, as much energy into the enforcement because it doesn’t work the way you need it to, right? I mean, it’s – there’s a little bit of a concern here that when we apply the energy of our officers we have to know that it’s going to have a substantial outcome. So yes, there has been enforcement but enforcement that is hindered by a law that is not workable enough and not strong enough. But the good news is we can fix it. So in terms of democracy, Brian, you know, your caller raised a concern directly to me that caused me to ask a lot of questions internally about what was working and what wasn’t that led to us understanding that we needed a new piece of legislation, and in fact we have the ability to get that new piece of legislation working with the Council. So, you’re going to see changes on this I think in the near term.

Lehrer: Let’s take a phone call. Lynn in Manhattan, you’re on WNYC with the Mayor, hello Lynn.

Question: Hi, thank you so much for taking my call.

Mayor: Hey Lynn, how you doing?

Question: I’m good thank you. I first want to thank you so much for the 80/20 Affordable Housing Program, and my family has been applying for that for a while. And both my husband and I are freelancers, and as freelancers the program is really not set up to address the situation of self-employed people or freelancers. We’ve continually been told we’re too high, too low for the same income bracket that we’re trying to get into. And, you know, like for somebody with – surely W2 income they say you know give six paychecks whereas for freelancers they’re looking at three years. And they’re also – they don’t take into the account that a freelancer’s pay does go up and down and that their expenses go up and down. So the expense that I had two or three years ago is not necessarily an expense that I have now. And so I’ve been through a huge process with several of the companies and with HPD talking back and forth, and Corey Johnson’s office has tried to help us out, and it’s just – it’s been kind of crazy –

Mayor: Alright, Lynn.

Question: – I give paperwork and they say –

Mayor: Yes, now I get it, I get it.

Lehrer: Mr. Mayor, go ahead. 

Mayor: Yes, Lynn thank you for raising this and it’s an important point. I mean look, first of all, the affordable housing plan, this is part of the plan to create and preserve 200,000 affordable apartments and that’s going to be enough for half a million New Yorkers. And we’ve done about 78,000 so far in the last three years have been either subsisted or financed to be affordable for the long haul.

But the good news is it’s not actually an 80/20 program anymore. We passed a law with the City Council to mandate in any new development that requires City permission the developers must provide either 25 percent or 30 percent affordable housing depending on the income levels involved. So that old idea 80/20, we’re actually have surpassed that as a matter of law in this city, and we have the most progressive affordable housing law in the country now.

But your point about freelancers is very well taken. The – we’ve been working with the City Council on a number of pieces of legislation over the last few years to recognize that we have more and more of an economy based on freelance work and yet our laws did not recognize it properly. And we’re making some major adjustments, and I think you’re right. We need to continue to make adjustments including with our housing – our affordable housing plans. I want you to provide your information to WNYC so one of the folks from our Housing Department can talk to you directly. I would only note, I think if the income fluctuates a lot that may cause us to need to have a longer timeframe to understand what income looks like for you. But that should not stop us from being able to say here are the things you do qualify for. And we’re producing a lot of affordable housing at different income levels so there should be matches that you should be competitive for, you should be able to apply for. So I want our folks to talk to you directly and sort it out in your case but also use your example to learn from so that we can make other adjustments to include folks with freelance income.

Lehrer: Lynn I’m curious, is there any way you’re applying for these affordable housing income categories, because your income fluctuates as a freelancer where they could look at, let’s say, a five year average of what your income has been? Is there a mechanism – is that – is it a mechanism for that is lacking?

Question: Well, what’s tricky is that as a freelancer, like I’m a freelancer with a growing business so like we had, you know, did a lot of business expenses a few years that we don’t have now, we’re making different kinds of money now than we did then. So really what I did is I got my accountant to write, you know who I’ve been with for many years, to kind of write a statement of what she would have calculated my income, and they were not accepting that even.

Lehrer: I see so, so that, okay. We’re going to use that. Hopefully the Mayor’s office will use that to inform exactly what they look into. So thank you for that. And I’m going to move on to Sally in Brooklyn. Sally, you’re WNYC, hello.

Question: Hi, good morning Brian. Good morning Mr. Mayor. I’m a tenant’s rights attorney working at large legal non-profit that’s receiving grants from the City, and my question relates to the overall strategy in the fight for affordable housing and preserving affordable housing particularly your commitment, Mayor, to protecting rent stabilized units. I’m really excited about the right to counsel and the major changes that are probably going to come with it as a result of the new legislation; it’s a really historical achievement. But what I’m concerned about is as far as I can tell the right to counsel legislation and the City agencies that will make referrals to it aren’t going to be prioritizing rent stabilized units. Will your administration take a closer look at how the funds are being spent to ensure that the lawyer getting the grants can spend time fighting for these cases? It often takes a lot longer to fight a rent stabilized – to a protect a rent stabilized unit.

Mayor: Sally thank you for the question and your question is very timely. Today I will be signing the right to counsel legislation, and it is historic for this city. It literally says that any New Yorker threatened with legal eviction by an unscrupulous landlord or harassed by a landlord or deprived of repairs, deprived of heat and hot water has an opportunity to get legal assistance. And for all New Yorkers whose household income is up to $50,000 they will have the right to a City financed attorney. So they’re literally get an attorney for free to defend their interest in housing court. We believe as this program builds out its going to serve as much as 125,000 New Yorkers a year. So it’s a very, very big deal. You know this is something that people have been working for for years and years, and it’s finally going to become law today.

Look, I would say to you that my full understanding is that we want to do a lot to help folks in rent stabilized housing. It’s well over two million New Yorkers. Often it is folks in rent stabilized housing that bear the brunt of these kinds of actions by unscrupulous landlords, so, you know, I’ll have – again, be happy to have our folks follow up with you directly if you give your information to WNYC. But my full understanding is that’s very much a part of our targeting and in fact an area where we can get a lot done because of what rent stabilization law gives us in the way of tools that then we can help the tenant fight with by giving them a free lawyer.

Lehrer: So to follow up on that caller and to inform people who don’t know the issue. Council has passed a bill for funding lawyers for low income tenants in housing court where there’s such an imbalance of who gets legal representation. You will sign that bill, you’re committing to signing that bill?

Mayor: Absolutely. And I’ve been working closely with the City Council, and this was a very good process to figure out a way – and again something people have dreamed of for years that we could actually stop evictions on mass if there was legal representation provided by the City. It took a lot of work to figure out how to get it right and make it sustainable, but we got there and now this is going to be something that New Yorkers can depend on. They can know they’re going to get legal assistance if they’re threatened with eviction.

Lehrer: And sometimes the landlord is the City, so you’re okay signing a bill that includes the City paying for lawyers to oppose it in court?

Mayor: Yes, you know, it’s an excellent question, Brian, and you know I – when this was first brought up I asked people how are we going to create both fairness but also make sure that the public sector trying to provide affordable housing for example, through our Public Housing Authority, through NYCHA that we can make sure we’re getting things done the right way. And we came to the decision that if we’re running things the right way there’s no reason there shouldn’t be representation for tenants, for residents and it also creates good accountability. It’s an encouragement to everyone up and down the line to do things right, knowing that the resident will also have legal representation. So yes, we will be holding ourselves to the same standard.

Lehrer: I also want to follow up on the first caller whose question of course was about affordable housing which I think as you would agree the most common call that come in during these Ask the Mayor segments –

Mayor: Absolutely.

Lehrer: Right? On affordable housing, if we did not give any direction or plant any ideas about what else we might talk about it would be affordable housing, affordable housing.

So in a political context, and as we move toward campaign coverage here, the Democratic primary for City Council in Crown Heights seems to have become to some significant degree about opposition to your plan to develop the Bedford Avenue Armory for a mix of market rate and low income housing. And it seems to be representative of the kind of push back that maybe has surprised you citywide. In this case there are fears it would lead to too much gentrification that of course replicates a lot of other neighborhoods’ objections. Both candidates in this primary are opposed to the plan but incumbent Laurie Cumbo, as I’m sure you know, is taking heat from challenger Ede Fox for not opposing it earlier. Now Politico New York reports that you and your team are quietly helping Cumbo reelection with operational and other assistance. So my questions are, are you officially endorsing Laurie Cumbo for reelection, and if not, does it mean your model of affordable housing development has become a political liability such that you can only help a favorite candidate behind the scenes?

Mayor: Let me first speak to the Armory and then to your question about the campaign. You know, look, this is one idea of many all over the city of how to address the need for more affordable housing and I think what is being left out of a lot of the discussion is what people at the community level want in these kind of situations. The Armory itself has not provided a benefit to the community and would be turned into a recreation center available to the community, made accessible financially to people of a whole range of incomes in the community. We’re talking about a huge recreation space that has been yearned for for a long time and you know we had the same exact situation in other parts of the city where you look at these hulking buildings doing nothing anymore, these vacant armories and not serving the community and here is a way to actually have a sustainable model that would provide a permanent, huge recreation facility particularly for the young people of that community. I think there’s a whole lot of people in Crown Heights and the surround neighborhoods who want that kind of thing. Obviously a lot of affordable housing would be created, that is not going to be created if you don’t have some context to build. You know, that’s what we have to be real about. People want affordable housing; they want to know they can stay in their neighborhood long term and in the city long term. Our obligation is to subsidize as much of the existing affordable housing, protect it with things like free lawyers to stop people from being evicted, stronger rent laws which I want to fight for in Albany, but also to build new affordable housing. And this one of the ways we do it. So I think there’s a lot of people in the community who when they look at all of the specifics here are going to like the pieces, understand that a certain amount of private development is necessary to fund all of it and make it sustainable.

To the political dynamics, look, I think every neighborhood is different and I think every specific development project is different. We had a big citywide, or I should say neighborhood wide discussion in East New York, Brooklyn about that proposed rezoning. It went on for a long time, well over a year. And ultimately a lot of people in the community came to believe that the affordable housing that would be created, that jobs that would be created, the new school space, the new open space was all ultimately worth it for the community, and the City Council member there voted for it. So I think what we need more of is an honest dialogue and a detailed dialogue about what each specific idea, what each specific project will bring to a community, and what the community needs.

On the campaign issue, look, I have to date not gotten involved in hardly any City Council races. And I have to make the decision as we get a little closer as to whether to get involved. That’s something I’ll decide as we get closer. Right now of course we’re focused on my own campaign, we’re about to start debates as you know. But, there’s still time to sort that out.

I think in the end most people in most districts want to know where is there going to be a longer term solution on affordable housing. They understand that there’s going to be a certain amount of private development in New York City. They want to see it balanced by some real guarantees of affordability and something long term that people can rely on and that’s what I’m trying to provide.

Lehrer: Are you supporting Laurie Cumbo’s campaign behind the scenes even while not endorsing her publically?

Mayor: I am not supporting anybody in that race at this moment. There are people in my world who know her very well and like her and of their volition are helping here and that’s perfectly normal, not surprising in a political context. But again, I’ll make decisions on whether to get involved in that or any other race as we get a little closer.

Lehrer: Danny, in Rockaway Park, Queens. You’re on WNYC. Hello.

Question: Good morning, Mr. Mayor. And Brian, my wife and I love all your shows.

Lehrer: Thank you.

Question: Mr. Mayor, congratulations for surpassing the million-ridership mark on the New York City Rockaway and Brooklyn ferry service. I’m asking you directly since I’ve already been in contact with one of your representatives at City Hall and the New York City EDC, and so far I’ve had no responses on the request for the necessity of installing a kiosk information board at the Rockaway landing. I’m a big ferry advocate, as you probably know already, so I’m often at the ferry terminal. People arriving have – ask me where things are located like the beach, the [inaudible] Jamaica Bay, and I think the kiosk would be a real benefit to all.

So, I’m just asking you if it’s possible that you can get this accomplished because there’s plenty of space and room there to do this. As the people come in, as they consider ‘where do I go? [Inaudible] Where can we get something to eat?’

I think that would be a benefit.

Mayor: Well, you know there’s a phrase – when you’re right, you’re right. So, Danny, I think this is a good idea. The Rockaway Ferry, it’s been a huge, huge success. We’ve actually added a whole lot more capacity to it because it’s been so popular. But I agree with you and I’ve been out to that exact ferry landing and there is space there. And I’m absolutely convinced from talking to a lot of people who have used that you’re right. They need more information to orient them and to recognize all the things they can do while they’re out on the Rockaways, all the stores they can go, restaurants they can go to. We want to encourage people to spend their money while they’re there.

So, I will direct the EDC to put such a kiosk in. I think this is a fine idea.

Lehrer: Danny, I think you’ve just got yourself a campaign promises there.

[Laughter]

Question: Thank you very much.

Lehrer: Danny, thank you for your call.

We also take, listeners as many of you know, questions for Ask the Mayor on Twitter. Just use the hashtag #AsktheMayor. And here’s one that’s come in that also represents something that keeps coming up since the first time we talked about it on an early Ask the Mayor. You directed the Police Department to kind of ease back on the way they enforce some quality of life crimes so there aren’t as many arrests, more summonses for small things. But people have complained that turnstile jumping was not included in that category. And similarly turnstile jumping, I believe, is not one of those things that you would protect people for if they were arrested for it in the sanctuary city program – correct me if I’m wrong.

So, here’s a question that has come in in Twitter that says – “I guess my question for the Mayor,” after a series of tweets that this listener gave us – “is, how can you justify condemning turnstile jumpers when the MTA can’t assure working machines.”

Mayor: Okay. A lot of pieces to what you raised and I’ll and break them down quickly. No, first of all, turnstile jumping is not one of the offenses under City law that triggers cooperation with ICE. It’s 170 offenses. The information is available online. You can see what they are. They are serious and violent felonies, and major crimes. Certainly, turnstile jumping is not one of the ones where we cooperate with ICE.

We have been reducing, steadily, the number of arrests for turnstile jumping. I think the reduction in arrests is about 21 percent if I remember correctly in the last year for fare evasion. We’re more and more going to summons as an alternative.

Let’s be clear. People shouldn’t evade the fare. They just shouldn’t. I understand the MTA is broken that’s why I’ve proposed the millionaire’s tax to get a lot more money into the MTA and also to provide half-cost fares for folks at or below the poverty level.

And I think asking millionaire’s to pay a little more so everyday New Yorkers can have a better subway and low-income folks can have a half-priced ride makes a lot of sense. I’ll be fighting for that in Albany.

But in terms of turnstile jumping, people shouldn’t do it, let’s be clear about that. We’re never going to turn a blind eye to it. The fact is if someone does it once, they’re not going to be arrested, they’re going to get a summons. If someone does it a lot of times and there’s a record of consistent recidivism that’s where you run the risk of arrest – or if someone, God forbid, has a weapon on them or commits some other kind of crime at the same time.

But we have been steadily reducing the number of arrests overall by the NYPD in many, many quality-of-life areas. And the way we’re training our officers now is to say, hey, look with any kind of quality of life crime if a warning will do, use a warning; if a summons will do, use a summons. Arrest is actually the last resort not the first resort.

So, I would say to folks – look, we’ve gotta work for the kind of structural change like the Fair Fare that we could do with the millionaire’s tax that really will address the part of fare evasion that might be related to someone’s economic circumstance.

But not everyone who is jumping the turnstile is doing it because of economics, I assure you. And it’s still not appropriate. And, so, we’re still going to enforce but less and less with arrests.

Lehrer: What do you think in general of the DAs in the boroughs looking now to revisit a lot of small crimes and reduce the offenses from the ways they were originally charged?

Mayor: I think there’s a very healthy effort going on here in this city. I think we’re one of the cities leading the country now in everything from reducing mass incarceration. You know the population on Rikers has gone down 23 percent since I took office and obviously we’re going to be closing Rikers Island – on through to using summons much more than arrests and reducing the number of arrests.

Now, remember the NYPD has been driving down crime for four years now while reducing arrests while increasing gun seizures. And that’s all because of neighborhood policing and a strategy of much deeper communication and partnership with communities.

And then what you’re referring to just in this week – four of the five DAs working with the NYPD agreed to cancel low-level offense warrants that were older than ten years.

So, you’ve got hundreds of thousands of outstanding warrants for low-level offenses, non-violent offenses, that were hanging out there and creating a lot of concern because folks had those hanging over them but they were not major issues. There was a decision with four of the DAs and the NYPD to literally cancel all of those. It was hundreds of thousands of warrants that now are in the process of being cancelled and it will mean a lot of people will not have to suffer because of that.

This is all pointing in the same direction. And what’s amazing, Brian, is that I think we’re sold a bill of goods for many years and this was particularly true during the stop-and-frisk era that the only way to keep the city safe was with a very aggressive, high-intensity policing with lots of stops, lots of arrests. Turned out it was actually the exact opposite that was true.

The best kind of policing is the kind of policing that is deeply communicative with communities – officers trained to engage communities, build trust, build relationships. And a lot of arrests is not actually the way to get crime down. We’re improving more all the time.

So, this reduction in the warrants is very consistent with that overall philosophy.

Lehrer: Campaign question – because of suspicions that you do too many favors for big donors, Republican candidate Nicole Malliotakis is calling you on your promise last year to release a list of major donors who you have not done favors for or turned down for requested favors. You said it at a news conference and never delivered, and then said you would publish an op-ed on it and you never have. So, what do you say to Nicole Malliotakis and anyone else who has been following that unfulfilled promise?

Mayor: It’s a pretty small thing in the scheme of things but I still intend to do it. I want to do it the right way to explain what I’m trying to say and I think there’s been ample evidence. You’ve seen a lot of very detailed reporting on all sorts of individuals who tried to get certain outcomes from the government and were rejected in those efforts. I will put it together in an op-ed. I will help to make that clear but, you know, I think the bottom line here is we have to be straightforward about the fact that if we live in a society where you’re going to go through a political campaign, you’re going to ask people for support in that campaign, the question really is will [inaudible] treated fairly at the end of the day?

And I’ve used ample examples from town hall meetings – I’ve done over 30 town hall meetings, for example, around the city – where people I’ve never met in my life that raises a concern, a tenant raises a concern, a neighborhood resident raises a concern, and I literally right then and there will ask the commissioner of the agency to follow up personally and go meet with that resident or meet with that tenant or go to their building, go to their block.

That’s what I try to do in a wide range of circumstances. And then, Brian, a crucial question is will whatever be done be done on the merits and I believe that’s been a consistent pattern. Sometimes people raise a concern and they’re right, sometimes they raise a concern and they’re wrong. But at least they will get looked – you know the issue will get looked at and there will be a judgement.

Lehrer: Will you commit to publishing that op-ed before the Democratic primary?

Mayor: I commit to publishing the op-ed and I have to find the time to do it and I’ll try and do it as soon as possible.

Lehrer: Will you commit to publishing that op-ed before the general election?

Mayor: Sure.

Lehrer: Two weeks before the general election?

Mayor: I’m not going to get into micromanagement of the op-ed. It’s a small thing but I’ll get it done.

Lehrer: Amy in Manhattan, you’re on WNYC with the Mayor. Hello.

Question: Hello. Hi Brian and Mr. Mayor.

Mayor de Blasio, a few weeks ago – just now you talked about affordable housing and a few weeks ago you talked about not necessarily giving to people who are begging on the street because just because they’re out there doesn’t mean they’re homeless. And I’ve actually talked to some of the people I give money to. I know some of them – I’ll give one example. A man in my neighborhood who had been begging for a long time. And one day he looked very happy, he said he was going to get – he had gotten [inaudible] housing he was going to move into but once in a while he was still back out asking for money because he’s not making enough to afford the rent that month. So, please don’t equate homelessness with begging. [Inaudible] ask people for money.

Mayor: Well, that’s perfectly fair point. My – what I was trying to say is I think, again, every New Yorker who has been here a while certainly would recognize this point. We all know there are some very, very needy people on the streets. And we all know there are some people who are street homeless meaning they literally live on the streets. This is a particular tragedy that I want to talk about what we’re about it.

But just to make a point, we also know there’s some people who go out and, just as a way to make money, panhandle. And some of them do have other options in life and some of them do have homes, and it’s not just about poverty. And I just want to say it’s a real life reality and I think panhandling makes people uncomfortable.

And our job is to try and create a dynamic where people don’t have to. And I don’t think people should want to if they don’t have to honestly. We’re trying to provide so many different supports for people starting with the fact, if anyone needs a roof over their heads, the City of New York is going to find a way to help them.

And someone who is street homeless, we’ve literally, we’ve created the most intensive outreach effort called HomeStat where we will send a homeless outreach work to any – if you call in 3-1-1 we’re going to send trained workers to that location to talk to that person.

Someone who is homeless, someone who may have a mental health issue for example, we’re going to keep working with them for months or even years if that’s what it takes to get them off the streets.

And so far, that effort has gotten 700 people off the streets already and we’re going to deepen that. So, that’s my point. I know there’s a lot of people who are desperately in need of help. We’re going to give them every conceivable form of support but I also know, we’ve seen some people who are there for other reasons and we have to be honest about that.

Question: And we’re not there yet as far as getting help to everyone.

Mayor: Well, you know, I want to challenge that. I know we’re not in a utopian society but I can guarantee you if you call 3-1-1 and you say there’s someone at a particular corner on a regular basis, we’re going to engage. We do have the resources for this. We’re going to engage that individual consistently, offer them shelter, offer them food, offer them medical care, offer them if mental health or substance abuse services. That’s happening right now in this city and we do have the capacity to that for anyone who is willing to accept that help.

Lehrer: Let me get in two quick ones before you have to go. Just about every political analyst I’ve seen is reacting to your proposal for a new stream of City funding for the MTA and subsidized MetroCards for low-income New Yorkers paid for by about a half a percentage point City income tax increase for just the top one percent. Singles making $500,000 or more, couples making over one million – just a half a percentage income tax hike, City income tax hike for the people in the top one percent.

But all the political analysts I’m reading say even if that is fair and right, there’s probably no scenario in which you’ll have the votes in the Republican-controlled State Senate. So, this may look like good populist politics but it’s not realistic for actually getting money to the subways. Can you argue that it is?

Mayor: Sure I can. There’s never been a millionaire’s tax for the MTA. There should have been a long time ago. The MTA – look, let’s be very blunt about this – the MTA for years has done the wrong thing. They’ve been mismanaged, they should have invested in all the basic things that keep the subway system going. They didn’t do it.

And they also to be fair have not had the kind of consistent revenue streams they needed. And for years and years taxes on the wealthy were cut and cut and cut, by the way, in Democratic and Republican administrations in the State of New York. And that’s something should be examined – why Democratic governors and Republican governors, both, kept cutting taxes on the wealthy.

Times are changing. You’ve seen what’s happened in the last few years not only in the city and state, Brian, but in the whole country. People are recognizing that the millionaires and billionaires are not paying their fair share.

So, a millionaire’s tax [inaudible] time has come. There’s tremendous popular support for this kind of idea. It’s not just a huge amount of money that could sustain the MTA – by the way the half-billion a year it would produce for the physical fixes for the NYPD, I mean for the MTA, that half-billion a year could be used to bond. It could bring in eight billion a year for the MTA for the kinds of major repairs that are needed for the long haul.

The Fair Fare, that means that the folks who are low-income or at or near the poverty level, below the poverty level would get a half-price MetroCard fare. That’s an idea that has tremendous support.

I also would remind that there’s going to be a lot of changes politically in this state and you could have a change in the State Senate including in some of the special elections coming up soon and certainly next November given particularly all the frustration with President Trump all over the state.

So, this idea could come into being very quickly and could have an impact very quickly. I’d like to hear less punditry and more thinking about how we can get it done. I fundamentally believe this is an idea that will be passed in Albany ultimately.

Lehrer: So, you think the Long Islanders and State Senate Majority Leader Flanagan’s district are going to pressure him for this?

Mayor: I’ll tell you what. One thing – they’re not going to be paying for it. Let’s be real about it. This is, remember, partly patterned on the tax I proposed originally for pre-K. Now, we got the money for pre-K another way but we got that money because I proposed the tax and it forced the discussion.

But this is a tax on New York City residents only. And I would actually argue a lot of the suburban representatives might say, you know what, they depend on the MTA too. Their constituents depend on the MTA but they’d sure rather have it be paid for by wealthy New Yorkers and there are plenty of wealthy New York City residents who could pay a little more in taxes so we could fix the MTA.

Lehrer: Alright, I know we’re over time. I know –  I wonder if you can give me 30 seconds on the President being in town for a few days beginning Sunday. His first somewhat extended stay in the city since taking office. And special precautions or anything the public should know?

Mayor: Absolutely. I’m glad you asked, Brian. The public should know this – don’t drive on Fifth Avenue, in that part of Midtown. Fifth Avenue will be open throughout the President’s visit. The NYPD has done extensive preparations working with the Secret Service and they certainly are ready to handle anything and everything.

But anyone who wants to actually get where they’re going avoid Fifth Avenue in the 50s and 60s. Avoid 57th Street crosstown around Fifth Avenue, around Madison. You know, it’s just a smart thing to get around it because for those three days – from Sunday night to Wednesday night – is going to be really clogged up.

But he, from what we understand at this point, is going to be essentially located at Trump Tower the whole time and we don’t have any indication of other events. And we’re ready for it. We’re certainly ready for it. It’s not that different that when Presidents in the past have come, for example, for the UN General Assembly and stayed at the Waldorf or something like that.

If he doesn’t move around a lot it particularly makes it a little bit easier. But everything will be under control but just avoid that part of Midtown for your own sanity would be my case to all New Yorkers.

Lehrer: Well, that concludes our weekly Ask the Mayor series for now as we suspend it to be fair to all the candidates in the mayoral campaign. Mr. Mayor, thanks again for all these weeks. You’ve even carved out the time when you were on the road. So, you’ve been on from Chicago, you’ve been on from the West Coast, you’ve been on from Germany, and probably other times I didn’t even know you were away. And if you’re re-elected I hope we’ll pick it up again after that.

Mayor: Looking forward to it. The people will have to make that decision but if they do I look forward to it, Brian.

Lehrer: Thank you very much.

Mayor: Take care, now.