Transcript: Mayor de Blasio Holds Media Availability

November 24, 2021

Mayor Bill de Blasio: Good morning, everybody. You know, a lot is happening that's building the future of this city. And when I talk about a recovery for all of us, it's about looking forward. It's about recognizing that even after everything we've been through, the greatness of New York City is shining through. And we're finding new ways to build our future. We're learning powerful lessons, especially from the COVID crisis, but we're doing things that we need to do to build the future. Yesterday, really important actions taken by the City Council to help us build a vision that I think will be crucial to so many parts of New York City life going forward. I think New York City needs to be the public health capital of the world. That means the place where the best work is done on Earth to protect the health and welfare of people, millions and millions of people. That means a healthier city. It also means the jobs of the future and people's livelihoods. It means global leadership in stopping the next pandemic. And preparing countries all over the world for how to handle different health care challenges. It means being proactive in addressing health care needs at the community level. All of these things frame, I think very strongly the future of New York City.    

Well, the action taken by the City Council yesterday related to the New York Blood Center is absolutely crucial. This is an important building block to the future. This is one of the ways we make New York City, a true life sciences capital, which we need for the innovations that will lead to let alone the jobs, and the way it will propel us forward ever stronger, more diverse economy. But the Blood Center let's remember why the blood center exists. It exists to save lives. It exists to create the blood supply that keeps New Yorkers alive in the toughest moments that people experience in moments of crisis. We depend on the Blood Center. We depend on them for research. We depend on them to make sure we're building a healthier tomorrow. Here's an organization that needed a sustainable home for the future. Because of the action of the City Council they'll now have that. Here's an organization that is going to ensure in this important new space that tremendous life sciences innovations occur. The cures of tomorrow. There is so much that has been achieved by this action yesterday. I want to thank the members of the City Council. I want to thank the community leaders who got engaged in the effort. There were major decisions made to help support the community in this process. This is going to have a lasting impact. It's one of those moments that's going to be a beginning of something much bigger.    

I appreciate the actions of Speaker Johnson and as I said, all the members of the Council, but I want to give special thanks to one Council member. He's the Chair of the Land Use Committee. He looked at the big picture reality for New York City and provided a lot of leadership in this moment. And I've seen the good work he's done in his community in the Bronx, but he's also been a city-wide leader in helping us to develop our future through actions like this. My pleasure to introduce the Chair of the City Council Land Use Committee, Council Member Rafael Salamanca.   

[...]   

Thank you very much, Council Member. Thank you for your leadership. And yeah, that's a really extraordinary outcome. 43 votes out of 51 is a very big deal. That's a clear consensus. Thank you for being a crucial leader in this process. And a very happy Thanksgiving to you and your family. Everyone, a lot of folks showed leadership on this issue, the Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus in the City Council was front and center saying this mattered to the communities in the city. This mattered. We need these health care innovations. We need these jobs. We need this future. We need the blood supply. They were there. The BLA Caucus really stood up here and I want to thank chairs, Council Members, Daneek Miller and Adrienne Adams for their leadership. I want to thank Council Member Francisco Moya, who played a key role, Council Member Keith Powers. There were a number of people who got together and said, this is something that matters to this whole city and our future. So, thank you to the members of the council. A great example of people, really making a forward-looking decision.    

Now I want you to hear directly from the leader of the Blood Center. And I want to say thank you up front, because again, the Blood Center is there for every one of us every day of the year. And I'm not sure a lot of New Yorkers really recognized the crucial work that's done. It's not a government agency. But it’s something we depend on like we would the government. And we need them to be strong. We need this for our future. So, I want to thank everyone at the Blood Center for the work you do. Chirlane and I have given blood there before, and it's an amazing effort, great people. And I want to thank them, especially this time of year when we all need to be thankful. And I want you to hear from the President and CEO of the New York Blood Center, Dr. Christopher Hillyer. Well, I think he's out there. Hold on. We're having a little pre-Thanksgiving, slow transition here. And if we don't have him, we will come back. Is he muted? What's going on? Whoops. Okay, well, we're going to move forward while we see if we can get that fixed.    

And let me talk about what's going to be happening in the next few days. And when we get Dr. Hillyer, you guys will signal and we'll bring him back. Everybody, look really at this point today, tomorrow we're kicking off the whole holiday season. And it's really going to be an amazing time of year for this city. It's going to take on added meaning because of everything we have been through. So, this is a time of year, again, we're thankful. We should be reflecting on all our blessings, even after all the challenges we've been through. But the holiday season in New York City, a lot of people believe it is the best time of year in this city. A lot of people believe it's the best time to visit. And we're going to see people visiting, coming to see their loved ones. We're going to see a lot of people visiting now. Tourists from all over the country and now all over the world, coming in now because it's a magical time of year. So, we're getting ready for a very busy and exciting holiday season in New York City, starting of course with Thanksgiving tomorrow. And one of the best events that happens the whole year, the Thanksgiving Parade. And I want to thank everyone at Macy's. They do amazing job every year. Last year was obviously symbolic. It wasn't everything we would have liked to see in a parade, but they kept it going. And I say, God bless them for that. This year, the parade back at full strength. So, we all get to enjoy Thanksgiving the right way, you know, with a wonderful parade and with family gatherings. We're going to talk in a few minutes about how to make sure it's healthy, safe, all around. And you're going to hear from Dr. Chokshi with great tips about how to go about the holidays the right way.    

So, we're getting ready for Thanksgiving tomorrow. First night of Hanukkah is Sunday. Happy Hanukkah to all. That's a joyous, joyous occasion. And it's a time to really think about the way forward and something positive. May the light of the menorah continue to shine on our beloved city and on the communities of this city. There's a lot this time of year that gives us inspiration and hope. So, to the whole Jewish community, happy Hanukkah in advance, to everyone. As you getting ready for the holidays, we want to emphasize all the greatness of this time of year, particularly in the city. And we've got a video we want to show you from our friends at New York City & Company. They've done an outstanding job by the way, promoting the city all around the country, all around the world. That's part of why you're seeing people coming back to visit us and coming along to spend a little bit of money in our establishments, which we appreciate. But the magic of New York City at the holidays is celebrated in this video. I want you to see it   

[Holidays in New York City video plays]   

Mayor: Well, that says it all. So, it's New York City. We are back. We are strong. It's going to be joyous holidays, but we also are very, very aware. We're going to put safety first, health first as always. That's what got us out of being the epicenter of the crisis, to now the safest place in the country. So, we're going to keep a focus on vaccination. We're going to keep a focus on everyone being safe and healthy. So, the holidays, if you have not yet been vaccinated, the holidays, should be a motivation to get vaccinated. If you're thinking about the beauty of family gatherings, that should be a motivation to get the kids in your family vaccinated. If you're thinking about your loved ones, older loved ones, the people we cherish in our family, our seniors, it's a great time to make sure they got their booster. Let's think about all the ways we can keep people safe, and we're going to keep going out there to communities, bringing vaccination to you. It has worked going out to the grassroots, all the mobile vaccination efforts. They've been amazing. Thank you to everyone, who's been a part of them. I always thank them. Stop and tell them, how special they are because they've done great work, the vans and the buses and the pop-ups. And you've seen the tents around and the efforts in the schools, it's all made a huge difference. In fact, such a huge difference. Our mobile vaccination efforts, it's amazing. The mobile vaccination efforts alone, have now provided half a million doses of the vaccine to New Yorkers, half a million through the mobile efforts. It's amazing.   

Now, we know vaccination is the key, and there's a lot of smart things you can do to stay safe and we have safe holidays, joyous holidays. That's going to help us all move forward. Let's make the holidays a time, that really are great for everyone. Not a time of worry, a time of joy here to tell you how to do that the right way, our doctor, our Health Commissioner, Dr. Dave Chokshi.  

Commissioner Dave Chokshi, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene: Thank you so much, Mr. Mayor. And I also want to start just by wishing everyone a joyful holiday season. On Thanksgiving Eve, I'm feeling grateful for so much, a chance to reconnect with loved ones and the opportunity to do it more safely and healthfully compared to this time last year. We've made progress against COVID-19 with over 76 percent of all New Yorkers, having received at least one vaccine dose. This is great progress. And it's because so many New Yorkers have stepped up to do the right thing. Let's keep that up over the holidays.   

So, here's what I recommend. First, every activity is safer, if you're fully vaccinated and people can feel comfortable coming together in small gatherings, when everyone is vaccinated. Testing before and after gatherings or travel, adds, one more layer of safety and testing is widely available across New York City. About 70 percent of test results across the city, come back within a day and you can find rapid testing locations via nyc.gov/covidtest, if you need results back even faster.   
Second, testing and other precautions become more important, if you're with a mix of vaccinated and unvaccinated friends or family. My practical tip is to plan around the most vulnerable member of your group, whether it's a senior or someone with a weakened immune system. Gathering virtually or using masks and distancing can help protect them. My own family is planning to hold one of our get togethers, outdoors this weekend because we'll have family members spanning three generations, including some kids, who are unvaccinated because they're under five.   

Third, it's not too late to take some simple steps. I've been asked if vaccination helps for an occasion just a few days away. My answer is every day is a good day to get vaccinated. I'll repeat every day is a good day to get vaccinated, whether for your first dose or your booster, because you'll start to build your immunity though, it is gradual. I recommend everyone 18 and older, get a booster, when it's time for one. And our team is ready to serve you, today. Just visit nyc.gov/vaccinefinder.   
Finally, remember to stay home, if you're feeling ill. Don't gather or travel, even if you'd made plans. If you're feeling okay and do plan to travel, keep your face covering on and wash your hands frequently. Make sure you know what COVID transmission looks like at your destination and plan accordingly. Mr. Mayor, it's been another challenging year and New Yorkers deserve a festive holiday season. I wish everyone a Thanksgiving and Hanukkah filled with reflection, celebration, good cheer and good health. Thank you.   

Mayor: Thank you very much, Dr. Chokshi and I love what you said, every day is a good day to get vaccinated and you get vaccinated, it helps you enjoy all the joys of the holiday season.   

And speaking of the holiday season. And, of course, it’s Thanksgiving I've been joined by some special friends, because we are ready for the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade. Now, everybody, the parade is amazing tomorrow, but I also love what happens tonight with the inflation of the balloons. It's another great New York City Tradition. It's really joyous.  Commissioner Shea and I are going to be out there with folks from Macy's at four o'clock this afternoon, to talk about the parade, to help New Yorkers know that everything's going to be safe. And a lot of preparation has been made by Macy's of course, by the NYPD, by all the agencies and City Government, to keep everyone safe. The parade is one of the greatest events each year.  

But, tonight is going to be great too, with the balloons being blown up and just seeing that just the sheer magnitude of this incredible event, kids especially have a great time later on this afternoon tonight. So, everyone, if you want to be a part of that, you'll get to see Baby Yoda, Pikachu, and Chase from Paw Patrol, among other greats. And the balloons display will be, actually it's 12 to 6:00 p.m. today, it's even earlier. 12 to 6:00 p.m. today. People can be a part of that. You do need proof of vaccination and a matching photo ID, if you're an adult. Look, everyone, this is a great sign of our resiliency and our strength. This is going to be the 95th year of the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, 95 years, no matter what's been thrown at us, the parade has come through strong and it's going to be a great sign of our rebirth. What you see happening tomorrow in New York City is going to be a joyous moment.   

Now, as we get ready for Thanksgiving and all the holidays ahead, first of all, a very happy Thanksgiving to all New Yorkers. You've been through a lot, but you should be really, really proud of how you've handled these last couple of years and what it means for our future. So, it's a time to reflect and enjoy a very happy Thanksgiving to all.   

And one thing for our scheduling ahead, we are obviously getting into the very last few weeks of our administration, and there is a lot to do. We are sprinting to the finish line. There's a huge amount to finish up. It's a pretty electric atmosphere here at City Hall, a lot of work going on to finish strong, and also a lot of work going on to make sure to hand off to the new administration is strong and smooth. We've been working really closely. I've been working closely with Mayor-elect Eric Adams. Our teams are constantly talking every hour, every day, a great working relationship, but there's a lot to do. So, as a result, we're going to be changing our schedule. These morning briefings will happen two times a week on Monday and Wednesday. So, we'll do this same format on Monday and Wednesday. I'll also still be giving interviews on NY1 every Monday evening and on WNYC every Friday. And we will keep people posted and, obviously, anytime there are special moments, we'll also gather to address those. But, right now we have a lot to do to finish strong and a lot to make sure that starting on January 1st, the next administration has everything they need to succeed. And I think it's going to be a very good New Year for New York City on so many levels.  

Okay, let me go to indicators. First of all, doses administered to date, and this is again, you heard the mobile vaccination efforts have been incredibly strong. We have a great number today, but I want to keep urging people think about the holidays. Think about the gatherings. Think about the colder weather, get vaccinated. So, today doses administered to date 12,465,181. Number two, daily number of people admitted to New York City hospitals for suspected COVID-19, today's report is 97 patients, confirm positivity 22.22 percent. Hospitalization rate per 100,000 New Yorkers, 0.67. And then, new reported cases on a seven-day average, today's report, 1,278 cases. We did a few words in Spanish, and this is about the blood center, but also the future of this city as the public health capital of the world.  

[Mayor de Blasio speaks in Spanish]   

Mayor: With that, let's turn to our colleagues in the media, and please let me know the name and outlet of each journalist.  

Moderator: Good morning. We will now begin our Q-and-A. As a reminder, we are joined by Dr. Dave Chokshi; Dr. Mitch Katz; Deputy Mayor Vicky Been; and Dan Gross, Executive Director of Citywide Events, Coordination, and Management. Our first question today goes to Ari with NY1.  

Mayor: Ari, are you there?   

Question: Good morning, Mr. Mayor. How are you?  

Mayor: Hey, man. How are you doing?  

Question: I'm doing okay. My first question was about Eric Adams and his cryptocurrency ambitions for the city. And I'm not sure if you've been asked about this, you know, to weigh in on kind of his ideas in general, but you know, he's talked a lot about integrating cryptocurrency into the city, including paying municipal workers in cryptocurrency. But, of course, cryptocurrency is frequently criticized for being a huge energy drain. And New York City is kind of still shoring up its own transmission needs. And, there's pretty strong regulation of cryptocurrency trading licenses in New York state. So, that would be a state thing, you'd have to overturn. So, I'm curious if you support or share, Adam's cryptocurrency ambitions for the city?  

Mayor: Well, what I've seen from the mayor-elect is a desire to make sense of something, that's obviously an important new feature in our society. And I think the notion, that I've heard at least of him putting together a commission to determine how New York City should handle this, makes sense to me. I think there are a lot of open questions for sure. But, it's here, it exists. How are we going to handle it? What is our role? I think his approach is right, to say we'd better make sense of this and the commission makes sense. Go ahead, Ari.  

Question: Okay, thank you. And I had a question from my coworker, Anna Sterling. She's been looking into the temporary housing conditions for people who were displaced after Hurricane Ida, came through Queens and the rest of the city. You know, you've said last week, that the City's doing their best to help people, but we're curious if you can provide a little more specifics on how you're providing help to people, especially connecting people to affordable housing options, you know, people who are staying in in at least one hotel that, she visited, those stays expire in a couple months, which would be pretty shortly after the holidays. And people have been telling us that, if they can't find housing by, then they're going to likely go to shelters or have to live in their car. And, and many are saying that they haven't even been contacted yet by City caseworkers since being transferred to these hotels.   

Mayor: Well, we got to fix that for sure, Ari, thank you for raising it. And if you be kind enough and your colleagues, this is – we’ll always appreciate and praise members of the media who help us see something that needs to be addressed. Anybody who hasn't been contacted, please direct us to them and we will reach them. Here's the bottom line, thank God – this was a horrible, horrible incident, this hurricane, and the loss of life was stunning and painful. But what we saw overwhelmingly was real damage, serious damage to people's basements, in a few cases first floor, but overwhelmingly it was just basements. We're working to get people the help they need. FEMA, in my view, needs to do more. We want to see bigger FEMA awards, faster action by FEMA, but we've also extended any kind of city grants loans we could to help people and provide them a lot of other services, hotels, food, whatever it took. We've had city teams out there helping people clean up. Sanitation did a great job. There's been a lot from the city, but for folks who are still in a hotel, I think the central question is this, Ari, if they can go back to their home, we just need to do everything we can to help him get the home fixed up, go back to the home, that is by far the ideal. If they literally cannot, the home will not usable again, then of course we want to give them support, continuity, get them to affordable housing as best we can. It may not be the same neighborhood, but whatever we can do, don't want to leave anyone in the lurch. We don't want anyone to end up without a home. So, we'll make sure that our folks at HPD and others communicate with them and give them a clear sense of the pathway forward.  

Moderator: Our next question goes to Mike Gartland from the Daily News.  

Question: Hi, good morning, Mr. Mayor. Hello to everybody on the call. How are you doing?   

Mayor: I'm doing well, a very happy Thanksgiving. I will continue to call you Michael every time they call you Mike.  

Question: My mom will be happy about that. She prefers Michael. She was – I talked to her about this last time we talked –  

Mayor: Yeah but also when you got in trouble did she say Michael very pointedly?   

Question: Yeah, something like that. Happy Thanksgiving to you too. I had a couple of questions, the first one has to do with the Lieutenant Governor and the situation with his background check forms he submitted to the Governor's Office and the state troopers to get sworn in. Do you think it's a problem that Lieutenant Governor Benjamin submitted inaccurate information on his background check to state police? And if so, how should that be addressed?  

Mayor: Well, I’ve known him a while, and I have a lot of respect for Lieutenant Governor. I really do. I think he's a good person with a good heart. He’s done good work. But I think he needs to address it. I think he needs to explain why that happened just to give people more confidence. Go ahead, Michael.  

Question: Okay. And back to the crypto stuff here. You know, this bought Pierce flight to SOMOS, should Eric Adams show a bank statement or offer any proof that he actually paid for this flight to SOMOS abroad Pierce's private jet. How should that be handled?  

Mayor: Look, I think with anything like that, it's just important to show how it was handled and, you know, there's many different ways to address that, campaign account is an obvious example if that is something that he chooses to do. Again, I’ve known Eric Adams for decades, he's a person who is in public service for all the right reasons, and I'm certain it's easy enough to explain this and just move forward.  

Moderator: Our next question goes to Elizabeth Kim from Gothamist.  

Question: Good morning, Mr. Mayor.   

Mayor: Hey Elizabeth –  

Question: Hi, I wanted to ask about testing today. It seems like, you know, testing is going to play a very large role going forward in the battle against COVID. Does the city plan to give New Yorkers some guidance on rapid tests?  

Mayor: Yes, a great question, Elizabeth, and I'll turn to Dr. Chokshi. We think rapid tests are an important part of the equation and, you know, I think Dr. Chokshi has been such a great protagonist of the notion of use what's available to you and works best for you. And you're right, we want to make sure people lean into testing more as we're seeing the colder weather come on. So Dr. Chokshi you want to speak to that.  

Commissioner Chokshi: Thank you, sir, and thanks Elizabeth for the question. Yes, we do continue to believe that testing is a linchpin for our COVID response. You know, we have a testing guidance that's available on our website but also importantly, we have the locations where people can access testing. That's all at nyc.gov/covidtest. And specifically with rapid testing, remember there are different types of rapid tests. There are rapid PCR tests, as well as rapid antigen tests, both serve slightly different purposes, but the most important thing is to go to a place that's convenient for you and to get a result back in the timeframe that you need. So, we have a range of options that are available for people as well as the guidance that I mentioned, go to nyc.gov/covidtest.  

Mayor: Thank you. Go ahead, Elizabeth.  

Question: My second question is on the religious and medical exemption requests with respect to the vaccine mandate. Our understanding was that the agencies were given a timeline to dole out these decisions and handle all appeals by tomorrow. So, we were wondering if you could give us an update on where each of the individual agencies are with these requests, do you think there'll be able to meet that deadline?  

Mayor: Elizabeth, I’m not sure what you're referring to in terms of the deadline. There were different ideas at different points, but what became clear is we have a large number of accommodation requests, there's an initial evaluation, there's an opportunity for an employee to provide more information, there's an appeal process. I don't – again, if you know something specific I don't know, please clarify. But this is an ongoing process and what matters is, as decisions are made the decision, ultimately, if someone gets accommodation to get the accommodation, but if someone gets told, well, after all the appeals, everything else, that you do not get an accommodation, then they have a choice to make. And again, we've seen really consistently at that point, employees choose to get vaccinated. So, again, I think we're dealing with today's numbers, I don't know if previously there was some kind of timeline, but with these kind of numbers, we know it's going to take weeks and weeks to sort out, obviously. Elizabeth, did you want to clarify, do you know some specific deadline you're referring to?  

Question: That was the Department of Citywide Administrative Services put out guidance telling the agencies, you know, you have seven days to get through all of your exemption requests, and then by the 25th you should have dealt with all of the appeals. But I guess what you're saying is that it’s –they're not going to meet that deadline.  

Mayor: No, and I don't – I haven't seen that guidance. And maybe that was early on before the number of appeals was seen or the number of requests was seen, it's obviously way too big a number to get through on that timeline. So, that may have been initial guidance, but I can speak formerly and say, each agency is purposely working through them. They'll get the job done by definition. Anyone in the meantime who's seeking the accommodation keeps working, and if they get an accommodation, great, they’ll be able to keep working with the accommodation. If they don't get the accommodation, they have that moment of decision and I'm quite confident, the numbers have been absolutely consistent across agencies, the vast majority of those folks who get a no will turn around and get vaccinated.  

Moderator: Our next question goes to Erin Durkin from Politico.  

Question: Mr. Mayor, happy Thanksgiving.  

Mayor: Happy Thanksgiving, Erin, are you going back to our ancestral homeland in New England?  

Question: You know, I'm not, I have to have to split the holidays with my husband now. So I'm actually going to Florida, which will be interesting.  

Mayor: That's not a Thanksgiving place, Erin.  

Question: I know, I know. I don't know. It's weird. But I'll be in Boston for Christmas, so that'll be nice. I wanted to ask about – actually, I'll just follow up on that question about the, about the medical and religious accommodations. So there have been 12,000 requests. Can you just tell us, I understand there's an appeals process, but in the initial determinations, how many of those 12,000 have had a decision made? How many have been granted? And how many had been initially denied.  

Mayor: I have not – I don't have the numbers in front of me. We'll be happy to get you an update. Again, to be fair, it's the initial request, then there's an initial determination, there's an opportunity to provide more data if the employee wants to, more information, more documentation, then if they get to note, they still have an appeal. So, my impression is relatively few have gone through that whole process. We can show you what happened previously with the numbers with the other agencies where we did get through the backlog of folks with accommodations. But my impression, at this moment, Erin, is there's still a lot of folks to go through it, but it will happen over the weeks ahead, and again, I feel very clear about the outcomes. For the folks who get the accommodation, they're still able to keep working, it's a different scenario than what we had with the school buildings and the DOE where there are very particular situations because of kids. They'll still be able to keep working. So, while you're waiting for accommodation, you're working. If you get accommodation, you're working. If you don't get an accommodation, you got a decision to make, vast majority are going to choose vaccination and keep working. It will just take some weeks to sort out. Go ahead, Erin.  

Question: Okay. and then you were talking about the Blood Center. There've been some questions regarding that regarding Kramer Levin's role and your debt to Kramer Levin. I just have a specific question about that debt, you had initially reported it was $300,000. Some folks have been mentioning the number $425,000 which is what it would be with interest. Have they communicated to you how much money you actually owe? Are you being charged interest? And what is the current amount of money you actually owe them?   

Mayor: I can't give you the current amount. I haven't seen the most recent statements. I am being charged interest and I intend to pay it all back. I mean, this – I said this so many times publicly. I'll say again, I intend to pay it all back. I will pay it all back. I, you know, I have mortgages, I had student loans, I've paid back everything in my whole life. I intend to pay it back. And that to me is as simple and clear as it can be.  

Moderator: Our next question goes to Julia Marsh from The Post.  

Question: Hi, Mr. Mayor, happy Thanksgiving eve and balloon blowing up day.  

Mayor: Happy Thanksgiving, and you too, Julia, come from the joyous Thanksgiving –   

Question: Massachusetts, yes.  

Mayor: Yeah. I mean you got admit and Thanksgiving should be in New England, right? I mean, it's a great place to be.   

Question: Well I’m going to Connecticut, so I've got that covered.  

Mayor: All right.  

Question: What are you doing, Mr. Mayor?  

Mayor: We are gathering the immediate family at Gracie Mansion. We used to go to New England with extended family, but that got thrown off by COVID. So, I'm keeping it very local, very mellow, but it'll be just a joy to be with my kids and my wife and you know, mellows good too.   

Question: Okay, so happy holiday to you and your family. Onto your announcement about the MTA yesterday saying that the workforce should get vaccinated. I just wanted to read you Governor Hochul’s response, which was, “you know, what our infection rate is here at the MTA? It's 0.6 percent, half of what it is for the City of New York.” She said, “well, I appreciate the advice, but if we have a problem, I’ll address it.” What's your response to that, and do you see that as the kind of collegial relationship you described?  

Mayor: Yeah. Look, we talk and – guess what? People can sometimes have disagreements and still be respectful, still be communicative. I do respect the Governor. I've worked well with her. I appreciate her team, our teams talk all the time and work well together. It's night and day compared to what we used to see with the previous Governor, I think that is the understatement of the century. But we disagree on this. I believe vaccine mandates are necessary. I have been calling on every governor, every mayor, every CEO in America to use vaccine mandates. And by the way, when they've done it, it's worked. And I used the example United Airlines, there's a lot of other great examples in the private sector. It takes – it's a bold act, yes, it will come with some opposition, but it helps move us all forward. So, I think the MTA can do better with a vaccination mandate than what they're doing now. Look at our city workforce, 94 percent. And I heard – I believe the Governor has been good efforts made. I think I heard the MTA workforce is at 70 percent that's incredible, but 94 percent would be a lot better, be a lot better for everyone, and so it's time for vaccine mandates and all leaders need to embrace them to get us out of the COVID era. Go ahead, Julia.  

Question: And then on to our former Governor Cuomo I know we'd asked you just as the Assembly Judiciary Committee Report was coming out, I assume you've had time to review it since then, what do you think should happen next? Should he have to you know, repay taxpayer for the use of his employees who worked on the books? Should there be criminal or civil action?  

Mayor: Look, I have not seen the report, but I've had seen a summary, obviously. I think the chair of the Assembly Committee powerfully said, this is deeply troubling. It's a things we knew something about before we know more about now, it's troubling across the board, and it is a pattern, a very clear pattern of abuse of power. I think there needs to be a lot of accountability from this point on. If government resources were inappropriately used, yes, of course he should pay back anything that he used inappropriately. If there are actions that rise to a criminal level, there should be prosecution and obviously that's being considered up in Albany County right now. So, there needs to be accountability. You can't just be someone did all these things and nothing happens.  

Moderator: Our next question goes to Bob Hennelly from the Chief Leader.  

Question: Good morning, Mr. Mayor. Thanks for taking the call. I was just texting to Sarah Nelson, who is – leads the flight attendants union for the CWA, and I do believe that your – with all due respect – you're mis-characterizing, at least according to Nelson, I think also Scott Kirby was on, the CEO of United, complicates it was not a mandate, but a collaboration where they work behind the scenes together and then rolled it out together. So, I just think it's important to roll back and look at – my report indicates that this past summer [inaudible] someone widely respected [inaudible] committee, they wrote you twice to sit down and come up with a universal across-the-board resolution. To this matter, what you did was you ticked off one union and one department at a time and created an adversarial setting. And so, I guess, Mr. Lieber mentioned – Janno mentioned the acting head of the MTA that he wasn't interested in mano a mano. I mean, I know that, you know, it does raise your profile as being someone standing up to unions, but wouldn't have been better to work behind the scenes collaboratively rather than to create the situation where people, a workforce that had already experienced 400 people dying from COVID, didn't have this thing hanging over their head where if they didn't comply, they would be put off payroll. Wasn't that really more an adversarial model that you were doing?   

Mayor: Bob, listen, I’ve known you forever, and I can hear the passion in your voice, and you believe what you're saying. But I'm going to just tell you, I lived it and that's not what happened. We had endless conversations. I will be very respectful of private conversations with labor leaders. I had a lot of them myself, our team had a lot of them. It was quite clear they felt they could not embrace a mandate, even if they believed it had value, even if they believed everyone should get vaccinated. This is the real dynamic we faced. There was not a pathway to the kind of universal outcome we needed here. And so, after lots of dialogue, we chose a mandate. And then we said immediately we’d do impact bargaining. And that impact bargaining has been very successful. But, in the end, I have a long history of supporting the labor movement. I believe in it. But my job is to protect the health and safety of all New Yorkers and not to get caught up in the internal politics of unions or those other dynamics, it's to focus on the health and safety of New Yorkers. We now have a city workforce that's 94 percent vaccinated. I rest my case. It worked. Go ahead, Bob.   

Question: So, I understand. So, you're more protecting the public interest than the unions understood. I'm sure that’ll work when you run for governor. I guess then, I am concerned, or just interested, how is it that the NYPD had 6,000 reasonable accommodations filed in a timely fashion, which is a big chunk of the [inaudible] force. I mean, one story says every lieutenant except one, one source told me, has a reasonable termination application. And the Fire Department, for whatever reason, didn't see what – was the end – have act together better? I mean, it does seem to have a disparate impact here 6,000 officers had their act together enough to get the forms in, which meant that ostensibly they could continue to work under the protocol of being tested, which, by the way, it's what the Biden administration has been working towards for an OSHA standard across the country of private employers, which is something where you get tested or you get vaccinated. And, I guess, I'm sorry to get two questions here, but do you oppose that idea too? Is President Biden wrong in that approach to the private sector?   

Mayor: President Biden is right to create forward motion for vaccination. And he's dealing with the limits of federal power in the context. I mean, it's very different when you're taking an action for your own workforce than when you're taking a federal action to reach into the private sector. Look at the military – the President called for a mandate. What I saw, the first branch to report was the Air Force. I think they were at 96 percent. I mean, that's stunning. So, with his direct employees, he's done exactly what I've done. The NYPD, right now, 87 percent vaccinated – that's fantastic. That number is going to go up. So, in the end, each agency had different approaches. Each union had different approaches. I'm not going to parse who did what and why. It was well publicized that the option was there if people wanted to apply for the accommodation. But, in the end, it's also been well-publicized at the accommodation is something you have to prove with very specific facts. And if you don't have those facts, then you have to go and get vaccinated. And, ultimately, that's what the vast majority of people have done. They have not gotten an accommodation. They did get vaccinated. But we gave people a right to put forward that request and they will be viewed really objectively and decisions will be made. But all of your questions are not unfair at all, Bob, but I come back to the bottom line, the job was protecting people and moving us out of the COVID era. And I'm thrilled. I mean, Fire Department, right now, when you combine EMS and firefighting is at 91 percent – that's amazing. NYPD, 87 percent. Those are both going to go up. I feel really good about it.   

Moderator: We have time for two more questions today. Our next question goes to Katie Honan from The City.   

Question: Hey, Mayor de Blasio. Happy Thanksgiving eve. That's a holiday too. Shout out to all the bars in the city. Hopefully they'll [inaudible] well tonight.   

Mayor: Katie, I like that you find a new holiday every day. That's the right spirit.   

Question: Every day is a holiday. And happy early Thanksgiving to you. My question is, I’m curious – I had written [inaudible] the New York Post had written about a teacher at Townsend Harris High School who – FBI had found – they said he was grooming female students, had sex with at least one student after she graduated. They recommend that he be fired, but due to the DOE State law that allows tenured employees to have a trial, and the hearing officer could not get anyone to testify against him, he remains an employee. He was back at the school this fall. The DOE said that he was not with students, but students, reported by the Townsend Harris High School Paper, the Classic, reported that he was. So, I just wanted to get your take on it. The students are concerned that as a teacher who was deemed a predator by a City agency is allowed back in making, you know, I think $135,000. So, I wanted to get your take on it. And if you think there should be some higher-level reform when it comes to this type of things. You know, it's understandable that a victim of this type of behavior would not want to testify twice after doing it for an FBI report. So, I just wanted to get your take.   

Mayor: I'm real concerned. I appreciate you raising it, Katie. Look, after everything we have learned as a society, it's clear if someone is a predator, if someone's taking advantage of their position to prey on a student, that's a real problem. I don't know the facts in this case. I do know – yes, I think we need to keep strengthening the rules and laws around this. And if the students are saying, if someone is still in contact with the students – well, we damn well better listen to that and address the situation. So, not knowing all the details, I can say that person needs to be isolated from students. And if that's not happening in the right way, I'll direct the DOE to fix that right away. Go ahead, Katie.   

Question: Great. And I guess I want to go back to what you've been asked by a few people in terms of your debts. You know, I know that you are likely going to run for Governor based on, you know, fundraising emails and that kind of thing. Do you think you'll have trouble raising money from people if they know you owe so much money to a law firm? Or, I don’t know if that's something that I know you – I don't know what you've been thinking.   

Mayor: I've never heard that from anyone, honestly. As I've talked to folks in the political world and communities, and no one says that. And everyone understands that, unfortunately, debt is a part of life. I'm going to make sure I pay that debt. And I've paid debts throughout my life. It's as simple as that.   

Moderator: Our last question for today goes to Jillian Jonas from WBAI.   

Question: Hey, Mr. Mayor. How are you doing?    

Mayor: Hey, Jillian. Happy Thanksgiving.   

Question: You too. You too. This is my favorite holiday, so that was nice. And happy Thanksgiving giving to your family. I am a bit concerned about the idea that you're going to be scaling back your briefings to just twice a week, because those of us in the alternative and local media have a hard enough time getting recognized as it is. And there was a point where your press staff was not recognizing reporters over consecutive days and that's clearly no longer the case. So, maybe give them a little nudge –   

Mayor: Yeah. Well, Jillian – wait a minute, Jillian, I'm going to jump in. You were on, I think, a week or so ago and you said, hey, I need to get up to bat again. And here you are, again. We'll continue to mix it up. And we want to get folks from community media, alternative media. We're going to keep doing that. And I really want to be clear, but, at the same time, we are in a race to the finish here. I'm quite aware of the very few hours left to get everything done we have to get done. And our team will certainly always be available to answer questions as well. So, the floor is now yours for your two questions.   

Question: Thank you. I want to just note that I never heard back about those nine condemned landmark buildings in [inaudible] –   

Mayor: Yeah. And I'll tell you, I'll make sure the team – Danielle will follow up with you today. My understanding is there was a conscientious process there and that these buildings were in very, very bad physical shape. And that was what the determinant reality was. Again, I respected your question, but I truly believe there's been a strong commitment to landmarking. But, as someone who believes in landmarking, I also know there are times when the physical condition of the building makes it impossible and we’ve just got to deal with those realities too. But anyway, the floor is yours – two questions, go.   

Question: Okay. So, I had a bunch of questions yesterday about the Blood Center, some of which are moot now. So, I had the kind of reshape – you know that all the elected officials in the area are opposed to this tower, especially Council Member Kallos, who wrote an op-ed last week, and he warned about precedent, and something where he said that it would create a blueprint for deep-pocketed developers to get what they want if the Council passed it. I think some would maintain that, that's already the case anyway. That ship has sailed. But I wanted to know what your reaction to the warnings were. And what would you door how would you feel if this happened in your own district when you were sitting Council member?   

Mayor: Well, I was a Council member, Jillian, and I thought that everything needed to be looked at individually. And I think when there's a bigger need for the city and our people, that has to be taken into account. I don't see a precedent dynamic here, because this was so particular. The Blood Center, which we depend on as a city, which must be sustainable. The life sciences imperative, which a lot of people, public and private sector are recognizing, is overwhelming right now as a result of the pandemic. We already played an important role in life sciences in this country, but we could and should play a much bigger role. And here is exactly the area of the city where this is concentrated. And the Blood Center, a crucial contributor to that work. It's– to me, this was about the greater good. And it can't be that we say, oh, if there's any opposition, we don't do something even though it's for the greater good. It's a neighborhood that has done very, very well compared to many neighborhoods in the city. And yet, there was an earnest effort to try and address community concerns. But this was for a bigger, good cause. I just truly believe that. Go ahead, Jillian.   

Question: Thanks. And I respect that you believe that. You do relate to that, I think, that like one percent of the blood supply it's actually collected at the 67th Street facility. I mean, this is – they have facilities all over the place. They've actually said on record, they could function without that building being open and they're going to be closed for at least five years –   

Mayor: It’s about – but, Jillian, it is about the organization, which we depend on. It's about their sustainability as an organization and it's about life sciences. I just – you know, I truly believe it would have been a huge mistake to turn this down. And this is something that's going to move the city forward. And, in the end, you know, I'm someone who believes there is a right kind of development. I mean, this – you've watched for eight years, you know. I believe development should, whenever humanly possible, meaning where we have the power to intervene, because of the public's role in zoning, should support the public's needs, public good, public benefit. There should be a vision, whether it's affordable housing, park space, jobs, whatever it is, that truly benefits the public good. And when there isn't such a vision, the development shouldn't move forward. Or when it's too little of an impact, we up the ante. Here, neighborhood concerns were addressed in terms of height being brought down. But we, I believe, need this for the future of the city. So, some people just don't want development. I respect that, but disagree with it. I think it's about getting the right kind of development and I think this is it. But you get one more question.   

Question: Thank you. So, the center also said it could have modernized and expanded without the rezoning and they're only going to be leasing a third of the for-profit tower that's developed by Longfellow. I'm curious, because up until yesterday – it's something that Council Member Salamanca mentioned – there was no guaranteed that Longfellow had to lease out the 70 percent of the space to life science industries. There was just nothing. I mean, that’s what you wanted, but there was nothing in writing. So, what's changed? What's the guarantee? Where is it?   

Mayor: I'm going to have Deputy Mayor Been speak to that, who's with us. But let me say this, the vision from the very beginning was a sustainable Blood Center as an organization, not just that site as a place that collected blood – an organization that we depend on. It is not a government entity. It is an entity that serves us and we depend on it. It needs to be sustainable for years and decades to come. And the focus on life sciences, which, again, is particularly pertinent to that area of the city and particularly necessary. That was the vision from the very beginning. Deputy Mayor Been, speaking to how we can be assured that life sciences will happen on that site and, well, obviously, how important it is to our future. The floor is yours.   

Deputy Mayor Vicki Been, Housing and Economic Development: Yes. Thank you for the question. So, there's a difference between what you need in the zoning ordinance versus what you need and all the other documentation. And that's the [inaudible] question here, is that there's no question in all of our minds about exactly how this building will be used. Those restrictions will be imposed in the kinds of transaction documents that will come as the building closes, but they didn't need to be and they aren't appropriate in the zoning ordinance itself.   

Mayor: So, bottom line is, that's what the City of New York is mandating has to happen and it will happen. And so, again, thank you, Jillian, for the question. It's an important question. But we want to make sure, this has been the template we've used throughout the administration. And Jillian and others will appreciate that one of my critiques of the previous administration was that they had, kind of, amorphous pledges in different zoning actions, different land-use actions, you know, claims of affordable housing with no enforceability, for example. That's part of why we move to things like mandatory inclusionary housing. Claims of public benefits that never happened, that's why we add to go and actually make some of those public benefits happen after the fact. We need this to be life sciences and we will ensure that the measures are in place to do that.   

Everyone, as we conclude today, a very, very happy Thanksgiving to all. Take a break. Hang out with your family and friends. Get a rest. You deserve it. New Yorkers had done just amazing things in the last two years. I honor you. I thank you for it. And let's keep everyone safe as we move ahead to a much better year ahead. Thank you, everybody.   

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