Viviane Faver
New York City’s mayoral candidate Scott Stringer has been standing out in this race for election by presenting projects such as green economy, housing affordability, unemployment, small businesses, and public transport.
In an exclusive interview with The New York Beacon, Scott Stringer says that New York City needs a man with vision and skill to bring the city back.
New York Beacon: What are your plans to implement the green economy in New York City?
Scott Stringer – The climate agenda is real, and we announce a real future vision climate plan with Bill McKibben from 350.org, one of the great international leaders in fossil fuel divestment. We will build a real resilience plan for 5 and 20 miles from our coastline by investing in solar panels and alternative green content, boosting green jobs’ economy.
I believe that climate change is directly related to Covid. Many of the pre-existing health conditions that covid took advantage of are, in fact, climatic areas that we have to change and therefore are linked to recovery.
New York Beacon – Why do you think you are the best candidate for mayor?
Scott Stringer – New York City’s next mayor will oversee a massive recovery effort, and we must reopen our economy in a fundamentally different way than we closed it. This will require policy expertise, government managerial experience, coalition-building skills and political savvy, and a bold vision — with detailed plans — for a more just, equitable, and sustainable city. It is this very combination of skills, experiences, and vision that I bring — uniquely, I believe — to this race. I’ve served as Comptroller, Manhattan Borough President, and in the State Assembly, and I’m a lifelong New Yorker raising my two kids here so I have skin in the game to build the best future possible for our city.
New York Beacon- I would like to know about your plans for public transportations and improvement for bike lanes.
Scott Stringer – I will do everything in my power to improve the subway, buses, and commuter rail throughout the five boroughs.
The bus system will be a top priority in my administration. The City controls the streets, traffic lights, curbs, sidewalk, and bus shelters. I’m going to use that power to prioritize buses and make sure they’re fast, frequent, and reliable for the millions of New Yorkers who use them each and every day. Three years ago, I put out a comprehensive plan for improving our bus system—much of which was incorporated into Andy Byford’s Bus Action Plan. Moving forward, we’re going to take that blueprint and double down.
On trains, we’re going to do the three things. I want to integrate commuter rail into our five-borough transit system and reduce commuter rail trips to the price of a subway swipe within the city and offer free transfers to the subway and bus throughout the five boroughs. Second, my administration will do everything in our power to help the MTA expedite the installation of elevators and other accessibility measures so that our subway system is available to New Yorkers of all ages and abilities. And we’re also going to help them reopen the more than 100 subway entryways that have inexplicably been closed over the years.
And lastly, we’re going to increase access to the subway for all New Yorkers, especially lower-income residents. Throughout our city, there are well over 100 stations with fewer than 5,000 daily riders, pre-pandemic. One of the best ways to increase ridership and improve transit access in these lower-density areas is to allow for denser development within an 1/8th or a 1/4th a mile of these stations and ensure that a large share is deeply affordable. Given the extraordinary costs of subway construction in our city, it is far, far cheaper to bring affordable housing to the subway than to expand the subway to more affordable neighborhoods.
New York Beacon – How do you plan to address the current housing affordability?
Scott Stringer – I believe that safe, affordable housing is a right, not a privilege, and beginning as a Mitchell-Lama tenant organizer, I have dedicated my career to fighting the affordability crisis. As mayor, I will make every neighborhood more affordable for every New Yorker. Too much of our so-called affordable housing today is built for families making $80,000 a year or more. We need to be targeting more of our resources towards extremely low and very low income families, those making $58,000 a year or less for a family of three (two parents working minimum wage jobs). My Universal Affordable Housing plan would require that every single new residential development in the city, in every neighborhood, set aside 25% of all units for permanent, affordable housing. I will end the 421-a tax giveaway and re-invest those dollars in building more affordable units; create a Land Bank/Community Land Trusts to turn city-owned vacant lots into 100% affordable units; and triple from 5% to 15% the set-aside of new units for homeless families.
New York Beacon – Are you going to help the small business?
Scott Stringer – City government must help immigrant entrepreneurs recover, stabilize, and reach new markets. In my administration, Small Business Services would help with marketing, promotion, and translation services to help businesses reach new customers beyond their immediate neighborhood. I would pilot a new program to help proven, successful entrepreneurs open second businesses throughout the city, expediting permitting and helping with the costs of modifying these new spaces. I would also overhaul the City’s approach to inspections and fines, allowing small businesses a “cure period” to address and fix violations, rather than penalizing them immediately.
