Transcript: Mayor de Blasio Announces Record High Graduation Rate, Presents the Fiscal Year 2021 Preliminary Budget

January 16, 2020Mayor Bill de Blasio: Well, everybody, today is the day to announce the City""s preliminary  budget. And we""re going to do that in just a moment, but we just found out some  really wonderful news that matters to all the people in New York City and  particularly to our parents, our young people, our educators. This is a moment  that people should be very, very proud of that once again, we have good news  about the graduation rate in our public schools and further proof that our  public schools continue to get better and stronger all the time.So we""re going to talk about that first and I have the  honor of introducing Linet Mercedes, who""s going to tell her story, and then  I""ll speak, and the Chancellor will speak, and we""ll take some questions on the  graduation rate. And then, we""ll reset for a moment and go onto the preliminary  budget discussion. So, with that, great pleasure to welcome Linet, and we""re  going to make you taller. Look at that. Alright, Linet –[...]Mayor: Wow. It""s not fair  when the person who introduces you is better spoken than you ever hope to be.  So, Linet, that""s amazing. Absolutely amazing what – you are the American dream  and you""re the New York City dream, and, you know, I want to just commend you.  You""re everything that we""re talking about when we mean that every young person  deserves that opportunity for great education. There needs to be equity, there  needs to be excellence, and we want to give every young person the opportunity  to go as far as they can possibly go. And you are a living example of that and  it is inspirational to hear the way you""ve applied yourself and now what your  future holds. Let""s, let""s congratulate Linet for all she has done.[Applause]And the praise for her principal, Principal Mark House,  congratulations. You did something right. Give him a round of applause, too.[Applause]So, I""m going to be very quick and then turn to the  Chancellor. But this is – this really is a moment to celebrate and to note the  importance of. Look, the whole idea here has been to change the assumptions of  what""s possible in New York City public schools. When you listened to Linet  just then, you know, any parent anywhere would be so proud if their child could  get up in front of a room full of adults and TV cameras and give those kinds of  remarks. 

This is what""s possible in the New York City public schools every  single day. This is what""s happening. And a lot of us came up with the notion  that some of our schools were good and some of our schools were bad and it was  always going to be that way. A lot of us came up with the notion that our  school system was stuck and could not get better.We""ve been saying now for six years that things can  change and will change and are changing. And this announcement today about  graduation rate speaks volumes. This has always been the standard that tells us  if we""re moving or if we""re not. And for a long, long time in the city,  graduation rate wasn""t moving and the dropout rate was astoundingly high and  that was considered somehow normal. Now we believe that every young person can  achieve. We believe that every school must be a good quality school. And we""ve  taken a series of steps to make that come true and a lot more to come. And  we""ll be saying a lot more about that next few weeks.But we can tell you this, something is working before our  very eyes. And so the news we got today from the State of New York that makes  us all so proud, it""s been six years in a row that the graduation rate has gone  up in New York City and I""m now proud to announce New York City graduation rate  is 77.3 percent. Congratulations to the Chancellor. Congratulations to all the  educators, all the parents, all the students.This increase is across every borough, every demographic  within our city. In the course of our six years, the graduation rate has gone  up nine percent, proving how quickly change can happen. Now I got to say  something, this is the largest school system in America. People used to believe  it could not achieve. Now it""s achieving more and more. And in fact, New York  City public schools increased our graduation rate faster, better than the rest  of the State of New York. That used to be considered an impossibility. And we  are getting closer every day to achieving the national average of graduation  rate to be doing as good as any school in America is expected to do. So  something""s really changing here. We see it in graduation rate, we see it in  college readiness, we see it with the number of young people going on to higher  education. We see it in test scores.We see it in that achievement gap that we""ve all been  talking about for a long time, a lot of people thought couldn""t move. It is  moving now. We saw that with the test scores a few months ago. We see it here  again with the graduation rate. So something is really happening. Linet, your  example gives us a lot of hope today and I want to congratulate everyone who""s  been a part of it and now turn to the man who""s been engineering this success,  our Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza.Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. And, Linet is a great example of the students that  we have in the New York City Department of Education in New York City. And I  just want to say to you, you make us very proud.[Chancellor Carranza speaks in Spanish]So Mr. Mayor, thank you for giving us an opportunity to  share this good news with all New Yorkers. I would like to acknowledge several  people that are here as part of our team. First and foremost, our Chief  Academic Officer, Dr. Linda Chen. Thank you for being here. Our Deputy  Chancellor for the Division of Specialized Instruction and Student Support,  Corinne Rello-Anselmi. Our Deputy Chief Academic Officer for Multilingual  Learners, Mirza S�nchez-Medina. We""re also joined –  if there are some technical questions she""s the person we""re going to turn to  as well, our Executive Director of Research Policy and Support, Michelle  Paladino. And obviously we""ve already met the incredible Mr. House who does a  wonderful job at Community Health Academy for the Heights – CHAH? That""s right?  Okay. And, obviously the person that we probably will one day work for, Linet  Mercedes. So I want to thank you again for being here, both Mr.  House and Linet. It""s schools like CHAH, schools with the drive and the energy  we all feel here today, they are the real leaders in our mission of achieving  true equity and excellence. And we""re honored that you""re here with us. Not  only are they seeing steady increases in graduation rates, which is why they""re  here today, but they are seeing gains across the board at their school. More of  their students are college ready than ever before and more of them are  enrolling in college and taking what they""ve learned right to the next level.  In fact, they""ve had an incredible increase in graduation rate over Mr. House""s  tenure there.How many percentage points have you grown?Principal Mark House: [Inaudible]Chancellor Carranza: 59 to 85, which shows the power of leadership and teaching and great  students. So this is the news. We""re especially excited to announce that our  four-year citywide graduation rate has reached, as Mr. Mayor you have  announced, 77.3 percent. That is a 1.4 percentage point increase from 2018 and  an eight – nine percent, percentage point increase since the start of this  administration. We""re also making real progress as you mentioned on the  opportunity achievement gap between our black and white students, which has  decreased 5.5 points over the course of this administration and our Hispanic,  Latino, and white students, which has decreased by 6.2. So we""ve shrunk it by  those percentages. We""re also seeing the borough of the Bronx with the largest  gains up 2.8 points from last year, which is twice the citywide increase. So  there are great things happening in the Bronx as well.These improvements aren""t happening in a vacuum or only  in certain parts of our city. There""s incredible work happening in all of our  schools in every borough, every day, whether it""s more AP courses, as Linet  mentioned, the SAT school day, more college visits, more counseling. Let me  tell you why it""s happening because we""ve set a higher bar for every student no  matter who they are. And we continue to work to give them the support they need  to make sure they reach that bar. It""s the true meaning of Equity and  Excellent, sir, and the agenda for education in New York City. So it""s no  surprise that it""s not just our graduation rate. Our schools are stronger than  ever and we""re seeing that across all of the metrics that we monitor.But even as graduation rates rise, we must continue to  work towards closing the opportunity achievement gap because all students  deserve to graduate from school, high school, and move on to college and  careers. That""s why we continue to focus and forge ahead with our Equity and  Excellence agenda programs like 3-K for All, universal literacy, other for all  programs so our children have a running start. AP for All, College Access for  All. They do more to get our students ready for college and early college so  that from the moment they enter high school, they""re on a path to success.  These are investments and these are programs that will lead us to even bigger  gains in the future and they will empower our students in our schools, in our  communities to continue to do the good work they""re doing. So today is a day to  celebrate, but at the end of the day, it""s get back to work because we want to  not only catch the national average, we want to surpass that national average,  sir.So congratulations and thank you to our students, our  teachers, our administrators, and our school communities and especially our  parents for all that they do to make this a reality. And sir, a point of  personal privilege, before I say a few words in Spanish, I just want to take a  moment to recognize Corinne Rello-Anselmi, who is here with us today. Our  Deputy Chief Academic Officer for Special Education. Corinne is going to kill  me for recognizing her in such a public way but she has played an incredible  role in our school system across many of our schools, and throughout all of  those roles, she has been a steadfast, unapologetic advocate for our students  with special needs, ensuring that they have access to inclusive settings. And  you will see that they continue to increase their graduation rates as well. And  she""s made sure that there – our students with special needs are prepared for  postsecondary success. And while we congratulate her on her upcoming  retirement, there""s no question that it""s a loss for the children in the  Department of Education. So I want to thank you, Corinne, for your over 40  years of service to the children of this city. Thank you.[Applause]So just a few words in Spanish –[Chancellor Carranza speaks in Spanish]Thank you.Mayor: Well done. Well  done. Thank you, Chancellor. Okay, Linet, you can have a seat. You can have  your own press conference later because I think people want to get to know you  for the future. Questions first on the announcement on the graduation rate.  We""ll take any questions related to that, and then again, we""ll reset around  the budget. Go ahead.Question: So, only 71 percent  of the city""s graduates last year actually met the standards for CUNY for  college readiness, so do you think you really have a reason to celebrate?Mayor: Look, I""ll start  and turn to the Chancellor. The issue here is how quickly can we move this  school system and how can we move it across the board. And that""s what we  continue to see evidence of. We saw it in the test scores that proved not only  was there improvement across the city but that we were actually starting to  shrink the achievement gap. We see again now continued progress and shrinking  that achievement gap. That""s very, very hope-inducing and all of the  initiatives are starting to sing together, you know, Linet mentioned that she  took those Advanced Placement courses because now they""re mandated in every  high school. That""s changing the reality for a lot of young people. All the  pieces that we are putting in place I think are starting to add up. That said,  we""re very proud that more young people are going on to higher education, but  we know we got to both increase that number and increase the quality of the  education they get before they go on. So I say there""s steady progress, plenty  more to do. But what New York City public schools have proven is they now are  in a constant growth pattern.Chancellor Carranza: I will only add to what the Mayor has said is that we know that without a  high school diploma, students have very limited options. So the fact that more  students are earning their high school diploma is a thing to celebrate. We  continue to work on college and career opportunities for our students because  we know, quite frankly, not every student wants to go to college. But with the  diploma, we""re also proud of the fact that more of our students are earning  advanced diplomas, Advanced Regents diplomas. In fact, it""s up 0.3 percent from  last year, a full 3.4 percentage points since the start of this administration.  So students are applying themselves and, you know, part of what we said – it""s  a day to celebrate, but it""s also a day to get back to work because we realize  there""s more we want to accomplish.Question: There was a slight  increase in drop-out rates this year. I""m wondering if you have any explanation  about why that might have happened.Mayor: Yeah, so we""re  actually scrubbing that data to see there – see what is behind that. It""s  relatively speaking in terms of statistical, it""s really flat, but it""s about a  hundred students and we""re looking at coding, we""re looking at ways students  were coded as dropouts. That shifted a little bit this year. So we""re doing a  really deep dive on that. What I can tell you is that we have not only invested  but focus more of our attention and our resources on making sure that we""re  capturing students before they leave the system. So it seems a little  discordant to us, so we""re actually scrubbing that data.Question: Can you tell us  what the leading causes you can take from your studies of kids dropping out?  What""s the driver of that when it happens?Chancellor Carranza: Well, you know, in any school system there are a number of things that  cause students to drop out of school. Everything from students that have  difficult situations, students in temporary housing, students that are in  foster care, etcetera, to things like disinterest or not being engaged in the  curriculum. So when we talk about the Equity and Excellence for All agenda,  where we""re investing in AP Classes for All, we""re investing in CTE  instruction, we""re investing in positive behavioral supports in our schools so  they have environments where they feel safe and supported, when we""re investing  in culturally relevant, responsive education and really, really pushing our  advanced literacies in our schools, these are all things that we know will  engage students and make learning much more relevant to them. So I would say  those are the kinds of things that if they aren""t present lead students to be  disinterested and find, you know, [inaudible] with their feet.Mayor: Yeah, I just want a  quick add on that. I""m trying to remember. I joined my local school board when  we used to have them in 1999. I""m trying to remember back in those days and  before what the dropout rate was. My memory is, at one point, in that kind of  time in the ""90s the dropout rate in the city, it was hovering around 20  percent and – I can""t see Michelle, where""s Michelle? Michelle is there,  Michelle, do you – do you happen to know? 22 percent was in the 1990s?Executive Director Michelle Paladino, Research Policy and  Support: [Inaudible]Mayor: Okay, so 22 percent  at one point not so long ago in the city""s history was considered tragically  the normal dropout rate. As of – and we take every little change seriously, but  the rate now is?Executive Director Paladino: [Inaudible]Mayor: 7.8 percent. So  look, I will – everything the Chancellor says is right, but I want to emphasize  the early child education piece. This has been statistically proven. You give  young people early childhood education universally, you""re going to see that number  go down. Now remember the kids, we had in full-day pre-K for the first time,  universally, that""s only a few years ago. It""s going to be awhile before they  get to graduation age. But pre-K alone is going to reduce that dropout rate.  3-K, when it becomes universal plus pre-K, I think will drop it even more. So  we want to get that early intense engagement that kids feel connected to  education. I think that""s going to be a big part of the equation. Yes?Question: When the Class of  2019 was in eighth grade four years ago, 33 percent of them were proficient in  ELA and 22 percent of them were proficient in math. So I""m just wondering what  the explanation is for how kids who are so far behind in eighth grade, how did  they make such a significant rise in high school? What""s going on there?Chancellor Carranza: Next time you see a teacher or a principal, thank them. Next time you see  a guidance counselor or a social worker, thank them. Next time you see a parent  driving or walking or bicycling their children to school, thank them. It""s  really about focus. It""s really about the kinds of supports that we – I just  mentioned in the previous question, but it really is about a strong focus on  making sure students have what they need to be able to be successful. And then  for us to be very strategic about how we align our resources. Our Equity and  Excellence for All agenda does that to make sure that we""re providing those  opportunities for our students. And I don""t mean that facetiously. Thank you,  to our teachers, our principals, our social workers, our paraprofessionals, the  people every day in the classroom making sure that students like you said, have  what they need to be successful.Mayor: Yeah, look, I think  that""s a very important way to look at the question. And I do think – I""m going  to take what Richard said and take it a little bit different direction. There  used to be a lot of conflict not so long ago – and again, this goes back to  when I was in the school board and it goes back to even just a few years ago  where there was a lot of conflict over education. There was a lot of fighting  going on between labor and management. There was lots of things going on that I  think were distracting from the mission. I think one of the things that I""ve  tried to do, and I think Richard has done brilliantly, I think Carmen Farina  did brilliantly, was bring peace to our school system, calm things down, get  everyone working together, get everyone believing that it was a common mission  again. And I think that""s had a real positive effect. I mean the fact that we  now know every day in every school that folks who are members of different  labor unions are working more cooperatively than ever. That was part of the UFT  contract to create a more cooperative decision making process in schools. That  all adds up in my view.So it is not surprising to me that there""s consistent  progress. I think the cool part of all this is where are we going? How far can  we go? Because we already know a few things. We have, you know, the biggest and  the best early childhood structure in the entire United States of America. And  it""s going to grow. And we have the most middle school and high school choice  anywhere and the most extraordinary secondary education anywhere in the country  and a lot of schools are visibly getting better. I think we are just scratching  the surface of what New York City public schools can do. So I predict the day  is coming where we don""t even just meet the national average for something like  graduation rates, but surpass it. That would""ve been unthinkable a generation  ago. So I think it""s all adding up. Yes?Question: There""s a much  larger racial gap in terms of who gets an advanced diploma. Do you guys have  any plans to address that?Mayor: Oh yes. And AP for  All is certainly a part of that. Go ahead.Chancellor Carranza: Absolutely. So as the Mayor mentioned Advanced Placement for All is  certainly part of that. We also know that as our schools do their work around  tightening curriculum, aligning curriculum to standards, making sure that  teachers have the professional development and the collaborative space to do  collaboration, that is getting tighter and we are seeing growth in that rate.  But the comment in terms of, you know, celebrate today and get back to work  today, that""s part of the back to work. We know that we""re not comfortable  where we are, but we are absolutely aligning our programmatic approach to our  instructional approach to make gains in that area.Mayor: And I think that  question comes down to also, I want to be blunt about what used to be. I mean,  you had high schools that had been in their communities for decades and decades  and never seen an advanced placement course, even though there were tons of  kids in those schools who are going to benefit from it if it was there but was  never there. And it was just vast open inequity was accepted in the city all  the time. And we got a long way to go. But that kind of example of just – and  Linet is such a great, great inspirational example of that. You – here""s a  child of Dominican immigrants, as you said, your parents don""t speak English,  humble origins. How many AP courses did you take? Up to four. So, you know,  that""s like that kind of opportunity being there changes the trajectory for  young people. If you do not provide that opportunity in the school, you""re also  sending a message that you don""t value those young people and our school system  honestly did not value those young people for a long time. So we""re seeing  something, I think from just the very presence of AP.Question: [Inaudible] the  Chancellor can answer in Spanish about the question has to do with those  [inaudible]?Chancellor Carranza: [Speaks in Spanish]Mayor: Brief English  version.Chancellor Carranza: Sure. So the Cliffs Notes in Spanish, so you all should have studied  Spanish. You would have known exactly what I""m talking about. So the question  is a very good question about narrowing the achievement gap between Latino  students and other students and what programs are working. We know that the  Advanced Placement work that we have with our students – if a student doesn""t  necessarily speak English, it doesn""t mean they can""t do Advanced Placement  Chemistry or Advanced Placement Physics. So the Advanced Placement actually  helps with student acquisition of language. We also know that our English  language learner students, which we refer to as our multilingual learner  students, we saw an increase, in fact, they outperformed the state in terms of  their graduation rate. We also know that the dropout rate for those groups is  reducing. We also know that culturally relevant and appropriate curriculum and  materials and what students read –Mayor: Short version.Chancellor Carranza: This is short.[Laughter]All of those things are making a difference and we have a  lot of work to do. But we""re starting to see them tick that number up.Mayor: Alright. Let""s see.  I""ve got two, go ahead.Question: We do know from  research that young people that have summer employment opportunities tend to  stay with school longer. Unfortunately for a number of years across the country  including New York City, that""s been a lottery. Wouldn""t full youth employment  in the summertime help in the overall goals that you""re on your way to  achieving?Mayor: Look, there""s no, I  cannot pretend for a moment that I don""t wish – even before you got to youth  employment, I would say, you know, the summer continuity academically, not  because someone has fallen behind and needs "summer school" like we all came up  with, but actually just enrichment and continuity over summer, you know,  stretching out the school year in different ways would be very, very powerful.  We""re not there. We""re not there financially or otherwise. Someday. I think  that would be a powerful direction. We""ve tried with middle school kids to  achieve some of that with having afterschool be a universal right. But summer  is a challenge. As you""ll hear in the budget part of the presentation, I don""t  think it""s a challenge we can, we can overcome right away, but directionally,  you""re right.Question: The State""s Board  of Regents kicked off a conversation about whether it will eliminate the  Regents exams all together, which are the likely effect [inaudible] I""m  wondering if either of you have a position on whether that""s a good idea.Chancellor Carranza: I think it""s good to have the conversation. Let""s see where the  conversation goes. There""s a lot of opinion about that particular topic. There  are states that don""t have a Regents exam. New York has one of the most  rigorous sets of standards anywhere in the nation. So I think that it""s a good  conversation for us to have, but we don""t have a position on that right now.Mayor: I""m with him. Okay.  Congratulations, Chancellor. Congratulations to everyone. Good day. Well done.[…]Mayor: Well, thank you,  everyone, for giving us a chance to first talk about the very good news on the  graduation rate. The good news for all of you now is that the budget  presentation is going to be very brief, because it""s a really straightforward  situation and we""ll have plenty of time for questions both on-topic and  off-topic in this case, because, again, this is – after seven years of doing  this, this is the briefest presentation I""ve ever had to make because the  situation is very straightforward and our focus is in one place, and it is  Albany, New York. So, we have never seen anything like this before in our  dynamics with the State of New York. This is the seventh time I""m doing a  budget, this is by far the largest state deficit we have ever confronted by a  lot. And the fact that so much of the State""s deficit is related to Medicaid is  extremely worrisome.Now,  I want to say at the outset, Medicaid is a State-run program. Medicaid is run  by the State of New York in every sense. The enrollment goals, the policies,  every part of the management of the Medicaid program is run by the State of New  York. The City of New York and all localities act as enrollment agents, and we  have important work to do in that, but we do not control how the Medicaid  program is run, the ideas behind it, the standards – that is all set by the  State of New York. What we do know is that in a way we""ve never seen before,  the State is now saying it has a $4 billion gap in terms of the Medicaid  budget. And last week at the State of the State address, the Governor very  specifically suggested that those expenses were the responsibility of  localities. I found that confusing, mayors all over the state found that  confusing, Democrats and Republicans, big cities, small towns, counties all  over the State, county execs, everyone was confused by the idea that somehow  localities were running a program that we don""t run. We were confused by the  notion that whatever new costs were being incurred was because of actions at  the local level – that""s just not how the program runs.So,  I want to start by being really, really clear. In fact, a very smart thing that  the State government did and this Governor did a few years ago was to say since  the State runs the Medicaid program and since costs were rising, the State  agreed that it needed to take on additional responsibilities. And that was widely  hailed across the State of New York as a smart fiscal move, otherwise a host a  localities were simply not going to be able to pay for Medicaid. Medicaid  means health care for people – just want to take all the budget terminologies  and everything away for a moment. This means people getting health care. If  folks don""t have insurance and don""t have some other way to get health care,  they go without. Families going without health care, it""s an unacceptable  situation. This state has actually done a lot to make sure that more and more  people get health care. This city""s done a lot and we thought we were all kind  of moving along on the same track, and now we have a very different challenge.  Now, I don""t know where this is going. You don""t know where this is going. We  heard some different things from the Governor this week, but the proof will be  in the pudding first with the Governor""s budget address next week and then,  ultimately, with the final budget, give or take, April 1st. But we do know that  we""ve never seen this kind of State deficit. We""ve never seen this kind of  threat to our Medicaid recipients. We""ve never seen this kind of threat to the  Health and Hospitals Corporation, and I want to dwell there for a moment.Remind  people of this history that""s just taken place over six years – when I came in  office, Health and Hospitals was very, very near to bankruptcy. And there was  an open dialogue in this city about the possibility that hospitals, public  hospitals would have to close. I think a number of you remember that. There was  an open dialogue about potential layoffs and that was going to hurt the whole  city, but it""s going to particularly hurt some of the neediest communities in  this city. A lot of hard work, uh, went into fixing that at Health and  Hospitals, at OMB – a whole lot of people worked on turning things around,  closed a budget gap of more than a billion dollars, made some very tough  decisions, reduced the level of administrative staffing, improved the operations,  the collections, the billings, all sorts of things.For  the first time in a while, we can say Health and Hospitals is functioning quite  well. The quality of the care is improving. The wait-time for appointments has  gone down. More and more patients have a primary care doctor through Health and  Hospitals. Health and Hospitals has played a leading role in getting more and  more New Yorkers health insurance who didn""t have it. That means, of course,  the NYC Care initiative we announced a year ago, which has enrolled 12,000  people already. But Health and Hospitals has also been part of the bigger  effort the City""s made to get more and more people health insurance from other  sources. And now, over the last few years, that amounts to 230,000 New Yorkers who  have health insurance who didn""t use to because the efforts of Health and  Hospitals, the GetCoveredNYC campaign, a whole host of initiatives. So, I say  all that to say, this was actually working. It has been working. This is what  we want – an agency that was troubled has turned around. It""s serving a lot  more people. It""s making sure they have insurance. Something very good is  happening. This is all now threatened because of the potential cuts that are  being talked about in Albany. Again, what does it mean humanly? Health and  Hospitals – more and more, it""s not just the emergency room, it""s primary care,  it""s when a mom needs to take her kid to a pediatrician. More and more, they""re  going to Health and Hospitals"" hospitals and clinics; it""s a woman who needs  screening for breast cancer; it""s folks who are trying to get mental health  care on an ongoing basis – finally, are getting that opportunity through Health  and Hospitals that now is in grave danger because of what we""re hearing from  Albany.So,  I""m going to keep talking about this in very human terms and we have two things  we""re going to do about this situation. The first, is to fight any cuts. You  will remember a few years ago, it was 2016, the Governor proposed Medicaid  cuts. There was a very vibrant response from people all over New York City and  in Albany, and those cuts were beaten back. Those were much, much smaller cuts  than these, but they were beaten back. The second, and we""ve made this very  clear, is we""re happy to work with the State of New York to improve the  operation of Medicaid, because, in fact, in partnership, we know right now we  could save hundreds of millions of dollars. Some of you have seen, I""m sure,  the letter that Commissioner Steve Banks sent to one of his counterparts in Albany,  saying if you would just work with us, share information with us, we had a  common effort, we could be saving a lot of money for you and for New York City,  and the same model could work around the State and save money everywhere.  Doesn""t solve the whole problem, but it would help a whole lot. So, we stand  ready to work on those reforms and those savings.Now,  I want to turn to another Stat- run operation that is also raising real  concerns for us, that is the MTA. And I""ll start by reminding everyone, because  it gets, I think, left out of the MTA""s own dialogue that, right now, in terms  of MTA operations, 70 percent of the annual resources that the MTA depends on  comes from the City government of New York City, from New York City residents,  from our workforce, from our visitors. So, they""re getting lots and lots of  revenue out in New York City as we speak, but the MTA keeps coming back and  demanding more money. And I have said very clearly, I am always willing to  entertain additional support for the MTA, but I have to represent the people of  this city and the taxpayers of this city. We are not going to keep handing over  money unless the money""s going to be used well. Now, I don""t know any New  Yorker – no New Yorker has come up in the about 20 years almost that I""ve been  in public service – I have not had a New Yorker come up to me and say, gee, the  MTA is so well-run; gee, the MTA is my model for an efficient modern  organization; gee, I wish everyone else could be like the MTA. I have not heard  those words. I appreciate that the MTA is doing some important work to try and  turn around, I really do. And I""ve seen some of the results of that and we want  to be in every way helpful when we see actual work that can get done. And I  worked with the Governor – I was very proud to – last year on the plan to  provide long-term funding, the congestion pricing and the other elements of a  long-term funding plan that had never existed for the MTA.So,  there""s some good news in all this, but what""s not happening? There has not  been a serious independent audit of the MTA""s operations. There was an audit  done, but it was superficial. It did not talk about how to fundamentally change  the way the MTA operates, how to change the culture, how to do all the things  that need to be done to break out of the mistakes of the past. So, we haven""t  seen that kind of audit and we need to before we fork over any money. We need  to see the money that we have contributed previously actually spent. So, this  may shock you. Some of you were here when we announced that we agreed to give  $2.5 billion in capital money to the MTA in 2015. I am reporting to you today,  we checked this morning – a substantial amount of that $2.5 billion that was  agreed to in 2015 still has not been spent by the MTA. So, I find it strange  they""re asking for more if they haven""t even spent what we gave them fully five  years ago.Thirdly,  as I mentioned, we got to that great moment last April with a long-term funding  plan. Draw on that money first before you ask more from the taxpayers of New  York City. So, that""s my simple message to the MTA. When it comes to the  capital money they""ve asked for – the $3 billion more they""ve asked for –  satisfy those basic conditions and we can all work together. I would further  say that the MTA – again, people see clearly about the MTA, but there""s this  one example that keeps coming to mind – East Side Access. I asked my team  yesterday for the exact numbers – 13 years and $7 billion over budget. So, we  just have to be honest about something that still isn""t working right and let""s  use the leverage of saying get it right and then we are very open to helping  further. I also would say that about Access-A-Ride, also known as para-transit.  The MTA has asked for $100 million, not in capital money, but in operating  money, expense money – that""s a lot of money in our budget – $100 million – for  Access-A-Ride. And I""ll tell you, I""ve spent a lot of time among my  constituents who are livid about what""s broken with Access-A-Ride to this day –  that doesn""t show up and it doesn""t work for them. Again, I do see signs of  improvement. I appreciate that. But we are not giving $100 million to a broken  system. So, let""s see a plan to fix Access-A-Ride, and then we can talk about  how we can help financially.So,  that is to sum up the reality and the challenge is from Albany. Sometimes I  talked to you about other challenges we face, sometimes we face multiple  challenges. This time it""s really straight forward – it""s all coming from one  place, the numbers are huge. Two big State-run pieces – the MTA and Medicaid –  two big financial challenges. We""re going to deal with both of them, but this  is going to be the story that really determines what our City budget ultimately  looks like.So  now, I""m going to talk to you about the preliminary budget at this moment in  time. And the word preliminary is crucial in this case because this is how we  start a process that will go on over the next six months, but it will be very  deeply determined by what happens between now and April 1st. So, first I""m  going to tell you the number and then in a moment I""m going to explain this  number in relationship to where we left this story back in June when we had the  adopted budget.So,  Fiscal Year ""21 the preliminary expense budget for New York City is $95.3  billion. And this is a balanced budget – all new spending in this budget has  been offset by new savings and we continue to maintain historic levels of  reserves. I want to thank everyone who did the hard work of getting us to this  point. Of course, the OMB Director Melanie Hartzog and her team; First Deputy  Mayor Dean Fuleihan; Deputy Mayor for Operations Laura Anglin; Deputy Mayor for  Housing and Economic Development Vicki Been; Deputy Mayor for Health and Human  Services Raul Perea-Henze; Deputy Mayor for Strategic Policy Initiatives Phil  Thompson; my Chief of Staff Emma Wolfe; my Senior Advisor Alison Hirsch; my  Chief Policy Advisor Dom Williams; and our Director of Intergovernmental  Affairs Lydon Sleeper – all of their teams, again, especially the OMB team,  thank you for your hard work, getting us to this moment. And a special thanks  to a Speaker Corey Johnson and Finance Chair Danny Dromm and their staffs for  all the work we""ve been doing together over the last months.So,  how do we get to this point from last June when the budget was adopted last?  So, the bottom-line on this, the growth has been about $2.5 billion. It is  essentially all things we had to do, either labor costs or State mandates or  other required actions. So, the biggest piece, almost two-thirds is the growth  in labor and fringe benefits – that""s about $1.6 billion. Now, that comes with  a really important point that I""m proud to say at this moment – we can finally  say after the labor deals from the last few weeks that 80 percent of the city  workforce is under contract, some pending ratification, but we are confident,  and that we now have with this budget action accounted for all labor costs  going forward because we""ve established the patterns necessary to project all  our labor costs and to fully fund them. Even while some other unions are in  negotiation, the money is in the budget to account for those negotiations. So,  that""s the lion""s share of the change here and I think the good news is that""s  a good change. It means stability. It means predictability. It means our  workforce can feel secure to the rating agencies. Everyone else, they always  want to know, can you accurately determine your expenses – that""s now fixed.  That""s a big, big piece of what we need to do and will take us through these  next couple of years. The next big piece, almost a quarter-billion dollars, is  education mandates. Now again, a lot of times we get mandates from Albany, a  lot of times they are well-intentioned, they rarely come with money attached.  This is becoming a bigger and bigger problem for New York City. Unfortunately,  we""ve experienced it many times from both Washington and Albany, but it""s  become more common in Albany. This is a challenge. So this, right here,  quarter-billion dollars for more special education, support for our kids – and  we do want to see more and more kids who need special education get it, but we  do think it would be appropriate to get more support in the process from  Albany; and charter school payments that are mandated by State law.Next  category is debt service – that is to accommodate the huge amount of capital  spending that we need to do. And I remind you, that has a direct connection to  the fact that you""re not seeing, most importantly, a national infrastructure  plan. You see not as much as we""d obviously like to see from Albany either,  but, most importantly, you know, if we had a national infrastructure plan, we  would not be spending so much of our own money on capital. There is no national  infrastructure strategy, we have to do it, we have to pay the debt service. And  then the most recent change, about $175 million for the criminal justice  mandates, particularly Discovery and bail reform. I believe in these changes.  I""ve said it many times, I commend the Legislature for their actions. I do  believe that the Legislature should always, and the Governor should always  include funding when they come up with these mandates. They did not. We are  footing that bill. And whereas previously our head count would have been flat  basically from June to now, headcount really wouldn""t have moved hardly at all  because of these mandates. We are going to have to add about 1,000 new  employees through several different agencies to achieve what is required by the  new State mandates.In  terms of savings to allow us to balance this budget – and the team at OMB did a  great job, but I want to caution, they have been putting up very substantial  savings numbers consistently. It is getting harder each time. It stands to  reason that if you are trying to limit your own household budget, you might  find some things early on that you felt you could do without, but every time  you had to save more and more it gets harder. That""s what""s happening with the  City of New York. So, since November, OMB identified $714 million in additional  savings for both this fiscal year and next. And if you go back to June, that  total now has become $1.2 billion – that""s an extraordinary achievement, but,  again, it""s getting harder each time we have to do it. The good news on another  front, the health care savings continue from our work with the Municipal Labor  Council – committee, I should say. $1.6 billion in health care savings – this  year, $1.9 billion projected for Fiscal ""21 and every year thereafter. And we  continue to work with MLC, looking for even more beyond that.I""ll  talk for a second about reserves, and this has been an area I really want to  commend the City Council. They""ve made it a consistent priority. There are a  lot of legislatures in this world that do not focus on fiscal responsibility –  they have, we have. We have the highest reserves in the history of New York  City – $1.25 billion a year, over four years. That is a billion in the general  reserve; capital stabilization reserve at a quarter-billion – $250 million. And  then retiree health benefits trust fund is now at $4.68 billion. So, there""s  been a consistent commitment to protecting those reserves.Okay.  Now, we""re about to end. This is normally in a budget presentation where you  get into the juicy part where there""s all sorts of wonderful new initiatives –  that is not happening right now because of everything we talked about  previously. We""re just going to highlight very few things and then we""re going  to see where the world goes in the coming months. So, in the area of public  safety, just two things I want to highlight. Vision Zero – this is continuing  to be a major, major area of investment. And one of the biggest new pieces  coming online now, Fourth Avenue, Brooklyn – major, major thoroughfare, an area  where there""s been a lot of problems. $98 million capital investment that will  make Fourth Avenue safer for drivers, bicyclists, pedestrians alike. So, it""s  going to be a major redesign. One part of the bigger Vision Zero effort. And  then, the second piece is to make really clear what was achieved in December –  eight of our uniform services unions coming in agreeing to a labor deal that  spans four – the four uniform agencies, police, fire, sanitation, correction –  16,000 members. Very, very important – that defined the uniform pattern. And  once that uniform pattern is set, again, everything else in labor relations,  everything else in the budget falls into place. So, the money to fund that  uniform pattern is now added to this budget – $147 million. And again, that""s for  all the unions that did come to an agreement with us and for anyone who comes  in and comes to an agreement within the pattern that is already accounted for  in the budget and paid for. The combination of the approach to labor, the  savings efforts, and the reserve efforts to keeping that high level reserve –  all of these pieces have come together here to really protect us and to allow  us to ensure that when we have some key investments to make, we""re still able  to do that.So,  the next is on resiliency. And everyone knows this is ongoing issue. I want to  emphasize, you know, we""re in the middle of a plan that""s been going on for  years, will go on for many more years. We""re going to be working on resiliency  as long as we""re all here because of global warming. But the good news is, last  year we had some very, very positive developments on key resiliency efforts –  Lower Manhattan coastal resiliency, East Side coastal resiliency – and that""ll  be breaking ground this year – and on East Shore, Staten Island, the Staten  Island levy project. So, all those have been moving forward or had major  efforts already. Now, we""re doing an investment that""s going to help to speed  up and ensure a bigger investment by the federal government. So, we""re putting  $33 million of dollars in capital for Rockaway Beach. This is obviously in  terms of Sandy, this is one of the areas that took the biggest hit, where there  was the most destruction. The boardwalk – the 5.5-mile boardwalk was the huge  achievement. Everyone who was a part of should be very proud of making the  Rockaways more resilient. But there""s always been more to do. So now, we""re  going to get to this work. And that""s our investment, $33 million, but it is  part of a much bigger piece both for the beach and the bay that the Army Corps  of engineers will be doing – that will be almost $600 million. And we""re  working very closely with the Army Corps on that.So,  to conclude, the City is being very careful at this moment, but we have our  fiscal house in order. We are watching Albany carefully, but more importantly  we""re acting. We""re going to join together with so many other people in this  city and around the State who want to make sure that these Medicaid cuts are  beat back, not just because of our budget, because of the human beings who  would not get health care unless we stop these cuts. And we""re going to work  with the State open hand to find savings, find reforms so cuts can be adverted.  That""s where our focus will be over these coming weeks. And then we""ll be back  in April with the executive budget based on how everything plays out between  now and then.So,  with that, that gives you the overview. I""m going to ask Melanie to come  forward – and I think has the additional technical slides to go over, and then  we will open up for questions on budget and then we""ll open up for questions on  other topics.Melanie  Hartzog –Director  Melanie Hartzog, Office of Management and Budget: Thank  you, Mayor. So, I""m going to go through very briefly highlights and  changes to the budget since November. And as the Mayor said, we do have a  technical briefing so we can answer all your questions and my team is here to  assist in that. So, the FY ""21 preliminary budget is $95.3 billion. As the  Mayor said, we are balanced in ""20 and ""21 Fiscal Years. And in this quarterly  update, we closed a gap of $3 billion in Fiscal Year ""21. Our out-year gaps are  manageable – ""22 Fiscal Year is $2.4 billion and the out-years for each are  $2.7 billion. We are increasing our tax revenue forecast for Fiscal Year ""20 to  reflect a yearly growth rate of about 4.6 percent, adding $449 million in ""20.  And our Fiscal Year ""21 estimate is cautious because we do see signs that the  local and U S economies are slowing. So, our forecast reflects a 2 percent tax  revenue growth for next fiscal year, adding $593 million.As  the Mayor said, we are achieving savings of $714 million across Fiscal Years  ""20 and ""21, and the major sources are roughly $263 million – these are  two-year combined roll up numbers, $263 million of which is spending rate  estimates; $252 million is reimbursement rate estimates; and $141 million in  debt service. Because we are nearly through the Fiscal Year ""20, we are  reducing reserves in the current year by $1.1 billion, of which $850 million is  coming from the general reserve and $250 million is from the Capital  Stabilization Reserve. And I just want to remind everybody, this is a routine  adjustment we make at the preliminary budget in the current fiscal year.Moving  on to our all funds budget, you""re looking at the five-year financial plan,  which breaks out our federal, State, and City funds. Fiscal Year ""21 all funds  budget is $95.3 billion and the City""s funded budget is $70.8 billion. You""ll  also note that the Fiscal Year ""21 budget that we continue to maintain historic  levels of reserves at $6 billion, $1 billion of which is in the general  reserve, $250 million is in the Capital Stabilization Reserve, and $4.68  billion is in the Retiree Health Benefits Trust.In  closing, I want to thank all my staff for their hard work and remind everybody  about the technical briefing.Mayor: [Inaudible]  the even more exciting technical briefing?Director  Hartzog:  Yes.Mayor: If you  love this one, you""ll love the technical briefing even more. All right, let""s  take questions – Katie?Question: Have you spoken  personally with Governor Cuomo about your concerns  about the Medicaid cuts especially since State of the City or State of the  State, sorry?Mayor: No, my team and his team have been in dialogue constantly on this  issue well before the State of the State. And, look, again we have a – we""ve  said many times that we stand ready to work with them on savings, and that is  not just because of this recent development. We are saying that before in some  cases have been able to already do that, we want to do it a lot more. So, it""s  abundantly clear to everyone in Albany that we stand ready to help them with a  challenge but that this kind of cut would devastating to the health care in  this city and this state and we have to address it. Yes?Question: [Inaudible] 1,000 new jobs to impellent  the criminal justice reforms. Can you guys give any more detail on which  agencies are [inaudible]?Mayor: Yes we can.Director Hartzog: So, it""s spread across  multiple agencies – NYPD at $24 million in Fiscal Year ""20. The DA""s at about  $36 million. This also includes in digit defense provider. So, they""re  non-for-profits – about $10.3 million. OCME, $3.5 million – fire department  $538,000 and the law department as well $328,000 and we can get you the head  count for each of the agencies at the technical briefing.Question: Can you talk about if the Governor""s  budget is going to come out next week, why not wait - last year you did the  prelim-budget in February I believe. Why not wait till after the state""s budget  comes out to [inaudible] there""s not as much—Mayor: This is the legal day that is determined for the preliminary  budget. And we set the day many weeks ago. We certainly did not expect what we  heard in the State of the State. But again, whether it goes one first or the  other, it""s the same reality either way. This is not the setting of the budget,  this is the opening round. I""m hopeful we""ll all hear something better in the  Governor""s budget address. But the real action will be up at April 1st.  Way back.Question: Yeah, when you were in Albany you were  asked about the Governor""s remarks during the State of the State speech you  [inaudible] from commenting on at that point. What makes you think the threat  is more real now than it was a week ago?Mayor: Look, on the day of the remarks I typically try to offer some  space, and make sure that I have the full analysis. I was surprised by what I  heard as I was listening. But I did want to check to make sure that everything  was as I understood it to be. So, this is now having had a chance to understand  the details having seen the consistent reaction of people around the state that  are feeling what I feel. I want it to be very, very clear about how we analyze  this. Anna?Question: Can you discuss the possibly of a $500  million bailout for taxi drivers? I know that this is something that you have  not been warm to before, but given that you have this huge unfunded mandate and  a gap to close in the state budget, where does that idea stand as you know?Mayor: Well, it""s evolving in a productive way. So, I think everyone  heard various proposals in previous months that were just straight up public  bailouts. And I made it clear the City of New York could never reach those kind  of numbers. I heard numbers in the billions, which again would come out of our  expense funding. That was an impossibility. And even if you""re talking about  hundreds of millions of dollars we just don""t have that kind of money available  in public funds. Various conversations about whether there""s some place  elsewhere that could come from, the federal government historically has been  able to do some of these things and they print money. But, this task force that  was put together, working with the Council and with stakeholders has come up  with a different kind of model which would be largely based on private  financing. And the model has not been detailed yet. It""s an idea. But it is the  best idea I""ve heard so far. So you""ll forgive for some devil in the details,  you know "asterisks" to say let""s see what now could be shaped up based on it,  but at least it""s a more productive idea that might get us somewhere. We want  to help these taxi drivers. They""ve been through hell, we want to find a way to  help them and their families. Look, I look back and I am pained that we had  something that really would have helped in 2015 and that moment passed and I  wish the Council had acted then. I commend the Council for acting in 2018. I""ve  seen already that the minimum wage is helping, the CAPS are helping. But that  could have been done earlier. But that being said, we all are trying to find  some kind of solution that this is an idea that might actually offer a positive  way forward. Marcia?Question: Mr. Mayor, in the past you""ve talked  about a Tale of Two Cities. Now, it seems you""re talking about a tale of two  budgets. The City budget which does not have a gap, and the State budget which  has a huge gap. And I wonder if you think that that puts a target on the entire  budget as something that the state could look for to cut. So in addition to  Medicaid cuts, you could face cuts to aid to cities, aid to education, things  like that. It""s not necessary that they could limit the cuts to one area. So my  question to you is, what is your game plan for trying to limit the cuts that  could hit you in a lot of areas?Mayor: Marcia, you""re absolutely right. You""ve watched Albany for a  while, so you know their tricks. The fact is we""re very worried about Medicaid  cuts, we""re very worried about education cuts, we""re very worried about  Medicaid being saved on the back of education, and the bigger cuts being  transferred over. There""s lots of things to worry about. So first, we""re saying  in the spirt of cooperation, "hey, let""s all work together, find savings, find  reforms." We""re all always up for working together to solve a problem. There""s  been many times in recent years where that""s actually worked. And it""s quiet  behind the scenes efforts, but there""s actually been a number of those times  where the state worked with the city to save each other money or both money. So  we""re going to try and do that. But, as I mentioned in 2016 we had to fight  back the proposed Medicaid cuts, the proposed cuts to CUNY, we did. Working  with a lot of good stakeholders here and in Albany. So, we""re going to go and  we""re going to fight these cuts. The X-Factor here of course is the  legislature. Now, I would contend to you Marcia, the legislature has been very  consistent to their credit. They understand the importance of New York City to  this whole state, to the economy of the state, to the revenue of the state.  They have been very fair – meaning, today""s legislature. Andrea Stewart-Cousins  as the Majority Leader in the Senate, Carl Heastie as the Speaker in the  Assembly. Two people I have very close relationships with. But both of them  really are consistent in their dealings with New York City. 

So, I am hopeful  that they will believe that these cuts simply equal taking away health care  from people who need it or that if it was transferred over to education, then  you""d be taking away funding from kids who need better educations. I think  they""re going to not be satisfied with either of those alternativesQuestion: I""d like to follow up, if I may. Instead,  would you ask the legislature to consider – so that you wouldn""t have to deal  with these painful cuts to consider maybe some targeted tax hikes? Tax on the  millionaires, the pied-�-terre tax. Taxes that you""ve talked about before in the past.  Would you argue for tax increase as to help or hold harmless New York City at  this time?Mayor: Speake Heastie has spoken to this. And I""d say, the first thing I  would do is everyone lets work gather to save money, lets everyone work  together to figure out how to make the Medicaid program work better. The second  thing I""d do is say yeah, there are some places where there""s revenue that  really has not been tapped and that""s simple. The wealthy are not paying their fair  share in taxes that is true in New York State that is true all over this  country, not even close. Speaker Heastie has spoken to this. Of course that is  another piece of the equation that should be looked at. What would set back New  York State and New York City would be to cut health care, and cut education.  Yes?Question: Mr. Mayor, can we get back on the budget  [inaudible] the education mandates of about a quarter of a billion dollars for  education mandates. It says – could we get some specificity there as far as how  much is for special-ed, how much is for charter schools, and what are those  mandates?Mayor: Melanie will go over it with you. But I just want to make a point  clear. You know, obviously a state has very specific laws related to charter  schools and what localities are obliged to do to fund charter schools, and then  on special-ed there are clear mandates about providing special-ed to all  families who need it. When it comes to special -ed what we know happened in  this City for many, many years is many families didn""t get what they needed.  And we made a decision in the beginning and we worked closely with the  legislature to say we actually are trying to get special-ed to the families who  need it, we know it""s going to cost us more money. We""re going to do the  counter intuitive thing, instead of making it hard for people to get something  that costs money, we""re going to try and make it parent friendly and make it  work better. And that has been proceeding and that is costing a lot money but  it is the right thing to do. Melanie will go over that.Director Hartzog: Sure, so the growth from  adoption to prelim for Fiscal Year ""21, so same year comparison. Special  education is $274 million, charter schools are $93 million, there""s a couple of  different off-sets there, things coming down for saving, and I can go through  it with you in the briefing.Mayor: Gloria?Question: Mr. Mayor I want to go back to Marcia""s  point. And if you could talk a little bit more about what happened if you don""t  come to an agreement with the state about how you""re going to find these  savings to avert these Medicaid cuts?Mayor: All I can say is – I think it is again from a human level,  Gloria. I mean you""re talking about a lot of families who need health care who  just wouldn""t get it. That""s how I have to start. You""re talking about right  Health + Hospitals finally turned around. Clearly this would endanger the  strength of Health + Hospitals. It would mean less personnel, it would mean  longer wait times. It would mean a lot of things. We""re not there yet, so I  don""t want to predict specifics. But [inaudible] a lot of money and it""s a lot  of people who depend on that money, and it""s basic health care.Question: [Inaudible]  questions –Mayor: Yeah?Question: – about the 174,  I believe it is, in savings. Or 714, rather. That""s – are you doing anything  similar this year asking City agencies to find more savings like you did last  fiscal year?Mayor: We are going to  go back to agencies for more savings. Given what happened from November until  now, which is pretty astounding the sheer dollar figure, we""re structuring it a  little bit differently this year. But the savings process will be ongoing.  There""s no question about it. We will come back at exec with a substantial  amount of additional savings.Question: [Inaudible]  exact targets to [inaudible] –Mayor: Not at this  point but again interactive of what happens in the next few weeks.Question: [Inaudible] 2020  we""re having a national debate about universal health care. To what degree does  the three card monte [inaudible] about health care have relevance in terms of  the broader, national discussion we""re having in earnest about health care  [inaudible] –Mayor: I don""t know if  I would call it a three card monte because we are actually in a pretty open,  transparent place. We have now a specific policy of guaranteeing health care  for all New Yorkers. That is being implemented. It started this year. Next year  it will be in all five boroughs with NYC Care and obviously the expansion of  Metro Plus. So I think our approach is very straightforward and our goal is  universality and we actually think we have the tools to do it. Clearly, that""s  something New Yorkers should be proud of and believe in, in my view, and that  New York State should be supporting and protecting in every way they can. We  all want to get to the day where the national government actually creates a universal  health care system. But we – we""re now, in New York City, on the road to  something we""ve never had previously but it could be derailed if we saw  substantial Medicaid cuts.Question: Just to follow  up though [inaudible] Cuomo missing an opportunity for a presidential run to be  the first state that had universal [inaudible] New York City –Mayor: I liked your  booming voice. This is not a setting to do a political analysis. What""s clear  is –Question: [Inaudible]  that""s something that the progressive wing, they do support [inaudible]  fighting for years.Mayor: Clearly – look,  progressives in this state and in this country want universal health care and  no state has managed it. The federal government hasn""t managed it. Even with  what good has happened in Obamacare, the ultimate goal is still universal  health care. But New York City over these next few years is going to get closer  than anyone has ever gotten and that""s really, really powerful what that could  mean. That could be a great model for other places as we try and get to that  next step. But it – you know, I""m worried that we have to protect it. Go ahead,  way back there.Question: So, my  colleague, Brian, reported on the taxi bailout that some of the money would  come from the government potentially, some portion of the money. So, are you  willing to talk about $50 million, $100 million as part of the public private  partnership on the taxi bailout?Mayor: You won""t be  surprised that I am reticent to start offering dollar figures in the middle of  a budget briefing where I""m concerned about the state of the overall budget but  also where we don""t even have a plan yet to respond to. So, I""m saying as a  direction, this task force, this commission has come up with something really  interesting that hasn""t been on the table before.Question: [Inaudible] idea  of the City funding –Mayor: I want to see a  proposal and then we""ll respond to it. I have got to be very careful because  what I did not like was a whole lot of public funding because we just couldn""t  afford it. It""s all going to be about the quality of the proposal and what  level of exposure it has for the city. I""m open to a proposal. I think this is  a healthy step forward. That""s all I can say so far.Question: And second  question – are you discussing anything about like a hiring freeze or – if  things do go sour in Albany –Mayor: We""ve had a lot  of reduction already in different agencies. Melanie can talk about it. A lot of  the savings has been achieved already by telling agencies they could not fill  lines that they previously had had. There""s been different types of freezes  already. So a number of savings have been achieved. As I said you""re going to  see more between now and exec. But depending on how things turn in Albany, we –  look, there""s some really intense things we would have to do if it was really  bad. And again, what I think all New Yorkers don""t want to see is their  services cut, they don""t want to see City workers no longer have their jobs,  and we""re not there yet but we have to always worry about what could happen if  it was really, really big cuts. Do you want to speak about – anything else  about – or did I cover it? I covered it, look at that. Who has not gone? Jeff?Question: Mr. Mayor, in  your new idea section – it was pretty limited as you noted yourself –Mayor: Yes, indeed.Question: [Inaudible] six  years in, were there ideas that you had –Mayor: Oh, yes.Question: [Inaudible]  wanted to [inaudible] situation in Albany?Mayor: Right now it""s  not the time. We""ll know more after next week. There""s a lot on the agenda  right now that""s already underway that I""ve said, I think to you and to others,  I want to protect all the big initiatives that are underway already including  some of the things that you heard about the education piece of our gathering.  But there""s a lot more that is waiting to be announced if we believe we can  make it work. But we got to see what happens certainly next week as a first  step.Question: [Inaudible]  example?Mayor: I cannot because  that would be contradictory, wouldn""t it. I""m not going to offer something that  we want to announce if we believe there""s resources until there""s resources. Go  ahead.Question: What exactly is  this $90 million for the – I""m sorry $100 million for the reworking on 4th Ave  [inaudible]?Mayor: The Vision Zero  piece?Question: Yes.Mayor: Melanie or  whoever you choose, Melanie, want to speak to that? Vision Zero, 4th Avenue in  Brooklyn.Director  Hartzog:  It""s largely for the street reconstruction and putting up various pedestrian  walkways as part – in the middle of it. I think there""s a lot of detail. My  staff just handed me an entire page. I""m happy to talk more about it at the  technical briefing to give you a better sense of it.Question: [Inaudible]  slightly related topic [inaudible] budget. What do you think of the Governor  constantly [inaudible] about how you run the City and eyeing your budget to  build his?Mayor: I rise above it.  Bridget?Question: Mr. Mayor, two  [inaudible] questions. One, you talked about the savings program. One of the  big issues in your preliminary budget last year was a PEG program. So, to be  clear there is no PEG at this point, right?Mayor: No, I want you  to hear what I – there is not. Absolutely. To be clear, no. To be also clear,  what we have this year that we hadn""t had in the past was just a huge amount of  savings that had to be achieved between the November plan and now. And I want  to just remind everyone, that""s a really brief time frame and that""s basically  in two months Melanie and her team had to find, you know, $700 million in  savings because of those mandates from the State, because of the labor deal.  All of these things that are us keeping the City of New York moving forward and  dealing with our day to day needs. So, last time we came in and said here""s a  bunch of things we want to do to make savings happen by the exec, she went and  got those savings before the preliminary but there has to be even more now.  We""re structuring it, a different approach this time, but there""s definitely  more savings coming.Question: [Inaudible]  about three percent but as Melanie was saying, the revenues are only estimated  to rise about two percent. So, does that mean our reserves have gone down a  little? Where""s the –Mayor: No, reserves are  stable – and Melanie can sort of talk to you about how all the balances are  struck. Obviously, real savings is one of the key ways you make that come  together. You""ll say it more eloquently that I can.Director  Hartzog:  It""s a combination of both revenue coming in and yes, we have a cautious  forecast for Fiscal Year ""21 and also our aggressive savings plan.Question: [Inaudible] not  changed since last year at all?Director  Hartzog:  The reserve number has not changed, as I told you in my presentation – and we  can pull the slide back up and we can show you. The Fiscal Year ""21 reserves  are the same levels – total, $6 billion.Mayor: Okay, anyone who  has not gone yet? Anyone who has not gone? Yes?Question: [Inaudible] City  Council [inaudible] –Mayor: Yes, amen.Question: [Inaudible]Mayor: There""s a big  smile.Question: [Inaudible] how  much could the City save over what period of time and what projects  [inaudible]?Director  Hartzog:  So, we estimate that it""s about six percent overall for a number of projects.  It""s about $300 million. As you know we would be very cautious about that and  not actually take it down in the capital budget until we start the process and  actually see what the projects yield in terms of cost and then we would reflect  those changes.Mayor: Who has not  gone? Yes?Question: It looks to me  like the largest bucket of savings for the Education Department is about $39  million in savings related to the ATR pool. I""m wondering if you can offer some  details on where that [inaudible] force placing educators in schools or is it  from – I know that the City was subsidizing those salaries for ATR teachers  [inaudible] that actually hire [inaudible]?Director  Hartzog:  Sure, it""s not forced placing, to be clear. It""s actually maximizing teachers  who are in the ATR pool and getting them deployed to schools where they are  most needed. And right now – I""m happy to report by the way that we are 150 to  200 lower than the lowest year on record which was two years ago in terms of  our ATR pool. So, that means we""re actually maximizing teachers who are there  who can be deployed and keeping that pool low, and that results in savings  because you""re not actually hiring new teachers.Mayor: So, let me speak  to that for a second because it""s been an obsession of mine. I""ve had a lot of  meetings about the ATR pool, I assure you. So, this has always driven me crazy  that there was not a better approach. What has been done – I give the team at  DOE and OMB a lot of credit – is we have driven down the ATR pool and we will  drive it down further. So, this is now a new reality. Where perfectly capable  teachers who are going into the ATR pool when they didn""t even need to go into  the ATR pool, that has been changed so that teachers – if something changes in  their school and they need a new opportunity, they are being moved directly to  the new opportunity. So, it is a much more streamlined system, has greatly  reduced the ATR pool. It will go down further.Question: [Inaudible]Mayor: What""s the  number today? Do we have it? No, the total number of people in the ATR pool  right now? 725.Question: [Inaudible] I  know Comptroller Stringer spoke earlier to reporters cautioning that he wishes  the City would set aside more money to reserves and he said he""d like to see  the reserves out back to pre-de Blasio era numbers. I""m just curious if you  knew what that was?Mayor: Well, I""m  confused since we have the all-time highest reserves the city has ever had.Question: So was I  [inaudible].Mayor: Less.[Laughter]We  will get to you the exact details. I would certainly hear – and don""t remember  any – I mean the Council, the Public Advocate, I don""t remember any reserves  like this but we""ll give you all the history. Gloria?Question: [Inaudible]  realize that you""re saying you can""t talk about some of your big ideas before  you know more about the State budget but what should New Yorkers take away from  this budget as it pertains to what your priorities are for this coming year? I  mean we have a homelessness crisis that""s continuing, an affordability crisis,  a pedestrian fatality issue – so, what should they take away from this budget  that you are choosing to prioritize this year when you still [inaudible] –Mayor: Right, New  Yorkers, I think, are very, very aware of the big approaches that are being  taken meaning Vision Zero – you know we""ve announced a series of actions on  Vision Zero in the last few months and obviously worked with the Council on the  Streets Plan. These things don""t always happen just exactly the day the budget  is announced. A lot of them happened before. So, there""s been major, major changes  and improvements to Vision Zero in just the last few months.On  homelessness, just a few weeks ago I announced the Journey Home plan which I""ve  talked to a lot of people around this city and they found it very, very  important that this city has now for the first time in its history said we will  end long-term homelessness and we have an actual strategy that we""ve proven  works. So, what I find is that people I talk to all over the city, they hear  those new directions, they understand them. Right now we""re in a pause because  of what we see happening in Albany. This budget is about keeping this city  running and making sure our house is in order, our finances are stable. We""re  taking care of ourselves here in this budget.We  are dealing with the fact that one, we""re paying the bills we get from Albany  more and more and we have sustained cuts previously in every recent budget from  Albany on top of that. So that unfortunately creates a reality where  maintaining actually is a really, really valuable thing. And there will be  opportunities coming up as the budget picture clarifies to define the next big  pieces of the agenda. But this is not that day. This is a day to say let""s just  make sure our finances are strong and the city is stable.Question: [Inaudible] MTA.  You talked about these two big entities that are [inaudible] State and MTA and  Medicaid and how you don""t want to keep giving money to them if they are not  showing that they can manage it properly. But is there anything that you can do  in order to get some leverage if you do end up giving them more money for the  MTA, more – something that could be done about the amount of [inaudible] how  Medicaid is being administered? I mean, is that an negotiation [inaudible] –Mayor: Look, first of  all on Medicaid, we really believe we can all work together to save a lot of  money. And we""ve been trying to do that and sometimes it worked, sometimes it  has not worked and there wasn""t the kind of focus we want to see like on the  proposals that Steve Banks put forward. But, you know, right now, the  conversations have been going on weeks and weeks, and I""m still hopeful that  could yield a lot of money and be the good for everyone. I think the two  situations are different.The  MTA – they""re both run by the State, yes, but the MTA has been in a situation  where, you know, there""s been constant demand without the core problems being  addressed. So, I""m saying, look, I""m nobody""s fool. I""m not going to keep  sending the taxpayers"" money over until you address these problems. Everyone  can see them. But at the same time, to your point about, do you try and achieve  you know some back and forth in every deal, yeah, and I think April 1st is a  great example of that. We had real things we wanted to see addressed in that  plan that was passed in Albany but it was also important to that State that New  York City be a part of the plan and support it. The Governor and I had very  productive conversations and our teams did. We came up with the ten principles.  We actually worked together and got the plan passed. It""s going to happen.  That""s going to be, you know, I think revolutionary for the future of the MTA  that there""s now going to be permanent funding.So,  yeah, we do that back and forth but my point to the MTA is look, we""re not  asking much, come on, do a real audit, spend the money we already gave you,  spend the congestion pricing money and all that first, and then we stand ready  to help when we see things are real.Question: If there""s such  uncertainty coming from Albany, why not mandate a PEG program again this year?Mayor: Because it""s a  very fair question but again I""m emphasizing to you just – the savings now have  gotten so consistent as an approach. I think a lot of times we think about a  PEG program as sort of an exceptional act, an emergency act, and we""re kind of  in an ongoing state of needing to find savings. We don""t have a choice anymore.  I mean the – a lot of new bills suddenly showed up. Now, some of them, we""re  really happy about. We""re thrilled we have this labor deal. We weren""t sure  when it was going to happen. We""re thrilled we have it. We""re less thrilled  about major new spending being mandated from Albany even if we agree with the  underlying intent. So, we are going to be saving and saving and saving but if  you look at the magnitude of the cuts in the last few months, the savings in  the last few months, it""s consistent with what we would have done had we done a  PEG.Question: It seems like savings down from this time  last year? I think it was around a billion and now it""s at $714 billion.Mayor: Again, I""ll let Melanie speak to it, but I want to remind you  guys that just try and let me allow, allow me to be visual. So in our savings  keeps going up and each time you go up it is harder. Meanwhile, Albany aid goes  down, down, down, down. We got every single year we""re being cut $100 million  here, $200 million there, whatever it is, and then the unfunded mandates on top  of it. So this equation gets harder with every passing year. You""re, you""re  seeing caution if you think, wow, this is really cautious. You""re right,  because we""ve, we""ve been dealing with all of these trends. We believe there""s  a way out of it that we believe there""s a positive way forward, but we""re very,  very conscious and sober about that reality. But to year""s history question,  Melanie, and then you can also tell them about the history of reserves.Director Hartzog: So, yes, I""m at prelim of last  year we were at a billion over the two years. Two things were driving that we  had a onetime payment from H + H. They had owed the city money, back in Fiscal  Year ""15 and ""16 for retiree health benefits and – David is at Med [inaudible]  as well, or just the retiree? It was both. And because they were in such a good  cash condition and we had the transformation plan in place, they were able to  actually repay the city, those funds. And the other thing was debt service. As  you know, this depends on what we go forward with our refundings. So depends on  the timing of when we do that. Did you prelim –Mayor: History of reserves.Director Hartzog: History of reserves.Mayor: Everyone is on the edge of their seat Mel.Director Hartzog: So, Bloomberg Fiscal Year ""14  adopted budget, the reserve was $813 million. the Fiscal Year ""15 preliminary  budget was $1.96 billion. And now as we said, Fiscal Year ""21 preliminary is  $5.93 billion.Question: But wasn""t the Bloomberg reserves a  larger percentage of the budget at the time than the percentage of what the  reserves are now, the bigger budget we have?Director Hartzog: I""d – we""d have to get that  to you, but I think the point of it is that we actually have built up the  reserves. As the Mayor said, we continue to have a savings program with each  plan and we also continue to be cautious with our estimates on our revenue  forecast.Mayor: Yeah. I want to just tell you as the guy who has to live with the  results, I don""t, I of course you could ask percentage of budget, but I go with  if a crisis hit, how long could we keep things going? And when I look at these  kinds of numbers, it gives me a lot of comfort on behalf of all New Yorkers  that this is the kind of reserves that really would protect us. And the thing  we""re most worried about always is an economic crisis where it""s not just  about, you know, a fight you can wage in Albany and hopefully win, but  something where it""s beyond all of our reach. But these are really substantial  reserves. I also credit the Council every year. Every year they want to do  more. So we""ll have that conversation. We""re going to go to off topic in a  moment. Let me take a few more, Marcia. Okay. So I see on budget, four and  that""s it. And we""ll go off topic. Go ahead, Gloria.Question: Mr. Mayor, I think I know what you""re  going to say, but—Mayor: Do you want to say it for me? You could speed this whole process  up.Question: Do you have upcoming news on the property  tax commission report.Mayor: I do.Question:  When can we –Mayor: I have it right here, no. The, the report is being worked on as  we speak. It will be out in – this month. So literally we got about two weeks  left to this month, so it will be out in January. The preliminary report will  very clearly state the kinds of approaches that will be needed to address the  inequities in our property tax system. It will also, I""m going to say this  probably a hundred times over the next two years, works from the assumption of  being revenue neutral, which is the mandate that the council and I both gave to  the members of the commission. And once that preliminary report is out, there""s  going to be a very public process that begins that will lead us to a  legislation. Yes?Question: Another big chunk of education department  savings is coming from professional development. I""m just wondering if you can  speak to like what PD""s are being cut?Director Hartzog: I don""t have the specific PDs  on that. We can get it to you with the technical briefing, but I think the  point is we""ve been really working with Department of Education to see where  there is overlap in their professional development. Meaning how can they  essentially take advantage of existing trainings that they have instead of  continuing to do either contracted out or use resources within meaning their  own staff so we can get you the answers on that at the technical briefing.Question: There is implicit bias training which has  been a big question, is that on the table?Director Hartzog: No, it is not. No. It is  funded. Yes.Mayor: Yes, that is funded. For sure.Question: What is the total amount of professional  development? That means you""re finding like $31 million in savings.Mayor: You have it now or do you want to do it in the next piece?Director Hartzog: We should do it in the next  piece.Mayor: Let her do that in the technical [inaudible].Question: Mr. Mayor, you said they there""s more  initiatives to be announced if you can make it work. But I want to understand  even as Albany were to impose no cuts on the city, how, how would you afford  those initiatives? Where, where would you get funding?Mayor: We would to be able to put them forward. We""d have to believe  there was going to be revenue to back them. Just like everything else. Yeah, go  ahead.Question: But I guess you made it sound like it was  the uncertainty in Albany that""s making you not –Mayor: Okay. I""ll be very reasoned here. Fact, biggest state deficit  we""ve had in seven years by a lot. Fact, specific focus on Medicaid, which  exposes us to the tune of $2 billion and we don""t know where it""s going. I am  not going to be issuing a whole lot of grand new ideas until I have some more  definition. As early as next week hopefully we start to get better definition.  But that""s, that""s the balance we have to strike.Question: Sort of a recurring theme in your  discussions about the MTA has been in need for additional oversight  improvements and operation. The city lacks two of its board members. When are  you going to get them?Mayor: We hope that that will be acted on very shortly. There""s been a  lot of back and forth. I""m not going to get into detail. I only say, you know,  we want those seats filled and a matter of weeks hopefully. And we think that  can be done.Question: And if it""s not?Mayor: Let""s not worry about hypotheticals, my all-time favorite  statement. Okay. Last call on budget and non-budget, Marcia.Question: Mr. Mayor, there""s an abandoned property  at 4401 4401 Clarendon Rd in East Flatbush that""s been sitting there for years,  no one can find the owner.Mayor: Clarendon.Question: What?Mayor: I said Clarendon. I""m a Brooklynite – Clarendon.Question: Sorry, I come from Massachusetts.Mayor: I""m a convert.Question: They""ve wrapped up more than 232  violations. They owe more than $300,000 in fines between the Department of  Buildings and the Department of Sanitation. Now, the neighbors who live in  adjacent [inaudible] are upset because they feel anymore they can""t get  anything done. But they also can""t sell their house because it""s an attached house.  So their house is fine, but the attached house is abandoned and horrible. So  what can be done and can the City step in to help these people? One of the  people is a teacher and the other one works at Ground Zero and has Ground Zero  cancer.Mayor: Oh my God, Marcia, sincerely thank you for alerting me to this.  We got to help them. We got to help them because they are people who have  served the city. We got to help them because they should not be held liable for  whatever their neighbor did. And we got to help them because if the neighbor  property was doing this much damage to the rest of the community, it has to be  addressed. I""ll have the Buildings Commissioner follow up on it immediately.  Yes?Question: I have two questions. So first I, Chancellor Carranza has been  pushing for a repeal of [inaudible] –Mayor: I""m sorry for?Question: Overkill [inaudible] –Mayor: You""ll forgive me. I try and always be, ah, go ahead. Thank you.  I have been informed now, go ahead.Question: Assembly member [inaudible] has been  pushing that as well. Is that something you""re going to be pushing for this  session and what kind of like plan will you be pushing for?Mayor: I don""t have a big revelation for you here. We""re going to have a  lot more to say in the coming weeks on our future vision for education.  Clearly, you know what I feel about the specialized schools and I""m looking for  a solution. So, you know, again, I don""t want to preempt other things that  we""re going to say. The status quo doesn""t work that that much I know for sure.  So we""re going to be looking for solutions.Question: And then on [inaudible] report a January  15th deadline was set for schools to get back to the DOE with the timeline for  next steps. Can you say anything about –Mayor: I don""t have that update, but we""ll get to that to you later  today. Yes?Question: Can you talk a little bit about your  stance on bail reform? I think you""ve mentioned that you want judges to have  more discretion and do you feel like this puts you at odds with some of your  progressive allies like Carl Heastie who I think doesn""t share that assessment  that you [inaudible]?Mayor: I think I have gone through in these last weeks a better  understanding of where I think some of the disconnect is for a lot of people on  this issue. So I want to just take a moment to speak to that. Speaker Heastie  and I are very much united in general and specifically on the fact that bail  reform was absolutely necessary, you know, a lot of injustice was done. A lot  of people were held behind bars only because they couldn""t afford a small  amount of bail. That was inhumane, that was not good for keeping people away  from a life of crime. That was not good for the taxpayers. It was not good. So  the bail reform, absolutely achieved something we needed. There""s an entirely  separate question and I, again, I wish I had been able to figure out the need  to sort of separate this and clarify this previously, but no time like the  present. So I stood here, I believe it was 2015 but you all can check, because it  was talking to all of you. After the tragedy of the killing of officer Randolph  Holder and Officer Holder was assassinated by an individual who could not be  held despite a very substantial record of violence and violating court  instructions and evident mental health challenges could not be held because he  was not a flight risk. And what I""ve heard from a judges, again, I point to a  number of judges, I have a dialogue with them in the interviews before I decide  on the appointments, is that this is a constant frustration that goes back  many, many years. So again, I raised this issue publicly years ago bluntly at a  point where bail reform was not possible in Albany. It was a different State  Senate that was never going to do bail reform. Judicial discretion is a  standalone issue and it should be understood as a standalone issue. If a judge  has no choice but to only address flight risk and someone is not a flight risk  and their attorney can say, look, this individual shown up in court before or  whatever it is. And they can""t plausibly argue flight risk as a reason to hold  someone in, but someone is a threat to their neighbors and that can be proven  with fact that has to be addressable by a judge. And that should not be done  lightly. I think there should be very tight standards. I think anyone who is  concerned about potential bias, well bias has pervaded the American judicial  system. So I""m concerned about bias too. I don""t want to see that obviously.  And you know there should be very clear triggers and checks and balances, but I  don""t understand how for years and years and years our judges have not had more  flexibility in cases that presented the greatest threat. And I think that""s  something we could all unite around, finding a way to address that.Question: Just to  quickly follow up, you sort of addressed this a little bit, but what would you  say to critics who think you""re too like deferential to NYPD and the police?Mayor: I came  here to change policing in New York City and we have changed policing in New  York City and we""re going to change it more. And you""ll hear a lot more on this  in the coming weeks, certainly going to be talking about this at State of the  City. 

But I think you""ve already heard from Commissioner Shea some very clear  indicators of a new direction. You know, critics come with the job but, you  know, the whole point, one of the number one things I came here to do was to  break what I thought was a horrible status quo in this city where police and  communities were divided and we were actually being made less safe. And a whole  host of reforms were available that were ignored. And one by one, we""ve been  implementing those reforms and they work. So, no, I think, the question is  always how do you move the maximum change that will actually work and stick and  keep people safe at the same time. And I really – I think the NYPD is done an  amazing job making these changes and making them quickly. But I think Dermot  Shea is going to take us to a very different place.Yes?Question: [Inaudible] two years back I know you know FDNY EMT Yadira Arroyo was killed allegedly  by a man who was homeless and was supposed to be taking drugs. His father had  gone to the police department –Mayor: You mean  medication?Question: Yes [inaudible]  prior to that, we do these stories all the time where part of this national  consensus that we""ve had about institutionalizing [inaudible] mentally ill goes  back decades. [Inaudible] when you talk to [inaudible] Commissioner Kelly,  Commissioner O""Neill, he mentioned that there""s now the severely mentally ill  people are being warehoused in public libraries and in jails and in transit  systems across the United States. Is it not time to have some other kind of  discussion that integrates his criminal justice issue with what really is a  cruel treatment of severely mentally ill who are now left to their own devices.Mayor: Well look, you  know, you remember how all this began in large measure with  deinstitutionalization, with no plan, with no concern for the human beings  involved and thousands and thousands of people were just dumped on the streets  because the mental care institutions were not humane and all the promises that  were made about giving people an alternative never happened. So, that""s how  this very horrible, you know, trend started. But now, I think we""re trying to  do something profoundly different. I""ll state the obvious if you said, hey, you  have a magic wand, how do you solve that part of the crisis? I would say, give  me a national health care system that treats mental health the same way it  treats physical health, and we would be in an entirely different place. If  mental health care were available on a very broad scale and it was affordable  and accessible and everyone knew how to get it, we""d be having an entirely different  discussion. We""re trying with one hand tied behind our back to come up with the  next best thing, guaranteed health care system without the benefits of a  national structure. But still, we believe we can build it over the next few  years. And through Thrive, trying to constantly increase access to mental  health facilitation of people getting treatment, you know, de-stigmatizing, you  know, making mental health part of what every agency works on. We""re trying  with imperfect tools to get somewhere. What I do know is there""s particular  cases and, you know, a very important review was done a few months ago by Chief  Monaghan and Commissioner Barbot that makes very clear that agencies have never  worked together. They don""t really communicate on this stuff. They don""t really  understand how to make sense of it. So now, we""re ordering an entirely  different relationship between all of them. And we""re – look, we don""t control  the courts, don""t control the DA""s, but we work with them constantly. But this  is going to take courts, DA""s, Police Department, health care agencies and  social service agencies all talking to each other all the time case by case,  literally person by person. We are trying to engineer that now. It""s never  existed. I think that would avoid some of these tragedies. I hope it would  avoid all of these tragedies, but that""s what we""re trying to build now. I  think we""ll get somewhere. I think we all shouldn""t kid ourselves though, it is  the absence of affordable, universal health care. That""s really the basis of  this crisis.Okay,  let""s see a few more before we go. Yes?Question: There was  an analysis published today that found that of the 36 mandatory inclusionary  housing sites so far underway, all of them have been developed with substantial  subsidies. I""m wondering, the whole premise of the program was to have  market-rate rents basically subsidize the creation of affordable units. Can you  call it a success if all of those sites are also getting substantial funds?Mayor: You""re  referring to the report –Question: [Inaudible]  Manhattan Institute, but the numbers are the numbers. So, I was –Mayor: Whoa,  whoa, whoa – that was a highly challengeable statement.Question: [Inaudible]Mayor: I respect  her. But the Manhattan Institute is never objective. They are ideologically  driven, that doesn""t make them wrong all the time, I""m just saying start with  the fact that they do have an ax to grind. We believe their numbers are faulty,  that they ignored a whole lot of important facts. I will have the Deputy Mayor  and their team – do you want to say something now, or – if you""re ready, you  can. Again, I""m saying, I think, we object the entire analysis that it  misrepresented the program, the number of units coming on, how they""re coming  on, etcetera. So, we can get you more on that but I""m not going to accept that  the numbers are accurate. Mandatory inclusionary housing does work because it""s  never been, it""s going to achieve everything, but it achieves this essential  reality of agreeing that there""s going to be a certain number of affordable  apartments and getting a lot of private money to help make them happen, then  they wouldn""t happen if it wasn""t there. So, I believe the concept is not only  correct, it has been proven to work, but we will show you our counter to their  numbers.Last  call – I""m sorry [inaudible] you""re establishing the far right-wing of the  group here.[Laughter]Question: [Inaudible] no  comment on that. But this is a year where there will be a lot of elections –  four in certain parts of the city. Last year you made a major push to ensure  that there were enough poll sites. You know, we did a look at some of the  places that the Board of Elections asked to be a poll site and sent a note back  saying, no, can""t do it, don""t pick us, including some very large cultural  institutions. Altogether, some of the institutions that the city forgoes about  $600 million in property tax revenue from, and that""s before you even start  looking at any City grants or State money that they get. So, my question first  is, do you think that there is some institutional civic duty that these  entities have?Mayor: Sure. I""m  glad you""re raising it because look, we waited so long for early voting. I  mean, you know, this is – this one that seems to drive me crazy – the state  that we all like to think we""re so special, except why were we so backwards for  so long? Right? We finally got early voting after all sorts of States, big and  small, all over country, red and blue, had it for a long, long time. Well,  guess what? If you""re going to have early voting, you have to find a place to  do it. In fact, I wanted the Board of Elections to choose more places than they  did choose ultimately. We made progress – I don""t think they still went as far  as they could have. We got real issues to resolve. There""s been some legitimate  concerns about schools, for example, where there was more disruption than  people hoped for. And I think your point is very fair, if we""re funding an  organization, they should bend over backwards to work with us. I will only tell  you this because I don""t know the details – I""ll get a briefing on it and I""ll  be happy to respond to you more fully in the next couple of days. But to your  core question, yeah, of course. I want everyone to, you know, stretch as far as  they can to make this work. We""re talking about the most consequential  presidential election – if I said in our lifetimes, I don""t think I""d be  overstating it – but certainly in many years. We want everyone to participate.  There""s a whole lot of other offices on the ballot. Yeah, it""s very important  that there be full participation. You can only do that if you have sites that  actually work. So, we""re going to be putting a lot of energy into trying to do  our share, Board of Elections has to do their shareQuestion: [Inaudible]  the briefing. But current election law does say that if a site were to object,  that you could withhold those benefits, potentially claw back property tax  abatements or withhold grants. Is that something the City would consider?Mayor: Look, you  know, this is a brand new reality. Obviously, we would like to pursue the path  of peace with organizations that we care about a lot, cultural organizations  and our schools. You know, I want to see if we can figure out something that  address – there""s real valid concern sometimes people raise, how do we address  those concerns? And again, I wish I controlled the Board of Elections and we  could make it more efficient. We don""t, but we can at least negotiate with  them. So, I""m aware of the fact you raised, that""s not my first choice. I think  we can resolve this more amicably.Alright,  everybody. Thank you very much.

日期:2022/01/14点击:20