October 12, 2015Mayor Bill de Blasio: I just want to invite you all to Wednesday night – we’re going to have a wonderful town hall meeting in Washington Heights, talking about rent protections and our first-ever rent freeze for tenants in this city, and we think it’s very important to get the word out to tenants about their rights, to make sure they have a chance to ask their questions and to hear their concerns. So I’m looking forward to the town hall meeting Wednesday. We had a great parents’ town hall meeting in Canarsie a couple of weeks ago. And I know you guys are anxious to see the wonderful dialogue – you’re going to see a lot of dialogue now and going forward – and I’m looking forward to that. With that, we welcome your questions. Question: Mayor, on the MTA deal, what convinced you that this time around the state would not divert funds that are meant to go to the city? Why were you comfortable going up to $2.5 billion?Mayor: It’s a very balanced deal. You know, there’s a lot of good reforms and guarantees in the deal. I think it’s good for everyone. It’s good for our straphangers. We said all along we were ready to, you know, make a contribution if we got a fair deal for everyone, and I think the state worked with us well to get to that fair deal. Question: Mayor – has – Mayor – Question: What can you tell New Yorkers to expect as a result of this deal that you’ve reached?Mayor: I think it strengthens the MTA. I’m very proud of the fact that this plan will strengthen the MTA for the long haul. We’ve got a lot of work to do to make the MTA better, and I’ve been calling on the state obviously to keep working to make the MTA work better for all New Yorkers. We thought this was a fair and balanced plan we think will strengthen the MTA for the long haul. Question: Mr. Mayor, you were – Question: [inaudible] frustration that when New Yorkers, you know, have a bad subway ride, they tend to blame City Hall even though you’re not really in control of the MTA –Mayor: Look, I don’t blame any New Yorker who doesn’t spend all day focused on the governmental organizational chart. Obviously, the MTA is the responsibility of the state. The governor names the leadership of the MTA. But working together, we got to a cooperative outcome that absolutely will strengthen the MTA – and again, some very good reforms and guarantees in the plan. Question: Mr. Mayor, you got the right to approve or point out what programs you’d like the MTA to spend money on. Are there things that you’d like the MTA to spend money on?Mayor: I want the MTA to spend money on things that really help straphangers, that help make the trains come more frequently, that make the ride better for everyday New Yorkers. That’s certainly what we’re going to focus on, and I think this plan gives the city the opportunity to have a lot more say in the decisions of the MTA. [Commotion]Question: [inaudible] commissioned a report that cost them $250,000 – Mayor: Say again?Question: NYCHA commissioned a report that they spent $250,000 that concluded that higher-income residents moving into NYCHA neighborhoods hurts the NYCHA residents. I wonder if this plays into your decision-making at all with regards to the plan – the in-fill plan – to build market-rate and affordable housing, and how you think that might then affect – Mayor: I haven’t seen the report, but I can say for sure we believe that the right kind of development on NYCHA sites will create more affordable housing for neighborhood residents, and that’s one of the motivating factors – to create more affordable housing. The other factor is to get more resources into NYCHA so we can sustain it for the long haul. We all know that NYCHA’s been in financial trouble, and it’s our number 1 source of affordable housing in this city for over 400,000 people. So our plan will help to stabilize the finances of NYCHA for the long run. [Commotion]Question: Mayor de Blasio – Mayor de Blasio, has Harendra Singh, the businessman who was indicted on Long Island over – Mayor: You know, you – you may be small, but you pack a punch, so it’s very impressive. Go ahead. Question: Has the indicted businessman Harendra Singh ever asked you for favors in the city? He’s a donor of yours and he’s on a lot of your committees. How well do you know him?Mayor: I haven’t seen the details of his case. Obviously, you know, the justice system is going to pursue it, and, you know, that’s as it should be. Question: Do you know him well?Mayor: I don’t know him that well. Question: REBNY filed a lawsuit against your administration over a hotel conversion bill. Do you have any thoughts about –Mayor: Oh, we obviously think the bill was appropriate. And I haven’t seen what the lawsuit alleges, but we believe the bill was appropriate and had to do with, you know, the real changes going on in our economy and how we make sure we’re planning carefully given what’s changing in our economy. [Commotion]Question: [inaudible] two-game suspensions – Mayor: Say again?Question: Chase Utley’s two-game suspension – [inaudible] wanting to appeal it – Mayor: He can appeal all he wants, but he’s guilty as sin. I mean, that is a tackle. I was – you know, I didn’t get to watch the game – that part of the game live – I watched the beginning, but I didn’t stay up that late. And I woke up in the morning and I went on Mets.com, and they’re saying look at this controversy. And then I actually watched the tape – I was astounded. It wasn’t even close. It was a tackle. It was illegal. It was sickening. And he – you know, I guess he has a right to appeal, but that appeal should be immediately dismissed. He should – he should serve that suspension. And the rules are pretty clear – he shouldn’t have done it – but if Major League Baseball needs to tighten up their rules, they should, because that’s just not how the game is supposed to be played. Question: What happens if he shows up to Citi Field tonight?Mayor: I think the people of New York City will let him know how they feel. It’s unbelievable. He deserves all the boos he gets. Question: Mayor, where are you going to be watching the game?Question: [inaudible] the governor after reaching this deal with the MTA?Mayor: Again, we have to start the parade, but let me say, this is – I’ve always said, I look forward to working with the governor whenever it can serve the people of New York City. And in this case, we were able to serve the people of New York City.