Christine Quinn Mayor

7/30/2019 Christine Quinn Mayor

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Gothamist 2013 Mayoral Questionnaire

Candidate Overview

1 Young New Yorkers have the most at stake when it comes to the future of our city. More and

more young people are finding it harder to find a job, or an affordable apartment in theneighborhood they grew up in. I am the only candidate in this race with a real record of

delivering results for New Yorkers, and the only candidate with a concrete plan to keep New York

City a place for middle class families and one that enables as many New Yorkers as possible to

join the middle class. Ive focused on jobs, helping create 3,000 new jobs at the Brooklyn Navy

Yard, and passing legislation providing a living wage to more workers in the five boroughs. As

mayor Ill take a neighborhood focused approach to economic development, bringing cleantech

jobs to the South Bronx, manufacturing jobs to Sunset Park, and exporting jobs to Staten Island. I

focused on education, saving 4,100 teachers from layoff and helping increase full day pre-

Kindergarten by nearly 10,000 seats. As mayor Ill make our schools even better by creating a

mentor teacher program, empowering parents to play a stronger role in their childrens education,

extending learning time for students, moving away from teaching to the test, and creating thestrongest targeted literacy program in the nation. And I focused on housing, building thousands of

affordable apartments, and passing the Safe Housing Law, which has already led to floor to

ceiling renovations in more than 5,000 units in the citys worst buildings. In the next 10 years Ill

bring 40,000 new units of affordable middle income housing to the city and more importantly,

well make that housing permanently affordable.

2 I am proud as speaker to have consistently delivered for New Yorkers, sometimes working with

Mayor Bloomberg and other times disagreeing with him. New Yorkers care about results, and

evaluate mayors based on whether they delivered those results. As Speaker, I have passed seven

on-time, balanced budgets that protected critical social services, firehouses and libraries. I

stopped teachers from being laid-off and fought against overcrowding and for greater parental

involvement in our schools. I created thousands of new jobs, cracked down on bad landlords andbuilt thousands of new units of affordable housing. I helped keep our neighborhoods safe by

putting more cops on the street, funding bulletproof vests for every officer, and working to

improve police-community relations. As Mayor I would continue to work every day to produce

real results for New Yorkers.

Personal Questions

1 I own my home, and I believe it is premature to discuss Gracie Mansion. As they say, it is bad

luck to measure for drapes.

2 I have 2 rescue dogs, Justin and Sadie.

3 I do not have children.4 One of my first apartments was broken into.

Safety

1 The NYPDs ability to keep our city safe depends in part on police having a relationship with the

citizens they protect. The overuse of Stop and Frisk has jeopardized that relationship in many

communities of color, but I believe with some reforms we can strengthen the practice and


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strengthen police community relations in a way that makes everyone safer. Through my advocacy

on this issue weve already seen some progress. I worked with Police Commissioner Ray Kelly to

reach an agreement giving the CCRB power to prosecute its own cases. At my request, the NYPD

has taken steps to improve training, monitoring, and protocols around SQF, and create an early

warning system to identify officers who receive public complaints. Since then weve seen the

number of stops go down, but we clearly still have more work to do. Thats why I recentlyannounced legislation creating an Inspector General that will increase accountability and

oversight of police practices without impacting the NYPDs ability to keep us safe. In fact, after

Los Angeles instituted an IG, crime actually fell by 33%, and public satisfaction with the LAPD

rose to 83%. That said, I will not support legislation providing a cause of action on racial

profiling in state courts. I believe this presents a real risk that police policy decisions could be

taken away from the Mayor and Commissioner and that real legal solutions already exist through

CCRB and the federal courts.

2 I support the legalization of medical marijuana and Governor Cuomos efforts to decriminalize

possession of small amounts of marijuana.

3 I recently announced legislation that will create an Inspector General for the NYPD, which will

increase accountability and oversight of police practices without taking a step backwards in our

fight against crime. In fact, after Los Angeles instituted an Inspector General, crime actually fell

by 33%, and public satisfaction with the LAPD rose to 83%. While some have responded by

proposing that the City ban the use of stop, question, and frisk, I believe this is a better solution.

Our police officers do tremendous work every day, keeping our city safe from both traditional

street crimes and the threat of terrorist attacks. But over the last few years we've seen current

levels of stop, question and frisk lead to growing distrust of the NYPD in many communities of

color. This is more than just an issue of civil rights - it undermines the NYPD's ability to get

critical information on criminal activity from community members, and ultimately threatens the

safety of both police officers and residents. I am proud to have the support of the New York

Times on this issue and so many New Yorkers. In the coming weeks, the City Council will vote

to pass the Inspector General Bill, and help make the safest city in America even safer.

4 I believe that the NYPD has to carefully balance protesters' right to free speech with safety and

security concerns. I have a long history of public protest from my years as a housing advocate to

my efforts to convince organizers to allow LGBT New Yorkers to march openly in the St.

Patricks Day parade and have been arrested several times in acts of civil disobedience. As Mayor

I would ensure that the NYPD does everything in its power to protect the rights of protesters

while protecting the city at large.

5 I am pleased that due to the Council's work on this issue, the NYPD has has recently agreed to

significant changes in this area. Under their new protocols, the AIS will now investigate all

accidents that include a serious injury. Additionally, the squad has increased the staffing for the

unit, which will now be called the Collision Investigation Unit. This change will help ensure that

prosecutors have the information they need to determine if any criminality exists, and will help

provide the city with data to inform changes where necessary to make our street safer.

6 I support the current open container laws that prohibit drinking alcohol on residents' stoops or in

public parks.

Transportation, Bikes, And Bike Lanes

1 I occasionally go for a bike ride with my wife, Kim, at the Jersey Shore, and go to SoulCycle for

exercise several times a week.


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2 I support bike lanes, but too often the Department of Transportation has implemented them

without the consultation of communities and community boards. Thats why I passed legislation

requiring the Department of Transportation to consult with community boards before any future

bike lanes are installed. I believe that we can find a way to balance the needs of bike riders with

the concerns of pedestrians and community members going forward.

3 I ride the subway occasionally - often to Yankee Stadium.4 I support expanded and increased taxi service in all five boroughs.

5 In 2008, I supported a congestion-pricing proposal, which passed in the City Council but

ultimately was not enacted in Albany. I dont anticipate this issue returning at the state level but

my position on congestion pricing has not changed.

6 Decks are an important feature of our Staten Island Ferries, enjoyed by residents and tourists

alike, and I am pleased that they will continue to be a feature in the new ferries being acquired by

the Department of Transportation, as they have been historically.

7 As we were reminded by recent tragedies, the safety of transit riders must remain a top priority

for the MTA and the City. I agree with the MTAs decision to pilot platform doors on the L line. I

look forward to working with them to evaluate the success of this project, and to continue to

pursue other ideas to ensure the safety of all New Yorkers using mass transit.

Health

1 I believe Mayor Bloomberg deserves credit for making the Department of Health a champion of

innovative public health initiatives. On some of his initiatives, such as the smoking ban and

calorie labeling, I have not only agreed with him but have championed the groundbreaking

legislation in the City Council. On others like restaurant grading, I have had serious concerns and

the Council is considering legislation that would make necessary improvements. As Mayor, I will

direct my Health Department to evaluate the effectiveness of many of these initiatives and

determine if they should be expanded or amended. Im also proud to introduce legislation to raise

the smoking age in New York City to 21, which will be another great tool in our effort to help

young people avoid becoming addicted to cigarettes.

Disaster

1 The redevelopment of New York Citys waterfront communities post-Sandy will be the biggest

infrastructure project of our time. While this will undoubtedly be a citywide effort, we must work

with each individual community to meet their needs and desires with respect to rebuilding. In the

weeks and months following the storm, I met with New Yorkers in affected neighborhoods and

heard from them first hand. Some communities like those in Staten Island are eager to sell, and

some, like Breezy Point, are looking to rebuild. We should work to meet the specific desires of

distinct communities and individuals wherever possible, while making sure we rebuild stronger

and smarter.

2 I was among the first elected officials in the nation to outline a plan to rebuild after Sandy and

protect against future climate change. My plan includes improvements to our gasoline

distribution network, and our power, transit, and sewer systems. At my request, the NYC Building

Resiliency Task Force has convened emergency sessions to look at possible changes to our

building code. And Im working with Mayor Bloomberg and Senator Schumer to conduct studies

that will determine what defenses, such as storm surge barriers, the City should construct. Make

no mistake we will rebuild and rebuild stronger.


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Development

1 When it comes to chain stores, it is critical to find a balance between preserving the character of

our neighborhoods, and creating new job opportunities for New Yorkers. Community input is

crucial, and in some neighborhoods weve already found creative new development tools. On theUpper West Side, we were able to limit the size of storefronts and banks on parts of Broadway,

Columbus, and Amsterdam. As Mayor I would continue to take this kind of community-based

approach to development in neighborhoods around the city.

2 No. Ive long expressed my concerns about Walmarts predatory business practices, lack of

employee benefits, and low wages. As a result, I have been a vocal opponent of allowing Wal-

Mart to open a store in New York City.

3 No, I dont believe we should be using the limited publically owned land our city has left to

create market rate housing. I would instead work with NYCHA residents and make sure they had

a real voice in decisions about this property, and ultimately look for opportunities to build new

permanently affordable housing.

4 Tax subsidies can be an important tool to drive economic growth. That said, we need to make sure

that private entities receiving city benefits are living up to their end of the deal, whether that

means creating and maintaining jobs, providing affordable housing, or other public benefits. I

have called for regular reviews of existing tax incentives, so that if companies are not meeting the

terms of the agreement we can respond aggressively and appropriately.

5 While "public-private" models can be important tools used in the creation of new parks, I believe

they need to be considered on a case by case basis and with the full input of the local community.

6 I am proud to have passed legislation requiring the City to create comprehensive waterfront

strategies that look at all of the competing needs on the waterfront. As mayor, I will work to find

a balance between residential, commercial, industrial, and recreational uses. In addition, we need

to make sure that whatever we build must be protected from future natural disasters and climate

change, which is why I convened a building resiliency task force that will identify potential

building code changes this summer.

Education

1 We need to speed up hearings and disciplinary decisions for teachers who have been assigned to

"rubber rooms." The Department of Education and the United Federation of Teachers agreed in

2010 that disciplinary decisions should take no more than 30 days after a hearing has ended, but

that still isnt happening in every case. Having teachers sitting for months in reassignment

centers isnt good for them and isnt good for taxpayers.

2 Yes. I supported the DOEs recent efforts making the morning-after-pill available to high school

girls at 13 public schools.

3 I support charter schools. To have charter schools in New York City, you have to have co-

locations. That said, you know a system isn't working properly when both the proponents and the

opponents say it's not working. We need to improve the way we do co-locations - both charter in

district, and district in district - by including community and parent input into the process. We

also need to finally make good on the promise that charter schools would be laboratories for

innovations that could be implemented citywide. This is just one of the reasons Ive proposed a

system-wide success study that would identify best practices among all our best schools so we

can apply those techniques to other schools that serve similar populations.


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Miscellaneous

1 I have long opposed term-limits for elected officials in New York City.

2 Services like AirBnB can provide residents the ability to earn some additional income and allow

tourists to find lower-cost accommodations. However, unscrupulous landlords can use them to

turn their buildings into illegal hotels that put safety at risk and reduce the availability of housing

for New Yorkers. I continue to work with all stakeholders towards finding a solution that mightallow for safe uses of this service, without violating zoning laws or creating hazardous conditions

for both residents and tourists.

Documents

Christine Quinn Mayor