Mayor Trumpets Plan In LIC Speech
New York City should take control of its own destiny when it comes to a minimum wage increase and a tax hike to fund universal pre-kindergarten (UPK), Mayor Bill de Blasio charged during his State of the City address Monday afternoon, Feb. 10, at Long Island City’s LaGuardia Community College.
Six weeks into his administration, de Blasio stated he would work to create a city “government with a soul,” borrowing a phrase once said by the college’s namesake, Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia.
“We must lay the foundation now for the strength and stability of New York’s future … a future of greater equality and opportunity,” de Blasio told the crowd in Long Island City Monday. “We demand a city that lifts the floor for those struggling day to day-that offers every New Yorker a fair shot … because that is the city that we all signed up for.”
Hoping to advance those goals, de Blasio announced the city would formally ask the state legislature to approve legislation granting the city home rule in raising the minimum wage. The $8 statewide minimum was enacted on Jan. 1, but the Assembly recently approved a bill to boost the minimum wage to $9 next year.
In asking for minimum wage autonomy, de Blasio said the city would “send a powerful signal to the people of New York that we honor their work-and that we are committed to making work pay.” He added that city residents should not be “relegated to the ranks of the poor when putting in a full week’s work.”
De Blasio also defended a similar home rule request to enable a tax hike on New York City’s wealthiest residents to fund free, full-day UPK for every preschooler in the five boroughs. In his State of the State address last month, Gov. Andrew Cuomo indicated there were funds available to expand universal pre-k in NewYork City without any tax hikes.
“We’re not askingAlbany to raise the state income tax by a penny to pay for universal pre-k and afterschool programs here in New York City,” the mayor said. “We’re simply asking Albany to allow New York City to tax itself-its wealthiest residents, those making a half-million or more a year.”
The mayor contended that any additional state funds for education be provided to city public schools, thereby fulfilling legal obligations made in the Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit decision in 2006.
Hours after de Blasio’s address, however, State Senate Co-Majority Leader Dean Skelos told reporters he would block any bill granting the proposed city UPK tax increase. De Blasio later blasted Skelos’ remarks in a statement, charging “It’s time for Albany to give New York the homerule right to ask the wealthiest to pay just a little more in taxes.”
The mayor also pledged to “extend the reach of living wage standards” through legislation and an executive order “to increase the number of living wage jobs offered by employers that the city subsidizes.”
De Blasio also called for increased resources for the City University of New York (CUNY) to better prepare students in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields. With the city’s technology industry burgeoning, the mayor set a goal of having “the majority of skilled technologyrelated jobs in New York City are being filled by those educated in New York City schools” within eight years.
Turning to housing, de Blasio outlined a plan to require developers to construct nearly 200,000 units of affordable housing in the years ahead. This would provide shelter to “between 400,000 and 500,000” working residents across the city.
Last week, the mayor announced “a top-flight team of housing and planning experts” to construct the framework of the affordable housing plan. The team’s report is scheduled to be released on May 1.
De Blasio also proposed the creation of municipal identification cards for undocumented New Yorkers “so that no daughter or son of our city goes without bank accounts, leases, library cards … simply because they lack identification.”
“To all of my fellow NewYorkers who are undocumented, I say: New York City is your home too, and we will not force any of our residents to live their lives in the shadows,” de Blasio added.
Even with those goals, de Blasio acknowledged the city is facing an “unprecedented” budgetary challenge, most notably 150 unsettled municipal labor contracts, federal government gridlock and questions about state funding.
“When you take all of these factors in account, we are facing an uncharted path,” the mayor said. “In the face of this situation, we will be honest with New Yorkers about their government. We will navigate toward a future that is progressive and fiscally responsible.”
“It will not be easy. But we will not turn away from the challenge,” he added.
