Opening Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by Andrew M. Cuomo at the Crain’s Business Mayoral Forum
New York, NY — The following are opening remarks, as prepared for delivery, by Andrew M. Cuomo, candidate for Mayor of New York City, at the Crain’s Business Mayoral Forum.
Cuomo outlined a detailed blueprint for New York City’s revival — focused on public safety, education, housing, tax relief, infrastructure, and economic growth — while warning against ideological policies that threaten the city’s recovery and competitiveness.
Cuomo Used His Remarks to Highlight His Proposed Policy Agenda:
Public Safety
Hire 5,000 additional NYPD officers, with 1,500 assigned to the subway system.
Restore force levels to those under Dinkins and Giuliani.
Education
Maintain mayoral control of NYC schools.
Double the number of specialized high schools.
Expand Gifted & Talented programs and raise the charter-school cap.
Taxes & Economic Policy
Eliminate taxes on tips and overtime, aligning with federal law.
Institute a 2% property-tax cap for homeowners.
Eliminate income tax for residents earning up to 200% of the federal poverty level.
Housing
Build 500,000 units of affordable housing.
Subsidize reopening of 25,000 vacant rent-stabilized units.
Accelerate office-to-housing conversions with flexible incentives.
Reform the 485x program and reinstate 421-a to spur development.
Rezone industrial zones where appropriate to expand mixed-use housing.
Infrastructure
Support the Interborough Express and improved MTA capital-plan management.
Complete large-scale projects — 2nd Avenue Subway, Moynihan Train Hall, L Train Tunnel — on time and on budget.
Continue to attract global events — Super Bowl, World Series, international conventions, Formula 1 — to boost tourism.
Rikers
Halt borough-based jail construction (billions over budget, years behind).
Rebuild modern jails on Rikers Island with free bus service for visitation.
Redevelop existing borough sites into housing and commercial hubs.
Remarks as prepared below:
New York City is at a crossroads, and the stakes are high. We will either see the city dramatically decline, or see a city of rebirth.
Major economic forces shaped the development of our nation’s great cities in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s — and major forces are now shifting the urban landscape once again. COVID was transformative in many ways. Greater flexibility means place-based strategies are minimized.
Step one is to acknowledge and stabilize the situation: maximize people back in offices and slow — and even reverse — the exodus.
Public safety is still job one. I would hire 5,000 police officers and post 1,500 in the subways. That was the force level during Dinkins and Giuliani. We must make New York feel safe.
Quality public education will keep young families in the city. It would be a serious mistake to roll back mayoral control. Eliminating the Gifted & Talented program and the refusal to increase the charter-school cap are similar setbacks. I would increase both dramatically — doubling the number of specialized high schools.
Step two is to look in the mirror. There are not many farms in New York City. We are a financial and commercial capital. We are a regulated capitalist economy. We are not socialists.
We all saw the foreshadowing of the danger of that mentality when we lost the Amazon project in Queens — and 50,000 jobs — due to socialist opposition. Corporate tax incentives in the highest-taxed city: a mortal sin.
My opponent’s proposal to provide “free everything” funded by raising taxes is pure ideological fantasy. A 14 percent income tax would create an express airline to Florida. His proposal would not equalize corporate taxes with New Jersey as he claims. New Jersey only has a state corporate tax, but New York imposes a state and city corporate tax, as well as an MTA tax. His proposal would actually double New York’s rate compared to Jersey — roughly 11 percent versus 24 percent.
Do you think corporations can swim across the Hudson?
And his program would require all city funding, because his state funding proposal could never materialize. The state cannot raise taxes on corporations statewide with the income dedicated only to New York City. A Buffalo legislator could never vote to tax Buffalo corporations so the revenue could go to New York City. They might send snow — but not cash.
I believe we should be lowering taxes. I would eliminate taxes on tips and overtime, aligning with the federal government; institute a 2 percent property-tax cap for homeowners; and eliminate income taxes for those making 200 percent of the federal poverty level.
The so-called “freeze the rent” proposal is also fatally flawed. It would freeze only the rent-stabilized units — about 25 percent of all units — while 75 percent would still pay the increase. And the 25 percent are not means-tested, so wealthy tenants gain a windfall. It is a recycled De Blasio proposal — and who wants to recycle De Blasio? It didn’t work then, and it won’t work now.
We need 500,000 units of affordable housing — because the rents are too damn high.
B- and C-class office conversions must be accelerated with feasible incentives and variances.
485x might be a good name for a rocket ship, but it is not working as an affordable-housing program — and 421-a was actually working.
Sunnyside Yards is a possibility.
We should rezone Industrial Business Zones where appropriate.
There are at least 25,000 vacant rent-stabilized units. We should subsidize landlords to put them back online — and NYCHA as well.
At HUD, I used to tell mayors that cities are either growing or dying. We must be pro-growth and aggressive. I believe in large-scale infrastructure projects — because they not only improve functionality, but also inspire optimism.
LaGuardia Airport is a symbol of possibility. The Mario Cuomo Bridge and the new Kennedy terminals are marvels, suggesting that maybe New York does have a future.
I believe the Interborough Express deserves serious consideration. I believe the MTA’s $5 billion capital plan for the NYCTA poses great potential — if we find a better way to manage capital programs.
I made the Second Avenue Subway, Moynihan Train Station, and L Train Tunnel happen through personal intervention. The city must play a role in completing these projects on time and on budget — or only our great-grandchildren will enjoy them.
We should attract worldwide events — Super Bowls, playoffs, World Series, international conventions for our expanded Javits Center, Formula 1 races … I’ll drive — the point is: get creative and ambitious with tourism.
And let’s make a major start by stopping a major debacle — the new jail construction to replace Rikers Island. The writing is on the wall: it promises to be New York City’s Big Ditch. It is already years late, billions over budget, and obsolete.
We should rebuild new, state-of-the-art jails on Rikers Island, provide free bus service, and reuse the four cleared, massive existing sites for major housing and commercial developments. It would immediately unleash great potential while avoiding more years of delay and government waste.
In sum, I believe New York City can set an example for post-COVID recovery. Los Angeles, Chicago, Portland, even London are all suffering.
Carpe Diem. New Yorkers are a special breed — we have an indomitable spirit of renewal and an irrepressible strength of resilience. We rise again and again, each time higher than before. We are fueled by new immigrants and energy.
Our vantage point is where competence and confidence meet imagination and daring.
Now is the moment for New York City to regain the crown jewel — as the greatest city on the globe.
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