Brian Lehrer: It's the Lehrer Show on WNYC. Good morning again, everyone, and now Season 1, Episode 1, of Ask the Mayor for the Mamdani administration. My questions and yours for Mayor Zohran Mamdani: call or text 212-433-WNYC, today for people in the five boroughs. As I said before, the news will open it up to the whole region in some future appearances, but we want to begin by offering this access first to people he was elected to serve, per se. 212-433-9692, call or text. I will also bring in a few of the questions that some of you submitted through the Lehrer Show newsletter and yesterday's pre-Ask the Mayor call-in segment. And good morning, Mr. Mayor. Thanks for doing this, and welcome back to WNYC.
Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani: Good morning, Brian. It's such a pleasure to be back on. How are you?
Lehrer: I'm doing okay. Thank you very much. And I see you just finished an event launching the first part of your number one campaign promise, free universal childcare. Applications are now open as of today, I see, for two-year-olds in five selected school districts: 2,000 available slots in Upper Manhattan and parts of the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens. How did you pick which neighborhoods to launch in?
Mayor Mamdani: You know, we started this as the first step of what is a vision that will deliver free childcare for every two-year-old by the end of four years. And we wanted to start with the neighborhoods that have often been left behind in our politics, the neighborhoods where we see the highest need, the highest demand and also the quickest ability to scale up. Because as Senator Warren often says, childcare is infrastructure, and we need to be able to deliver this on a timeline. This fall, it'll be 2,000 seats. Next year will be 12,000 seats. And then, as I said, by the end of year four, a seat for every single two-year-old.
Lehrer: And what would it take to accomplish that? More tax changes? Or how do you get all the way there?
Mayor Mamdani: You know, we've seen part of that path through just these last few months, where we partnered with the governor to secure $1.2 billion to not only fix the issues that we had seen with 3-K but also to create, for the first time in New York City history, 2-K for free for New Yorkers. That funds it for not only this year but also the expansion of 12,000 seats next year. And then we would continue this work to expand it all the way to every child. That's something that I'm incredibly excited to do with the governor.
She's spoken time and time again of her commitment to the cause of universal childcare, and I share that same commitment. And I would say that to New Yorkers who are excited to sink their teeth into this program, the best thing that they can do right now is to go to myschools.nyc, which is where they can actually apply for a seat in this program.
Lehrer: Myschools.nyc. [It's] good for everybody with very little kids to know that. I mentioned that we invited potential questions for you in our Brian Lehrer Show newsletter last week. Here's one that came in through that is relevant to the 2-K program. It says: "With the expansion of universal childcare, what ways will you ensure the workforce is compensated as they should be? As it currently stands, early childhood workers and community-based organizations are grossly underpaid compared to their counterparts in public schools." What do you say to that listener?
Mayor Mamdani: First, I want to say thank you for that question and for that focus, because the only reason that we're able to dream of universal childcare is because of the work of early childhood educators across the city. And we've been having a number of conversations; a number of them have been headed by the executive director of our childcare office, as well as a few that I've sat in on myself. And in those, I've heard from a number of these community-based organizations of the struggles that they've been facing and keeping up with rising costs.
And so, as we expand access to a high-quality program, we're also incredibly proud that in our executive budget, we invested $40 million additional dollars to ensure that the rates that childcare providers are being paid better reflected the costs they're having to take on. And this is just a first step in what will be a long-term commitment to ensuring that no parent is being priced out of the city for having to raise their child here and that no child care provider is going to be priced out because they simply can't make ends meet.
Lehrer: Before we turn to things other than childcare, I do want people to know about a summer program that you announced for older kids. This is so important for families who can't afford, like, private summer camp. Want to tell us briefly about that?
Mayor Mamdani: Absolutely. You know, first I have to say, Brian, that growing up in New York City, one of my favorite websites to go to was a website called nyc.go. And when I was growing up, it had a list of about 10 free things to do every week [and] every weekend. And I would use that as a way to plan my life and how my friends and I would explore our city. And I wanted to ensure that the experience of growing up in the city is one that isn't restricted solely to those who have enough money in their pocket, that it's one where every single child is encouraged to grow, to express themselves and to have activities that they can lose themselves in. And so, we found that so often we tell young people what not to do. We want to actually tell them what they can do. And so, this website, which is NYC.gov/Summer, connects kids and teens to programs they'll actually be excited about. Whether it's sports like soccer or basketball or whether it's photography or gardening, this is for children to be able to see through an interactive map where they can find these kinds of activities.
They can search by age, by ZIP code [or] by travel distance. And it also includes information about free summer meals, free citywide World Cup watch parties [and] celebrations. And we're so excited at the hundreds of activities that we're sharing at this time. And we can't wait to keep using this to share with New Yorkers all the opportunities at their fingertips.
Lehrer: Reina in Brooklyn is calling with, I think, a very different kind of question about her child. Reina, you're on WNYC with Mayor Mamdani. Hello.
Question: Hi. Happy Pride, Mayor Mamdani, and to you too, Brian.
Mayor Mamdani: Happy Pride, Reina.
Lehrer: And you, too.
Question: Great. I've heard you speak on many occasions about the love and support you feel for trans New Yorkers. As the parent of a trans child who's lost their health care from NYU and is now part of their criminal subpoena, I appreciate your being an outspoken advocate. But our community needs more than words right now. We want to know what specific measures your administration will take to guarantee access to health care for trans children and adults. With the ongoing attacks from the federal government and lack of support from New York State, we need more than a Know Your Rights campaign. We need concrete legal protections and financial support from the city. What is your plan to back up your commitment?
Mayor Mamdani: Reina, first I just want to say thank you for your advocacy and being on the front lines of this. And I want to send love to you and your family and having to deal with what is truly just cruelty from the federal government. Because we all know that here in our city, every single New Yorker deserves access to comprehensive, life-saving health care. My administration is committed to protecting that right and to ensuring that trans and gender non-conforming New Yorkers have the resources they need to live with dignity. And to your point, it's not enough to just celebrate pride in our language. It's not enough to just speak about the ways in which we will continue to ensure that this city remains a haven for queer people across not just the country, but the world.
We're also proud to have committed over the course of our previous budgets; we've put forward $15 million to gender-affirming care over the next two years to ensure that we can start to bridge the gap of the funding that has been stripped of this care. And alongside that, I'm proud to have created the first ever Mayor's Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs, which is headed by Director Taylor Brown, with a mission to advance equity and justice for LGBTQ+ New Yorkers across our city. And I say that because we know that this struggle is one that will continue for quite some time. And we see how queer New Yorkers disproportionately are facing higher levels of homelessness, of poverty. And I'm incredibly excited at us having an office led by such a stalwart New Yorker with a mission to illuminate the ways in which City government can actually deliver for New Yorkers in this way, because the work is frankly just beginning on this.
Lehrer: How specifically will that reopen access to gender-affirming care for trans kids whose parents, like apparently the caller, want that if places like NYU are shutting it down over federal pressure?
Mayor Mamdani: The $15 million that we have committed is funding that would unlock exactly that. And it speaks to the fact that whether it's Reina's experience or so many others across the city, there are explicit consequences from both the cruelty that we're seeing from the federal government's policies and the decisions that are being made by private health care institutions here in New York City.
Lehrer: Reina, thank you for your call. We've been talking a lot about kids. Here's another question that kind of deals with the other end-of-the-life spectrum from a Lehrer's show newsletter response. And we got a lot of ones like this, Mr. Mayor. It says, will you commit to keeping traditional Medicare available for the hundreds of thousands of New York City retirees and not force us onto a Medicare Advantage plan?
Mayor Mamdani: First, I just want to say thank you for the service that these retirees have given to this city over decades. We are focused on delivering excellence and quality health care for our employees, for our retirees. And I want to say very clearly, we are not reopening the former Medicare Advantage program.
Lehrer: So, that's done. A lot of people must not know that it's done, because we get a lot of calls and texts about this from retirees still worried that they're going to be funneled into this by the city and, you know, in contract negotiations with some of the unions. You're saying this is dead?
Mayor Mamdani: Yes, I can say very clearly, loud and clear. We are not reopening the former Medicare Advantage program. And I think to your point, Brian, that there hasn't been widespread awareness of both our position as an administration, as well as the fact that a lawsuit was settled. And we are very clear on the direction that we're moving. And it's one of delivering an excellence in quality health care for both employees and for our retirees.
Lehrer: Alright. Very clear. Let me ask you a budget question. The full state budget was finally passed a few days ago, as you know, with money to close the city's budget gap for the coming fiscal year. I'm curious how you would say the state budget sets up your remaining budget negotiations with City Council, with the city's new fiscal year about to begin on July 1. What do you still have to fight or negotiate for that [the] Council may be on a different page about?
Mayor Mamdani: Now, the process will begin of a conversation with our partners in the Council on the ways in which we can deliver for the city. What I have to say, though, is that we're incredibly appreciative of the partnership we have with Albany, with Governor Hochul, with Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins, with Speaker Heastie. And that partnership was one that yielded a budget where we tax the rich, where we created a fair balance between the city and the state, where we were able to restore fiscal stability - resolving a deficit of $12 billion without having to slash the services that people depend on, without having to ask working families to pay for a crisis that they didn't create.
And what was also something that was of incredible excitement to many of us here at City Hall was that we were also able at that same time to make what would typically be one-time investments, whether into libraries or parks or cultural institutions, and instead baseline them. So, they wouldn't be the subject of the negotiation with the Council, but we could start to have a conversation that goes beyond whether we want to retain the services we provide and start to think about a city that goes further to meet the needs of New Yorkers.
Lehrer: Here's a budget question, I think, from Marissa in Brooklyn. You're on WNYC with Mayor Mamdani.
Question: I'm Marissa and I'm a part-time librarian who just graduated with my master's in library science. But I am also a parent of a public school, public school students, and a member of the advocacy group, Librarians Equal Literacy, which is fighting to reverse the disastrous school librarian and library loss in our public schools that has been seen over the last 20 years. Mayor, when you were a student at Bronx Science, almost every public school had a library and a librarian, but today fewer than 300 do. Last year, during your election campaign, you told us that your administration would work to bring back the school librarians. And yesterday, there was supposed to be a report from the DOE to release the numbers on the school librarians, but it hasn't shown up yet. And my question is, will your administration meet with our group and come up with like a real plan to bring back school librarians and libraries in our schools? And will you direct the Department of Education to release the report on the school libraries?
Mayor Mamdani: Thank you so much for your work, Marissa, and congratulations on your recent credentials. I think to your point, the importance of libraries is not one that is up for debate, whether with me or for so many New Yorkers. And I think even as you stated, you know, when I was a student at Bronx Science, the library was a place of study. And even after that, trying to find my way in our city, there were many an hour that I spent at libraries across the five boroughs, especially at the Bryant Park Library, trying to figure out what it is that I wanted to do. And I think that New Yorkers deserve a place where they can explore their interests, where they can try - and in my case, where they can fail - and then where they can find their way afterwards. And I think I would absolutely be happy to direct my administration to have that meeting with your group. Would you mind just saying the name of the group one more time?
Question: Sure. Librarians Equal Literacy.
Mayor Mamdani: Librarians Equal Literacy. Okay. I'll be sure to follow up with my team to make sure that they have that meeting with you all, and then they'll figure out the plan from there.
Lehrer: But if there is a decline in funding, excuse me, for school librarians? I see on Gothamist this morning that you are adding around 500 NYPD officers, which is different than what maybe people think you campaigned on. So, can you explain that increase in the size of the NYPD with all these other demands that some of your voters might think are a higher priority?
Mayor Mamdani: Yes, so, over the course of the campaign, I spoke about the importance of keeping our budgeted headcount steady. When I came into office, I was informed of two things. One was that although the Bronx was of a comparative size and need to other boroughs, it had only one police zone, which is why we made the decision to split it into two patrol boroughs, like there are in Manhattan, in Queens [and] in Brooklyn. The second is that we found that while our NYPD officers were receiving extensive training in the academy, they were not receiving enough ongoing training once they were on the job. We decided to strengthen that regular training so that officers could better do their jobs. Together, because of these two issues, we saw there's a slight increase in the budgeted headcount, and that is as a result of both of these.
Lehrer: From Marissa in Brooklyn, we go to Mars in Queens. You're on WNYC with Mayor Mamdani. Hi, Mars.
Question: Hi, Mayor Mamdani. How are you?
Mayor Mamdani: I'm doing well. How are you? Where are you in Queens?
Question: In Southeast Queens. I wanted to talk to you actually about Queens Link. When you were campaigning, you said that you were in support of Queens Link. You said that you were ready for Queens Link, but now you're walking back on your word, and now you're blocking Queens Link, but you know it would impact a bunch of Queens riders. You know we live in a transit desert. Queens does not have as much access to public transport besides buses. So, Queens Link would be able to help us to get around New York, and I feel like that you walking back on your word and blocking Queens Link doesn't make the most sense right now, especially knowing that we don't have as much access to transit.
Mayor Mamdani: So, I really appreciate your advocacy and I want to be very clear that we're moving forward with QueensWay in a way that does not preclude future rail activation. And that is something that I've both made explicit within our administration. I know our administration has also made explicit to partners - and the QueensWay that we are speaking about - it's five acres of new park space, a little less than a mile of new, shared-use greenway to the surrounding communities. All of this while the conversation still continues on the question of Queens Link. And I am someone who is firmly supportive of the importance of increasing public transit access. It is also part of a partnership with the MTA around their priorities of where that access will be expanded.
Lehrer: Mars, does that make you more enthusiastic about the mayor's direction on this?
Question: Not quite, because it still feels like you're prioritizing a park over people being able to get to work, get to school, get to places reliably. You say that you are, like, staunchly supporting public transport, but, you know, this is kind of like a contradiction. Like you say one thing but then you're doing another within your policy.
Lehrer: Mr. Mayor?
Mayor Mamdani: I think the key issue here is that Queens Link is not something that could be built over a year or two years or three years. It's going to require immense partnership and interest at the state level, especially from the MTA. In the interim amount of time, I think that it's important for us to be able to deliver a park for those who are who need more green space, and the delivery of a park does not preclude us from any kind of future rail activation. The cost of a park is something that would be of a minimal amount compared to what the cost of any expansion would be when it comes to Queens Link. I think the question really here is that between do we want to just wait and not do anything as we look for that interest at the state level, or do we want to deliver a park as we also continue to have that conversation. And for me, I think it's important that we continue to deliver as we also continue to deliberate on the question of the expansion of public transit.
Lehrer: Thank you for your call. A listener writes in a text message: "Was it a mistake to skip the Israel parade breaking with previous mayors and inviting criticism that you're partisan to your own religion"? What would you say to that listener?
Mayor Mamdani: I would say that I've made clear over the course of the campaign that I was not going to be marching in this parade. And I've also made clear that this parade, which is the Celebrate Israel Parade, is one that has featured, and we saw just recently a number of far-right ministers, including Minister Smotrich, whose rhetoric and actions represent a vision of annihilation, a complicity in genocide and a disregard for the lives of Palestinians. And I'm deeply offended by his presence as well as the presence of other right-wing ministers in our city. And I've also, as I've made those criticisms of the Israeli government abundantly clear, I also have been explicit about the fact that my responsibility as the mayor is to ensure that every New Yorker can gather and express themselves safely and that need not be dependent on my presence at any event. And so, at my direction, the city put in place extensive security measures to ensure the event proceeded safely, which it did on Sunday. And this is a conversation that we're having about political expression, about a foreign government. When it comes to the conversation around Jewish New Yorkers in our city, my administration is fully committed to their safety as well as to ensuring that the bar is not simply that of safety, but also that we as a city celebrate and cherish our Jewish communities across the five boroughs.
Lehrer: Was your decision to skip that parade because of Israel's military operations in Gaza and Lebanon and other things about the current government that you were just citing, or would you have skipped it anyway because you don't think fundamentally that Israel should exist as a Jewish state?
Mayor Mamdani: I've said time and time again that I believe in Israel's right to exist as a state with equal rights for all. That's a key part of my belief of the world from one part to the other, is the importance of equal rights for people wherever they may be. In many ways, it is something that I deeply appreciate about our country. And yes, to this moment in time, the Israeli government is carrying out a genocide in Gaza. We are seeing the continued killing and injuring of civilians in Lebanon. I recently saw a statistic about more than 10 Lebanese children were being killed or injured every single day by a recent count. This is what we're talking about. And marching in that parade were ministers who have not only spoken in support of these activities, but who have been core constituencies to ensuring that genocide could be carried out and could continue to be carried out. And it is not something that I am interested in being a part of.
Lehrer: Right. But to be clear, the answer to my question is for both of those reasons. Fair?
Mayor Mamdani: I think that when there is a parade that is celebrating a government that is violating international law, that is not a parade that I want to be marching.
Lehrer: Another text question. Listener writes: "Hi, Mayor Mamdani. My third grader and I canvassed for you all over North Brooklyn, and we're both so excited to have you as our mayor. We're wondering if you're considering enacting a moratorium on AI in our public school classrooms, as that would go a long way to ensuring our kids are being taught by their teachers and not predatory tech companies. Also, as a teacher myself, listener writes, I'm wondering if you've considered reducing screen time across the city. Teachers are catching the blame for students accessing inappropriate material on their school-issued laptops during class time. What do you say to that parent and teacher?
Mayor Mamdani: Well, first, I have to say thank you for having canvassed, because without you, I wouldn't be sitting here as the mayor of our city. And I think that this question also comes as a reflection of the way in which AI is transforming our entire society. And we are firmly focused on developing a response to AI, not just for the city as a whole, but frankly, also for our New York City Public School system. And I want to just highlight our chancellor, who has been having a robust process of engaging educators, families, students and experts for their feedback in that.
And I think in some ways this also builds upon the screen time question, the bell-to-bell proposal, which is something that I supported that Governor Hochul had led. And we've seen the results of that and making it easier for teachers to perform their duties in the classroom and for students to be able to focus. And given that our top priority is the safety, the well-being and also the rigor of the classroom, I would absolutely consider any additional suggestions, including the one that was referred to of reduced screen time as part of that.
Lehrer: All right. [A] very ongoing conversation in the parents' community, I know, from our previous segment. So, I think that's not the last you will hear about that. Gretchen, on the Upper West Side, you're on WNYC with Mayor Mamdani. Hello.
Question: Fantastic. Hello, Brian, and hello, Mayor Mamdani.
Mayor Mamdani: Hi, how are you?
Question: Very well, thank you. I'm so glad to have this opportunity to ask you a question about street safety. For a little context, I'm a victim of a hit-and-run with an electric scooter last December. I was headed home at about 94th and Broadway at about 2 p.m. in the afternoon, and an electric scooter ridden by a young boy who looked to be 11 or 12 was going the wrong way down Broadway and crashed into me. I fell to the ground. I was immediately in excruciating pain. Thankfully, there was a Good Samaritan who called the police and an ambulance and my boyfriend. And before long, I was in an ambulance on the way to the ER at Lenox Hill Hospital. Happily, I was only in a situation that my L2 vertebra suffered a compression fracture. And a month of wearing a back brace and four months of physical therapy later, I'm almost back to normal and thankfully don't suffer chronic pain.
Lehrer: What's your question?
Question: Yes, my question is that the street safety issue is so much more than food delivery [and] riders on electric bikes. Every day there are thousands of electric and manual bikes and scooters going the wrong way. They're on sidewalks. They're ignoring traffic lights. I understand there are special issues around food delivery workers and ICE and your desire to protect them. I want to lift up the question to the broader issue of street safety and what you're doing with creative approaches to ensure street safety for everyone.
Lehrer: Thank you, Gretchen. Mr. Mayor.
Mayor Mamdani: First, Gretchen, I just want to say that I'm so sorry that that happened to you. Our streets have to be safe for everyone - pedestrians, cyclists, e-bike riders, drivers [and] anyone who is traversing through our five boroughs. And I know that one of the things that we as New Yorkers love to do, and it's a thing that makes our city so special, is to walk through our city. And I grew up not too far from where you suffered this accident. And I know that it changes a relationship that one has to their willingness to wander. And I truly am sorry that this is something that happened to you. And I think to that end, safety for me and for our administration is paramount. And everyone has to follow the law. And that means everyone, no matter what way or mode of transit that they are using.
That's why we are strengthening safety standards. And to your question of creative approaches, you know, there are a few things here. The first is expanding safety training for all e-bike and bicycle delivery workers. As you said, there are others across the city who bike. And so, we're also enhancing Citi Bike safety features. And also pursuing an approach with app delivery companies that looks to strengthen accountability and really get to the heart of the business model they have that oftentimes incentivizes the breaking of road rules.
Beyond that, I've also made it very clear to our Department of Transportation, an interest in changing our street infrastructure so that our emphasis on safety is not purely from a rules and regulatory approach. But also, from the nature of the streetscape, whether it be in terms of the way we are dividing the road. Or in terms of the way that we are providing a separation between certain modes of transit. As well as speed bumps. A lot of other things that can incentivize safety in a manner that goes beyond the typical rules that a city will rely on. And I think that that is something of immense interest to me. Because I want to make sure that there's no hierarchy of safety in our city. It should be the same no matter what mode of transit you're operating.
Lehrer: I know we're at the end of our time. I've got to throw this one in. And I think you won't be unhappy that I did. It says: "Since the mayor repealed my kids' bedtimes, we will watch the Knicks as a family on Friday. I'm very excited. But please ask if he can provide Saturday morning childcare to deal with my sleep-deprived, cranky children."
Mayor Mamdani: This is what they call an unfunded mandate in City government. I have to apologize to the parents for the morning after. But I'm very glad to hear that there will be compliance with our executive order. And we are all thinking it. So, I'll just say it out loud: Let's go Knicks. Because it's an incredible moment. It always is to be a New Yorker. But this summer, the chance to go back to 1999 and have a different result. The chance to win a championship for the first time since 1973. It feels like the entire city is alive with that possibility. Thank you so much, Brian, it's been a real pleasure.
Lehrer: Mr. Mayor, the pleasure was mine.
