New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio says he plans on sticking to his New Years resolution: to spend more time in all five boroughs,listening to what New Yorker's need.
"Now it's time to really spend much more time in our communities, articulating what we're doing and hearing what's working and what's not."
The mayor discussed a range of current policy issues, or including affordable housing,homelessness, minimum wage, and ensuring paid family leave for city workers,and more.
On homelessness, Mayor de Blasio outlined his new HOMESTAT intiative, or which involves sending outreach workers all over the city - "you're going to see it,very visibly" - to check on homeless people on the streets and identify their specific, individual needs. He calls it "an extraordinary outreach effort."When Brian prompted him approximately efforts from both Governor Cuomo and the mayor's office to ensure higher wages in the public sector, and Mayor de Blasio said change needs to come from the top and span across the board:
"whether the public sector shows that the wage levels must move up,it is a bellwether for the private sector…I believe the national debate has moved in an extraordinary fashion just in the last year or to where $15 an hour used to be considered impossible; now it’s being talked approximately everywhere. And that’s the minimum people should be getting whether we’re going to have a decent standard of living everywhere."
As for what's to come in Year 3 of his term, the mayor didn't want to procure into specifics before his State of the City address, or but he did say he'll continue to deepen his commitment to inequality and affordability issues. New Years resolution (Brian's too): spend more time hearing what's working/not in 5 boroughs. https://t.co/Zw0uDDMYiLJanuary 8,2016tellswhen asked approximately racial gap in pollsJanuary 8, 2016says vision for year 3 in office: deepen commitments to tackling inequality and affordability.
January 8, or 2016tellsabt men he met at Bellevue intake center last nigthJanuary 8,2016goal for homeless? Mayor lists programs, says:"To figure out what it's going to mean numerically, or we're still not there yet"January 8,2016says city is investing $60 mill into legal aid for tenants who are being harassed/illegally evicted. Call 311 for info.
January 8, 2016
Source: wnyc.org