NYC Mayor/2021 Megathread

[Pyro]

https://twitter.com/AndrewYang/status/1381245547051372548

Yang is concerned about... unlicensed street vendors. With all of the issues plaguing New York from its lack of affordable housing to the unaccountable, paramilitary NYPD, he's highlighting a superfluous issue that literally no one in the city cares or talks about (except maybe his wealthy, white doners). This is like the fifth red flag that this guy is all about punishing working class people.

Anyway Stringer's response hits the nail on the head, albeit a touch dramatic.

https://twitter.com/scottmstringer/status/1381274895686975491

[Pyro]

https://twitter.com/ZachandMattShow/status/1383909631278206978?s=19

Looks like it's time for some consolidation.

[Pyro]

https://twitter.com/UFT/status/1384254713542049802?s=19

Stringer has no shortage of endorsements, but the UFT is huge in NYC.

[Pyro]

Scott has gone on TV!

Is this airing on TV? For weeks I've only seen ads for Donovan and McGuire.

[Pyro]

https://twitter.com/jessicaramos/status/1387512391626334210

Ramos was an early, vocal supporter of Stringer. This is a sign to drop out if there ever was one.
Hopefully progressives can rally around Morales and change-up the race.

[Pyro]

Yeah clearly Scott should drop out. I'm not ranking Morales first, or second, but it's not as if anyone is beating Yang.

Two months is a long time. Yang is in a solid position, but anything can happen.

[Pyro]

Didn't expect the Biden admin to treat this matter more delicately than Yang, but there you go.
No mention of Palestinian lives lost or the events at the Al-Aqsa mosque.

https://twitter.com/AndrewYang/status/1391897869137887234

[Pyro]

https://twitter.com/AndrewYang/status/1391897869137887234

May help him with the Jewish vote at the expense of the pro-Palestine leftist voters who probably wouldn't have voted for him anyways because he's "muh closet republican" and has gotten support from Trump voters (including the Naked Cowboy street performer might I add).

Jewish voters do not vote as a bloc based on a candidate's rigidity on the Israel issue.
This tweet won't change any minds, other than Palestinian Americans' who may feel alienated.

[Pyro]

https://twitter.com/AndrewYang/status/1391897869137887234

May help him with the Jewish vote at the expense of the pro-Palestine leftist voters who probably wouldn't have voted for him anyways because he's "muh closet republican" and has gotten support from Trump voters (including the Naked Cowboy street performer might I add).

Jewish voters do not vote as a bloc based on a candidate's rigidity on the Israel issue.
This tweet won't change any minds, other than Palestinian Americans' who may feel alienated.

Yes, but the Brooklyn Orthodox do vote as a block depending upon community endorsements, and Yang's campaign has decided to reinforce the loyalty of the rabbis.

Heredi and Hasidic communities like Borough Park are representative of around a third of the Jewish population in New York City. Anyone referring to the "Jewish vote" in New York should be aware of and specify that, otherwise you are erasing those of us who may not hold similar views.

[Pyro]

In an interview, the candidates was asked what the median price of a home in Brooklyn was, and some of the answers were completely disqualifying: https://www.newsweek.com/nyc-mayor-candidates-shaun-donovan-ray-mcguire-think-average-brooklyn-home-costs-100k-1590464

Correct answer: $900k

Wiley: $1.8 million
Stringer: $1 million
Yang: $900k
Garcia: $800k
Adams: $550k
Morales: $500k
Donovan: $100k
McGuire: $90k

This guy was Obama's HUD Secretary for five years. lol

[Pyro]

AOC criticizing Yang today, fwiw. Not sure if she has voiced any opinion on the mayoral race yet.

https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1392220241472720897

[Pyro]

Tuned in to see Adams give a non-answer/denial when asked about previously endorsing Guliani and being a self-described conservative Republican, comparing it to Hillary Clinton's past. C'mon, seriously??

[Pyro]

Adams: I was the leading voice against stop and frisk!
Also Adams: Bring! It! Back!

He's an awful and disrespectful debator.
He started by laughing off the question and tried to spin it on Wiley.

[Pyro]

It's not a Morales housing answer if she doesn't shoehorn in "housing is a human right."

Well, she's right. Her's and Stringer's answers were actually quite good.

[Pyro]

If Garcia can beat Yang and Adams, I'll take it.

NY Progressives need to corrall around a stronger candidate next time, though I'll agree that Stringer would be in a solid position by now if not for the allegations. Hopefully this is lesson learned.

[Pyro]

Anyways, progressives following the Joshua Collins blueprint will fail 10/10 times. This should come as no surprise.

The Bernie/DSA universe is entering a new low on their rollercoaster of momentum.

Not exactly the case — there is a reason DSA & AOC deliberately chose not to endorse Morales (and there's a reason Our Revolution solo endorsed Wiley). There’s obviously some overlap, but the Morales campaign was (the past tense is, I think, appropriate) fundamentally a left-liberal endeavor led by groups like the Working Families Party and various nonprofit orgs and progressive clubs. DSA & co. have been focused on a handful of City Council candidates. The difference reflects different political strategies and different theories of change — and one, I think, has been borne out more than the other.

And what chance do those City Council candidates stand?

The NYC DSA endorsed six candidates for city council:
Michael Hollingsworth in D35
Jaslin Kaur in D23
Adolfo Abreu in D14
Brandon West in D39
Tiffany Cabán in D22
Alexa Avilés in D38

D14, 35, 39, and 38 have term-limited incumbents. The incumbent is retiring in D23, and the D22 seat is vacant iirc. So, right there, the DSA is acting smart by targeting open seats instead of investing heavily in an uphill primary a la Justice Dems.

Abreu is endorsed by Jabari Brisport and the WFP. His only real competition is Pierina Sanchez, a Ritchie Torres and UFT endorsee.

Cabán, being a known entity in NY, should have this in the bag. She's endorsed by a dozen orgs and the NYS progs.

Kaur also has the support of a dozen orgs (WFP, 1199SEIU ,Sunrise), but this is a crowded field.

Hollingsworth has a fair shot, but his opponent, Crystal Hudson, is supported by Hakeem Jeffries and Jessica Ramos.

Avilés appears to be the only prominent candidate in D38. This is Menchaca's seat.

Last, the D39 race will likely be close between West and Shahana Hanif. Anyone's guess.

[Pyro]

Tomorrow is the first in-person debate in the mayoral race. Starts at 7pm EST.

Hoping it's more watchable than the zoom debates have been.

[Pyro]

Yang managed to be even more tone deaf than Adams on policing, saying the mayor should promote recruitment drives and bring in more plain-clothes officers, as if spending more on the NYPD will fix a damn thing. Glad Morales and Stringer called out the Guiliani-esque policing proposals of Yang and Adams.

[Pyro]

Tragically amusing that ABC cut off the second half of the debate to air Press Your Luck.

[Pyro]

https://twitter.com/nywfp/status/1400932742888558592?s=21

Left wing consolidation continues (at least among official orgs and electeds, if not voters). Wouldn’t be shocked by an AOC endorsement but probably still unlikely.

Kudos on your correct prediction.

https://twitter.com/cliffordlevy/status/1401250009065082884

[Pyro]

New NY1/IPSOS poll. Adams in the lead, Yang losing momentum fast, and Garcia and Wiley gaining.

This was taken May 17-31st, so before the 2nd accusation against Stringer, the collapse of the Morales campaign, and the string of endorsements for Wiley.

https://twitter.com/ZackFinkNews/status/1401844880968753154

[Pyro]

Polling consistently shows that the share of Americans who want more policing in their neighborhoods is larger than the share who want less. This pattern of responses is not limited to whites.

Reality check from the new poll:

People equate crime rates to the number of police units, and we're told constantly that more police is the only answer. A greater police presence has not stopped crime, though. Just look at their response to the arbitrary Washington Park curfew. This isn't making anyone safer.

https://twitter.com/EoinHiggins_/status/1401375956376461315?s=19

https://twitter.com/isabelle_leyva/status/1401375479706304517?s=19

[Pyro]

Posting a bunch of out-of-context cell phone videos to support your preferred narrative is very Andy Ngo.

I explained the context in brief but here's some more info. The NYPD has been evicting everyone from WS Park without prior notice beginning about a week ago. Students, park residents, homeless people, and other park goers have been rather brutally attacked a few times now and ordered to leave the area. Officers run people down with their bikes in full-on riot gear as shown in the linked clips, move into the Village, and violently beat, pepper-spray, and arrest anyone in the vicinity. They've chased some people for multiple blocks (nowhere near the park). Their objective should be to make the park safer, which could be done by targeting actual criminals, but instead we see -again- that militarized, unaccountable police units can launch these assaults on innocents without repercussions.

In any case, you don't need to be concerned with the opinion of one cranky Vermonter. You need to be concerned that 72% of likely NYC primary voters disagree with you.

My point is that progressives and police reform proponents need to work on improving public awareness on this issue. Many people seem to correlate higher numbers of police with  inherently safer communities, though that program has failed to reduce crime or solve the root problems that lead to crime. I was glad to see some push-back at moments during the last mayoral debate when the candidates were discussing this, it's a welcome change.

[Pyro]

It would help to admit that Washington Square Park has had a problem with violent crime and hard drugs for months. There have been regular stories about this in local news (and not just the Post). I also know enough people who live in the city or visit regularly to have caught supporting anecdotes.

The parties are a more recent development. They been increasing large, increasingly loud, and increasingly promoted over social media since April. I don't know enough to accept or reject claims about the crowds getting violent last weekend, before the curfew was enacted, because I know people who have been beaten by the NYPD and I don't trust their PR stooges any more than I trust anyone else's. But this is not arbitrary enforcement, and passing it off as a one-sided story is dishonest.

As I've said, the NYPD stationed at the park could have used a more thoughtful process to deal with crime in the park.
Their response is/was wildly out of line and exemplifies the problems with a militarized police force.

What I read in your final paragraph worries me a great deal. You say that you are interested in "improving public awareness" but you don't seem to have a grasp on the relationship between policing and crime and won't admit to even the most obvious and well-documented tradeoffs.

Moreover, the vague line about addressing root causes sounds very nice but does nothing for anyone who feels unsafe in their neighborhood right now. We can debate any one of the many interventions in this category, but as a rule they tend to be expensive and only marginally effective, especially in the short term. The point here is not to be categorically dismissive. It's just to acknowledge these programs are not a replacement for policing.

Solely increasing the presence and raw number of police officers is far from the wisest use of public funds when it comes to combating both violent and nonviolent crime. It's irresponsible for a city like New York, with the largest police force in the country and a $5B+ operating budget, to singularly blame crime rates on a lack of police officers. Other than implementing simple fixes like installing a mental health hotline and expanding Sec 8 eligibility, the city should be removing police from public schools and changing public perception of police away from that of an occupying force. Public safety is not only about enlisting cops, but actually investing some funds directly in poorer communities. You know what will help deter crime? Youth mentorships and summer programs. Community-based crime response groups. Adequately funding Cure Violence. Hell, even Eric Adams is in favor of some of these reforms, and some of them are replacements for policing.

[Pyro]

Warren endorses Wiley.

https://twitter.com/ewarren/status/1402057766609592322