Get him

 

AMNY 

Federal investigators hit Mayor Eric Adams, City Hall and his 2021 campaign with a fresh round of subpoenas in connection with the federal corruption probe into his campaign, according to published reports Thursday evening.

The three subpoenas, which were served in July, requested materials including text messages, other forms of communication and documents, reported New York Times, which broke the story along with the New York Post.

Fabien Levy, deputy mayor for communications, did not confirm the reports, instead referring an amNewYork Metro reporter to Boyd Johnson and Brendan McGuire, Adams’ legal counsel in the investigation.

McGuire, in a statement that a spokesperson provided, indicated that the Adams campaign is cooperating with the federal probe after conducting “our own investigation of the areas we understand the U.S. Attorney’s Office has been reviewing.”

“Our investigation has included an evaluation of campaign documents, an analysis of tens of thousands of electronic communications, and witness interviews,” McGuire said. “To be clear, we have not identified any evidence of illegal conduct by the Mayor. To the contrary, we have identified extensive evidence undermining the reported theories of federal prosecution as to the Mayor, which we have voluntarily shared with the US Attorney. We continue to cooperate with the investigation and are in the process of responding to the recently issued subpoenas.”

Levy, in a statement, reiterated that the mayor is cooperating with federal investigators.

“As a former member of law enforcement, the mayor has been clear over the last nine months that he will cooperate with any investigation underway. Nothing has changed. He expects everyone to cooperate to swiftly bring this investigation to a close.”

The federal probe into Adams’ 2021 campaign first bursted into public view nine months ago when FBI agents raided the home of his former chief fundraiser: Brianna Suggs.

Donald Trump survives assassination attempt at campaign rally

Former President Donald Trump was wounded on a Pennsylvania campaign stage by a sniper’s bullet Saturday night in an apparent assassination attempt that nearly claimed his life, law enforcement sources told The Post.

The Secret Service said Trump is safe. A campaign spokesperson added that he is “fine” and being checked out at a local medical facility.

“He came within inches of having his face shot open,” a senior law enforcement source told The Post. 

The shooter was killed by a Secret Service assault team.

One other person, believed to be a civilian standing behind Trump on the podium was killed by the sniper, sources said. Another person was reportedly wounded.

The gunman was believed to have been positioned on the roof of building hundreds of yards from the former president at the Butler County Fairgrounds — outside the security perimeter, according to law enforcement sources. Trump confirmed his own brush with death in a post Saturday night on Truth Social: “I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear.

“I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin. Much bleeding took place, so I realized then what was happening.”

The bullet may have been deflected by glass before Trump was struck in the face, law enforcement sources said.

Following the attack on Trump at a rally in Butler — about 35 miles north of Pittsburgh — nine shots rang out and Trump ducked for cover before being surrounded by Secret Service agents, video from the event shows.

Queens Borough President for sale

 

Running an office that has no real function or reason to exist doesn't come cheap. For a guy who likes to drop the word equity every minute, these prices doesn't indicate any presence of the average working class Queens resident at this gala.

Ooh don't forget that the working class residents of Queens will still be donating money anyway because of the easy to manipulate matching funds law.

 

Crime issues are her forte against AOC

FOX News 

Winning the Republican primary with 67% of the votes, a challenger to "Squad" member Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., wants to take down the progressive firebrand because she's fed up with crime in New York City.

Congressional candidate of New York’s 14th district Tina Forte told Fox News Digital that people are afraid to be out at night because of the city’s rising crime.

She added that she spoke with constituents directly about crime by going to their homes, businesses, and even on the streets of New York.

"They don't come out at night anymore like they used to," Forte said.

New York's 14th congressional district candidate Tina Forte vows to unseat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. (Fox News)

Forte went on to say, "They tell me personal stories to be honest with you." 

"I grew up here, I own a business here, I raised my family here.  I see the difference. I see stores closing earlier than when they normally do. You have a grandma and grandpa who don’t come out for a cappuccino at night anymore.  They don't want to come out or if they are out, they head home because it's getting dark. People are afraid to be out at night. Those are the things I am getting back from people as I meet with them."

Although Big Apple murder rates were similar this year compared to last, other major crimes have surged. Police statistics and polls show that New Yorkers are fed up, Fox News Digital reported earlier this month.

Ocasio-Cortez has been one of the most vocal and high-profile lawmakers to demand the defunding of American police departments. In her own district, major crime has climbed steadily over the past two years.

The party's over for the Blaz

 

Politico 

Former Mayor Bill de Blasio is done running.

In a Tuesday tweet, the Park Slope resident — who represented the neighborhood on the City Council and served as the city public advocate before moving into Gracie Mansion — announced he was dropping out of a crowded congressional race to represent Lower Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn.

The move, he noted, also marked his end in electoral politics. De Blasio ran for president in 2019 and more recently toyed with a run for governor before launching a bid for the 10th Congressional District, an open seat created this year in the state’s chaotic redistricting process.

“It’s clear the people of #NY10 are looking for another option and I respect that,” de Blasio tweeted. “Time for me to leave electoral politics and focus on other ways to serve. I am really grateful for all the people I met, the stories I heard and the many good souls who helped out.”

Campaign adviser Neal Kwatra said in an interview that while the former mayor received great feedback while interacting with voters, public polls and internal research showed a narrow path for de Blasio to win.

“There was a cognitive dissonance with what we were seeing on the campaign trail and in the streets and what we were finding in the research,” he said.

De Blasio ended his eighth-year tenure in City Hall with low polling numbers, especially among the type of white liberals in brownstone Brooklyn that represent a key voting bloc within the 10th District.

The former mayor raised nearly $500,000 during his short-lived congressional run — with many former staffers chipping in — and as of the end of June had spent just over $60,000, leaving him sitting on a serious pot of cash. The former mayor and some of the past campaign committees he is associated with have outstanding tabs, though it was unclear if he could use any of the federal contributions to pay off those bills.

Progressive cat fight campaigning

Queens Post 

 

Tensions are running high between the campaigns of two progressive candidates who are both running to represent the District 59 seat in the state senate.

Nomiki Konst and Kristen Gonzalez—both left leaning candidates in the race to represent western Queens, north Brooklyn and parts of Manhattan—have been waging a war of words on social media.

Gonzalez has leveled claims that Konst is racist, while Konst has accused Gonzalez’s campaign of harassment, intimidation and inciting violence.

The animus between the two campaigns began the moment that Konst announced on June 1 that she was running.

Konst, a well-known progressive who ran for NYC public advocate in 2019, was criticized from the get-go since Gonzalez had announced months prior that she was running for state senate. Gonzalez had already received the backing of scores of high-profile progressives—including the NYC-DSA, the Working Families Party, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez—and that there were fears that Konst would jeopardize her campaign.

Konst faced an avalanche of criticism on Twitter when she announced.

“This is so selfish and wasteful. We have a Latina socialist running in the district who has a track record in this particular community & has a winning coalition of endorsements & she’s up against a machine hack. Don’t split the vote! And for what?!” posted Elana Levin, whose tweet got 320 likes and reflected the sentiments of DSA supporters.

Many of Gonzalez’s followers—as well as DSA members–believe that Konst’s campaign will help candidates such as Elizabeth Crowley, who is also vying for the seat, win the Aug 23 primary. Other candidates in the primary include Mike Corbett and Francoise Olivas. All five candidates have a following.

The tension heated up online on July 10, when Gonzalez took to Twitter and accused Konst of racism for “twice sarcastically saying to my face Welcome to Astoria.”

Gonzalez, who was raised in Elmhurst and is the child of Puerto Rican and Colombian parents, viewed this as a “dog whistle,” implying that she was an outsider and was without community support.

Konst, who says she has lived in Astoria since 2015 but hails from Arizona, said that she was baffled by Gonzalez’ tweets saying that she welcomed Gonzalez to Astoria on two occasions–once at a candidate forum held in the Astoria and another time at a polling site in Astoria on election day.

She said that on both occasions she didn’t speak with any ill-will and noted that she has welcomed other candidates to the neighborhood without incident.

Konst, of Greek heritage, said that when candidate forums have been held in other parts of the district candidates welcomed her there.

“This was her literally just creating controversy right before the filing so she could raise money,” Konst said. “It was personally offensive, and it was also grotesque.”

Not ironic at all

NY Daily News  

Hiram Monserrate, an ex-con and perennial New York politician expelled from the state Senate for assaulting his girlfriend, is gearing up to launch a campaign for a Queens Assembly seat this year, he confirmed to the Daily News on Wednesday.

Monserrate, who was previously close with Mayor Adams, said he’s in the midst of collecting signatures to mount a Democratic primary challenge against Assemblyman Jeffrion Aubry.

Aubry, whose district includes East Elmhurst, needs to be unseated because of his continued support for the state Legislature’s 2020 bail reforms, said Monserrate.

“Out of the many reasons there are to challenge the current incumbent, the most important is his stubborn stance in refusing to repeal and amend the current bail reform laws,” Monserrate said.

Monserrate’s distaste for the bail reforms is shared by Adams, who has tied them to an uptick in crime during the pandemic and urged state legislators earlier this year to rescind them.

However, most Democratic lawmakers in Albany have countered that the reforms — which limited the use of cash bail for nonviolent crimes — are unrelated to recent crime spikes, sparking tension between Adams and the Legislature.

Aubry, who has represented his district since 1992, said Monserrate appears to be trying to hitch his campaign wagon to “the issue of the moment” by zeroing in on bail reform.

“You will remember that the mayor and Mr. Monserrate were in the Police Department together and in the Senate together,” Aubry said. “I don’t know whether he’s mimicking the mayor, and I support the mayor, but every time something happens in the city, he says it’s bail reform that’s at fault even though bail reform had nothing to do with it.”

A spokesman for Adams did not return a request for comment.

How to buy an election for an unelected governor

NY Times 

Last November, when many of Manhattan’s skyscrapers sat half-empty, Gov. Kathy Hochul made a high-stakes wager on New York City’s commercial real estate industry: She vowed to move ahead with a marquee plan to restore Pennsylvania Station and erect new office towers around it.

For Manhattan’s mega-rich real estate developers, the announcement signaled Ms. Hochul’s support for the kind of grand projects that foretell a windfall, and some found a concrete way of showing their approval to the new governor.

In the weeks that followed, Ms. Hochul’s campaign received checks for $69,700, the legal limit, from some of the city’s biggest real estate executives, including Steven Roth of Vornado Realty Trust, which is positioned to directly benefit from the project that he once called a “Promised Land.” Other checks trickled in from developers, builders, engineers and even some who opposed it.

The campaign contributions flowed from a broader spigot of cash turned on last fall by New York’s varied special interests, from real estate and building trades to hospitals, labor unions and gaming companies, directed toward Ms. Hochul’s election campaign.

The donations included $200,000 in checks from the family behind a major construction firm with millions in state contracts, $47,000 that was tied to a gaming giant leaning on the state to expand legal gambling, and $41,000 traced back to a single Albany lobbyist.

The funds helped Ms. Hochul, a moderate Democrat who unexpectedly ascended to office last August, assemble a record-setting $21.6 million war chest, and claim a steep advantage heading into June’s Democratic primary and November’s general election.

People and industries with financial interests before the state have long been reliable donors to top elected officials, showering them with money that, at times, can pose ethical and legal problems.

Governor Airhead

Times Union 

 On Oct. 4, Gov. Kathy Hochul flew from Albany to New York City on a state-owned airplane. She went to Brooklyn to sign a bill, then in the afternoon held three, back-to-back campaign-related “events” before flying back to Albany in the evening.

Although a major part of the day was dedicated to Hochul winning a full term of office in November’s election, her political campaign did not reimburse taxpayers for any portion of the day’s travel.

During Hochul’s first 45 days in office, on at least three separate days, the governor’s use of state aircraft has raised questions about whether there has been any misuse of taxpayer resources, according to a Times Union review of public records.

During that time, Hochul attended 64 “private events” related to her gubernatorial campaign, including donor meetings and fundraisers, allowing her campaign to raise a record-setting $10 million during her first three months in office.

Amid a whirlwind schedule juggling governmental and campaign activities, Hochul used state-issued aircraft for 45 flights over the first 45 days in office. None of the trips were considered “mixed use” by Hochul’s office — consisting of both government and campaign-related activities — despite a busy campaign schedule on many of the trips. And none of the flight costs for using either a state-owned Beechcraft King Air 250 or a state helicopter were reimbursed to taxpayers by Hochul’s campaign.

David Grandeau, the state’s former top lobbying enforcement official, said Hochul’s campaign should have reimbursed taxpayers for several of the trips.

“She has to reimburse for the non-state business portion of the trips,” Grandeau said.

On Tuesday, the governor’s press secretary, Hazel Crampton-Hays, said the governor’s ethics counsel would re-review the flights at Hochul’s direction.

“Gov. Hochul works around the clock to deliver for New Yorkers and visits all 62 counties every year to hear directly from her constituents,” Crampton-Hays told the Times Union. “The governor is committed to the highest ethical standards and only utilizes state resources, such as the state aircraft, when it is legally and ethically appropriate. In accordance with Gov. Hochul’s commitment to transparency and adhering to the highest ethical standards, the governor has directed her ethics counsel to re-review all aircraft usage and make any appropriate reimbursements.”

On Wednesday, during her first State of the State address, Hochul unveiled a plan for ethics reform, while also acknowledging that politicians might still “stumble and make mistakes once in awhile.”

On her official government website, Hochul’s office recently posted schedules showing Hochul’s government meetings and the attendees between her inauguration on Aug. 24 and through Oct. 9. The schedules detail when and where Hochul took flights, and in all 45 cases, it indicates the flights were fully funded by taxpayers. The schedules also list the myriad “private events” related to her campaign, though no other details are included beyond the times the events occurred.

Crampton-Hays said the “private events” included campaign fundraisers, political meetings, political events for other candidates and groups, or any other event that the “governor attends primarily in a political capacity.”

Tell The Blaz what you really think about the job he did in his two terms as Mayor of New York City

 

Bill de Blasio

When I launched my campaign for Mayor outside my home in Brooklyn in January 2013, I promised that we would take dead aim at the Tale of Two Cities.

Today, I am writing to ask for your feedback. I’d love to know what you think we did well during my time as mayor, and where you feel we came up short.

Please take 2 minutes to complete a short survey sharing your thoughts about my time as mayor.

 

After winning the primary and through my inauguration, we heard over and over that our vision for One New York was not possible.

 

When I said that we would not wait to offer free, full-day pre-K to all of New York City’s children, the New York Times said it was a noble idea that would never happen and that we were wasting our time.

 

Today, 70,000 children are enrolled in pre-K and we’ve launched 3-K for All. When I said that we would not wait to reform a broken stop-and-frisk policy in New York City, the editorials and statements from officials of that time basically said the city would fall apart the moment we got rid of the program.

 

The opposite happened. We started showing respect to our young people and we got safer. Before COVID, New York City was the safest big city in America with the lowest number of major crimes in the modern era.

When I said that we would not wait to require developers to build more affordable housing, people said they were too powerful.

 

Eight years later, we have delivered affordable housing to 275,000+ New Yorkers through the most ambitious affordable housing plan in our city’s history.

 

When Donald Trump dropped out of the Paris Agreement and his administration rolled back climate protection after climate protection, there was a lot of disappointment, but little hope about what could be done in response.

We doubled down, cutting greenhouse emissions by 17% below 2005 levels despite significant growth as a city, and committed to divesting $5 billion of NYC’s pension funds from fossil fuels.

 

When COVID hit, we were the epicenter of the crisis with an incompetent president who denied science and didn’t want to test simply because he didn’t want to see the numebrs. We didn’t have what we needed — the ventilators, the PPE, the testing labs. It was one of the most difficult moments in our city’s history.

 

But New Yorkers stepped up to protect each other, as we do. We created our own supplies to save lives. And we went from worst to first — from the epicenter to one of the safest places in America. And when the naysayers said it couldn’t be done, when cities all over dared not try, we re-opened our schools.

But we have done more:

 

We reduced pedestrian fatalities by 45% making our streets the safest since the dawn of the automobile. We achieved the city’s highest ever graduation rate and lowest dropout rate, and we launched ThriveNYC to ensure New Yorkers who need mental health support have access to it where and when they need it.

 

There is a lot to be proud of during our time, and I hope many of you are. I also understand if you believe there are places we fall short. But either way, I really want to hear from you.

We’ll be gathering replies at this link:

 

Please take 2 minutes to share your thoughts on the last eight years in New York City. We will be reviewing these results at the end of the week.

 

We still have a few weeks to go before the end of my term, and I will be working hard through the last hour. I am also very excited about what Eric Adams is going to do for our city moving forward. I’ve known Eric for a long time, and he’ll be an exceptional mayor who will take us to the next level.

But today, I look forward to hearing from you.

 

In solidarity,

Bill de Blasio

Here is a sample response, feel free to copy, paste and post too...

"NO...rather than 2 mins., I'm waiting for years to learn why you haven't done anything about collecting the near $1billion in unpaid DOB/ECB fines AND the "write off" clause in City Charter...clearly, you sold out to REBNY!"

Eric Adams flaunts nepotism hire for his mayoral campaign

 

NY Daily News

 Democratic mayoral nominee Eric Adams is taking advice from a former NYPD chief who once said he’d plead the Fifth Amendment in a corruption trial — and whose brother is now a top contender to become Adams’ schools chancellor if he’s elected.

Former NYPD Chief of Department Philip Banks is one of several former cops advising Adams when it comes to public safety, three sources confirmed.

And Banks’ brother, David Banks, the president of the Eagle Academy Foundation, is in the mix with Adams as well, but in a slightly different respect.

He’s being eyed as someone who could helm the city’s Department of Education in an Adams’ administration, according to two sources familiar with Adams’ expected transition.

According to one of those sources, Banks is a virtual shoo-in for the job.

“I would be shocked if there were other candidates who came out ahead of him,” the source said. “They go way, way back.”

 When asked about Philip Banks’s role as an advisor, Adams’ campaign spokesman Evan Thies said he “is one of a number of policing experts who have offered their institutional knowledge of the department, including former Commissioner Bratton and other former chiefs of department.”

Adams himself also backed up his choice of Philip as an advisor when it comes to the NYPD

“I’m relying on everyone with experience in law enforcement. I’m not excluding anyone to keep my city safe,” he said Thursday. “Everyone who has served, everyone from police officers to former heads, I’m relying on.”

 

Eric Adams is associating with another awful man named Banks

NY Post 

A former NYPD executive who abruptly retired amid a cloud of controversy is advising Eric Adams on the police department with his expected transition to the mayor of the Big Apple, The Post has learned.

Ex-police chief Philip Banks — who stepped down in 2014 as, it would later be revealed, the feds were eyeing him as part of a widespread bribery case that rocked the NYPD — has recently met with various members of police brass to help prep for the change of city leadership, sources said.

It was not known what was discussed in the meetings or who attended the meetings, only that he has met with some three-star chiefs.

Banks would not confirm his role in the transition when reached by phone Wednesday and referred questions to Adams’ camp.

“Mr. Banks is one of a number of policing experts who have offered their institutional knowledge of the department, including former Commissioner Bratton and other former chiefs of department,” a spokesman for Adams, Evan Thies told The Post. 

He refused to comment on Banks’ involvement.

Adams, who won the Democratic primary for mayor earlier this year, is the heavy favorite to take the rein in New York City come 2022.

Banks, once a rising star in the department, suddenly retired in 2014.

Sliwa on the street

Driveway Jimmy

Talking to voters at the early voting site in Middle Village. Great response in the blazing sun! Thanks to Ashton Potter for holding it down for #TeamJVB! pic.twitter.com/VSrYoqRULN

— Jimmy Van Bramer (@JimmyVanBramer) June 20, 2021

Jim is one step away from squeegee wiper

Caption Ciafone on the campaign trail

 

Making all his nowhere plans for nobody...

Van Bramer flack behind group backing his replacement for City Council while his volunteers are engaging in cheap campaign chicanery

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LIC Post

A group of western Queens community leaders has come together to help Amit Bagga break away from a crowded field to win the 26th District council seat.

The group, dubbed 26 for 26, is co-chaired by Matthew Wallace, the chief of staff for the term-limited council member Jimmy Van Bramer, and Clara Oza, a public school parent coordinator from Sunnyside.

They hope to get Bagga elected in District 26, which encompasses Sunnyside, Woodside, Long Island City and parts of Astoria.

“I’ve seen firsthand just how much our kids and families have suffered through the pandemic, and we need a leader who [will] not just fight to bring us back, but deliver real results,” said Oza, a Community Board 2 member. “Amit is the only candidate with a proven track record of having done so.”

Wallace, who endorsed Bagga last month, says Bagga is someone who will not only be a part of the progressive wing of city council, but has the policy chops to lead it.

“No one else has proposed anything even close in terms of having the legislative prowess that Amit has shown. That really means something,” Wallace said.

The group also includes Deborah Tharrington, who is the director of constituent services for Van Bramer, plus Community Board 2 members Osman Chowdhury and Anatole Ashraf.

The other members include Dan Hochman, Laura Dadap, Zach Job, Dominic Stiller, Jean Cawley, Marco Barrios, Joe Oza, Jake Cohen, Judith Sloan, Brian Romero, Louis Wellington, Amanda and Max Lefer, Annie Seifullah, Sam Goldsmith, Hugh Baran, Ayaz Ahmed, Samina Wasti, Neha Gautam, Erin Koster, Rob Bass, Patti Pion, Natalie Fuertes and Adeline Medeiros.

Nick Berkowitz, a spokesperson for the Bagga campaign, says the group comes from a diverse array of occupations, ages and backgrounds, which is representative of the district’s makeup.

“These are just folks who understand what the stakes are of this election and are willing to do what it takes to get him elected,” Berkowitz said.

Breaking News: This particular race has just got a little bit more cutthroat. Pity the poor fauxgressive.

  

Queens Post

A campaign poster battle has erupted in the crowded District 26 City Council race just weeks before Election Day.

The saga began after a volunteer for Amit Bagga allegedly put up a campaign poster on top of rival candidate Julie Won’s poster. This allegedly has happened on two separate occasions, according to photos uploaded to Twitter.

A former part-time staffer and current volunteer with Won’s campaign tweeted the image of a Bagga poster on Wednesday with the corner peeled up to reveal a Won poster beneath it. The posters were hung up on a storefront at the corner of 48th Avenue and 47th Street in Sunnyside.

The same campaign volunteer tweeted a photo on May 16 of a Bagga poster also covering Won’s.

Won retweeted the photo taken yesterday and questioned if Bagga was trying to erase her candidacy.

“This has been flagged 3x where we’ve seen @amitsinghbagga’s team poster over ours,” she said. “shows character of candidate when you campaign this way. Does your team feel insecure about your candidacy? Are you trying to erase my candidacy as an AAPI immigrant and woman?”

Instead of apologizing on twitter, maybe Bagga should dissociate himself from Jimmy's flack.

 

Let's get to know Alex Pan

So, Alex Pan is an 18-year old college freshman, lives at college out of state, made it onto the ballot for Comptroller and is simultaneously running for student body president.

Just thought I'd put that out there.

You have 24 hours to get out of your apartment...Kidding! Vote for Crowley!

  

Sunnyside Post

 

A campaign mailer sent out by Elizabeth Crowley that reads “eviction notice” in large font has sparked outrage among her critics.

The mailer, released by her campaign last week, was intended to attack Queens Borough President Donovan Richards for accepting real estate money—but was viewed by many as being in poor taste.

The “eviction notice” was accompanied by a message accusing Richards of taking campaign money from developers and landlords—many of whom Crowley says are trying to kick struggling tenants out.

“Queens is ready for its comeback, but first we have to end our housing crisis and make sure our neighbors can stay in their homes,” the mailer also reads.

Some felt the mailer was insensitive, since many people are struggling to pay the rent.

Andrew Yang is an idiot

 

 

 Gothamist

 For former presidential candidate Andrew Yang, who entered the New York City mayor’s race as a frontrunner in January, this week brought into sharp relief some yawning gaps between what he knows and what he doesn’t about the basic functioning of New York City.

On Thursday, flanked by former NYPD officer Edwin Raymond, who’s running for City Council, Yang was asked by NY Post reporter Julia Marsh if he supported the repeal of 50-a, the long-standing law that shielded police discipline records from public view. State legislatures repealed the law last year, amid massive public demonstrations following the murder of George Floyd.

 “The repeal of 50-a,” Yang repeated, blankly. “Do you know what 50-a is?” Marsh prodded. “This is not the, it’s not the mandatory interview of the…” Raymond tried to push Yang towards the right subject area, muttering under his breath, “the records, the disciplinary records.” At which point Yang finally arrived — “Um, I think we should get more transparency in terms of police officers and their records.”

Earlier on Thursday, at a taped forum on the future of homelessness sponsored by WIN, the largest provider of shelter and supportive housing for homeless families in the city, Yang said it would be “extraordinarily helpful” for the city to have shelters specifically for victims of domestic violence. The event was moderated by Spectrum NY1 reporter Courtney Gross who noted, “There are already a number of domestic violence shelters... They do already exist.”

Yang walked back his statements, his eyes darting to the right of his zoom screen, insisting he’d meant that there wasn’t enough capacity at such facilities.

 “There are. Oh no, I, of course they do exist, so that’s one aspect of something we should be increasing capacity of,” he said, pivoting to talk about the need for more beds in psychiatric facilities. “There are a lot of things we should be increasing capacity of.”

As of last year, the city had 2,500 emergency beds for survivors of domestic violence and about 800 families are housed in the system on any given day, according to city figures.

 Yang sat down with Gothamist / WNYC shortly after that press conference in Brooklyn Thursday and said running for mayor “has been a blast” and he’s learned so much about New York City in the process. He said his campaign has put out over 80 pages of policy that present a clear vision for the city but, he stressed, he doesn’t think people in government have all the answers.

“My goal as mayor will be to take the work that oftentimes others are doing and then augment it and amplify it. I'm not someone who thinks the government is going to have all of the answers or even most of the answers,” Yang explained. “I feel like oftentimes, especially in a place like New York, they'll be some nonprofit organization or activist group that is tackling it and has been working on it for years that you can build on and learn from.”

Update:

Yang actually passed the buck when asked and stumped on what his favorite Jay Z song was.

i asked new york mayoral candidate andrew yang what his favorite jay z song is pic.twitter.com/UV8tQJXta1

— ziwe (@ziwe) May 22, 2021

To paraphrase legendary Queensbridge rapper MC Shan, Yang needs to "kill that noise" with his campaign.

Creepy Lincoln Restler's cult recruitment themed campaigning.

This has a multi-level marketing scheme level of cringe to it. Don't vote for this guy. Seriously. pic.twitter.com/qty5DcMvru

— Kween Kuntopia, New York Shitty (@newyorkshitty) April 30, 2021

 

 You can say "relational organizing" is good way to describe Restler's concept to shuffle and warehouse homeless people and families in hotels and motels during his time working with the Blaz and Banks at the DHS.