New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani delivers a sharp message ahead of the US midterm elections, declaring that “hope will not win the election” and urging people to turn hope into action. While campaigning across New York City alongside Governor Kathy Hochul, Mamdani highlights issues including universal childcare, artificial intelligence, and the proposed construction of large-scale data centers. His remarks come as Democrats work to mobilize voters and compete for control of Congress. Watch Mamdani’s comments on the upcoming elections, his support for Hochul, and the political battles shaping the US midterm campaign.
#ZohranMamdani #Mamdani #USMidterms #Republicans #Democrats #KathyHochul #NewYorkPolitics #USPolitics #MidtermElections #ElectionNews #PoliticalNews #DonaldTrump
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#ZohranMamdani #Mamdani #USMidterms #Republicans #Democrats #KathyHochul #NewYorkPolitics #USPolitics #MidtermElections #ElectionNews #PoliticalNews #DonaldTrump
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NewsTranscript
00:00I want to begin by thanking all those who have joined us today.
00:05The elected officials, advocates, community leaders, and countless others
00:09who have dedicated themselves to the work of building a safer city.
00:14And I want to take a moment to recognize those who would give anything not to be here with us
00:20today.
00:20The families and loved ones of New Yorkers who were killed on our streets,
00:24students who have known too much pain and anguish because of dangerous roads like this one.
00:31On this stage, there are a number of leaders both inside and outside of our administration.
00:35I want to recognize a few of them in the knowledge that there are far more than I can ever
00:39name.
00:40We have our DOT Commissioner, Mike Flynn, who is here joining us.
00:44We have our Council Member, Alexa Aviles, who is here with us.
00:48Our State Senator, Andrew Gennardis, who is here with us.
00:52Our Assembly Member, Marcela Mitenes, who is here with us.
00:56We also have the Families for Safe Streets co-chair, Fabiola Mendieta-Guapio,
01:02who is here with us, a Sunset Park community member, as well as a CEC 20 member.
01:07I want to thank PS506 and PS503 for hosting us.
01:10I also want to thank Principal Daniel Castro for all that has been done to allow for this to take
01:16place.
01:16And I want to acknowledge and thank all of the parent leaders, the NYU Langone staff,
01:22the social services organizations, the community board members, the advocates,
01:26and the community members who are standing here with us today.
01:31Fernando Trejo had four young children, cheered for the Yankees.
01:37Hugo Alexander Sinto Garcia had immigrated to our city from Guatemala
01:41and delivered bagels across Brooklyn from Bagels by the Park.
01:45M. Samoalevich loved to teach visual arts to children and yoga to adults.
01:51Clara Kang and Jiayi Jung were nurses, both at NYU Langone Hospital, just a few blocks away.
02:00Waki Knight saw opportunity everywhere he looked.
02:03In the music he made, in the sneaker business he ran, in the food he cooked, in the young men
02:08he mentored.
02:09The names go on and on.
02:13Abdul Bashar, Kek Soon Chen, Brendan Gill, Anthony Watts, Fachi Ulin, and so many more.
02:21Each of these New Yorkers was killed here in Sunset Park.
02:25Each of these New Yorkers was killed on 3rd Avenue, one of the most dangerous roadways in our city.
02:32And frankly, I must say that I am tired of learning the names of New Yorkers only after they were
02:38killed in preventable crashes.
02:41I am tired of New Yorkers only having their names printed in the newspaper because of the tragedies that took
02:46their lives,
02:47instead of the lives that they should have gone on to live.
02:50I, and so many others who call this city home, I am tired of the death and devastation that has
02:56become all too common here in southern Brooklyn,
02:59on this road where traffic screams past pedestrians and people are frankly afraid to cross it.
03:05And I am struck by the words of a woman who saw the crash that took Jiayi Jung's life.
03:11I feel so bad.
03:13I can't take it anymore.
03:16Seventeen people have been killed on 3rd Avenue over the past decade.
03:21Too many New Yorkers know someone who never made it home.
03:25Too many of our neighbors stepped out for school drop-off or to pick up groceries and woke up in
03:30the hospital.
03:31Too many parents feel a pit in their stomach each time their kids leave the house to play.
03:35And for too long, the families of New Yorkers killed on 3rd Avenue have been forced to carry an immense,
03:42unending grief.
03:43The grief of mourning someone they loved with all their hearts.
03:47And the heartbreak of recounting the worst days of their lives to those with the very power to deliver change,
03:54only to know that they will have to return to the same office a year later,
03:58reopen the same barely healed wounds,
04:01plead their case again and be met with the same devastating inaction.
04:06Today, the change that so many Sunset Park residents have long called for finally arrives.
04:18I am so proud to announce that beginning next year,
04:21the Department of Transportation will heed the years-long calls of this community
04:25and redesign more than two miles of 3rd Avenue from 62nd Street to 20th Street
04:31with pedestrian islands, improved intersections,
04:34and barrier-protected bike lanes running in both directions.
04:40As it currently stands, any pedestrian seeking to cross from one side of 3rd Avenue to the other
04:45has to walk 150 feet,
04:47the equivalent of half a football field,
04:50with traffic speeding by.
04:52With the new pedestrian islands,
04:53as well as sidewalk and median extensions,
04:56that distance will be cut by up to half.
04:58This is just one part of our commitment
05:00to transforming how New Yorkers navigate Sunset Park.
05:04We are also installing a two-way parking protected bike lane
05:07on 60th Street between 2nd and 4th Avenues,
05:10connecting a gap between protected bike lanes
05:13and improving safety near two local schools.
05:20I know that often in the past,
05:22projects like these have been announced on some distant time frame.
05:26Progress will come, New Yorkers are promised,
05:28just in time for your children's children to be able to enjoy it.
05:32That is not the case here.
05:33We will begin work next year,
05:35and we expect to complete the redesigns by the end of 2028.
05:38This work is a part of our larger commitment
05:41to building a New York City
05:43where traffic deaths are no longer part of daily life,
05:45where dangerous drivers are no longer allowed to speed with impunity,
05:49where the same business-as-usual approach
05:51that has killed too many of our fellow New Yorkers
05:54is no longer treated as normal.
05:56That purpose lives at the heart of Vision Zero Reimagined,
05:59and it is our guide as we continue to strive for a city
06:02where we lower the number of traffic fatalities
06:05across the five boroughs to zero.
06:07I am immensely proud of the progress that we have already achieved
06:10since taking office in January.
06:12We have improved other dangerous roadways
06:14like McGinnis Boulevard in North Brooklyn,
06:16where Greenpoint residents,
06:18just like New Yorkers here in Sunset Park,
06:20have long called for changes to an avenue
06:22that had killed so many of their neighbors.
06:24We lowered speed limits in hundreds of school zones
06:27with Sammy's Law,
06:28protecting thousands of children.
06:30And since we sent cease and desist letters to companies
06:32selling illegal e-bikes that travel across our city
06:35at dangerously high speeds,
06:37more than 20,000 of those listings have been taken down.
06:41Today marks another great step forward,
06:43a tangible moment of progress
06:45that will protect pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers alike,
06:48and ensure that New Yorkers can get around our city safely.
06:52This is the work of building a better and safer city,
06:55and it is the obligation that each of us hold
06:58to our fellow New Yorkers who deserve nothing less in return.
07:01I will close with just one additional remark,
07:04which is a note of gratitude
07:06to all of the elected officials who represent Sunset Park.
07:09Andrew Ginnardis, Alexa Aviles, Marcela Metenis
07:12have been pushing for the kind of leadership from City Hall
07:16that for too many years was missing.
07:18And it is such a pleasure to be able to come into office
07:21as the new mayor of our city
07:23and to have an opportunity laid forward by these elected officials.
07:27And so I want to thank them
07:28for all of the work they did alongside this community
07:30for ensuring that we had a choice to make
07:32and it was one of the easiest choices we could ever make.
07:36How are you, Mayor?
07:39So you have long said, and Commissioner Flynn has long said,
07:42that the principal danger to pedestrians
07:43on the roads of New York are cars and truck drivers,
07:46and you mentioned it again today.
07:47But the NYPD has decreased its Vision Zero moving violations
07:51issued to car drivers by 41% since 2021.
07:55And instead, it's increasing its focus on cyclists,
07:58and I'm reading this from the NYPD,
08:00as they put it, to, quote,
08:02address the lethal challenge of new e-mobility devices.
08:06So given what you've said about the lethal challenge
08:08of cars and truck drivers,
08:10why is your police department carrying out policies
08:12that seem to be contrary to your own statements?
08:16So our conversations always continue
08:18when it comes to the NYPD's traffic enforcement.
08:21One of the things that we were proud to do early on
08:24in our tenure was to change the different ways
08:27in which we were treating infractions by drivers
08:29as well as cyclists,
08:31creating a consistent level of parity there.
08:34The other aspect of this is that we are looking more and more
08:37to expand all the tools of enforcement that we have.
08:40You heard the state senator say it briefly in his remarks,
08:43but we are incredibly appreciative of the tools
08:46that champions like those on this stage
08:48have helped to deliver to the city,
08:49including those of red light cameras,
08:51because they have been found to be effective
08:53not only in catching those
08:56who are committing those traffic infractions,
08:58but more importantly,
08:59in driving down the number of those infractions.
09:01We've also seen this with ABLE,
09:04or what is now known as ACE,
09:05the effective impact that it is having on those very areas.
09:11Separate from enforcement,
09:12I do also want to say
09:13that it is critically important for us
09:15to be pursuing infrastructure changes,
09:18transforming the streetscape,
09:19because so much of the streetscape,
09:21it also incentivizes certain infractions.
09:24We want to make sure
09:25that what we are incentivizing is safety,
09:27and that we are expecting there to be a mistake
09:31every now and then
09:32from someone who is operating their bicycle
09:34or their car or whatever it may be,
09:36and that that mistake doesn't cost somebody's life.
09:38And so I want to really appreciate the work
09:41of our commissioner and the entire DOT
09:42in ensuring that this is a plan
09:45that takes seriously the concerns
09:47that businesses put forward
09:48about conflict at the curb
09:50and did not use it as a justification
09:52to reduce safety for cyclists or pedestrians,
09:55instead using it as an opportunity
09:56for imagination of reciting
09:58those same bike lanes towards the media.
10:06That is a continued conversation.
10:08The goal is always to protect
10:09every New Yorker,
10:10no matter their mode of transit.
10:12Do we have other on-topic questions?
10:15Okay, we'll go in the third row over here.
10:17Sorry, if you could just wait for the microphone.
10:21I think Commissioner, it's going to be you.
10:22Hi, Commissioner Joe Torres from Channel 7.
10:25Congratulations, first of all,
10:26on doing these necessary changes.
10:29In the process of getting this done and approved,
10:33did you run into any jurisdictional challenges
10:36or obstacles with the New York State DOT
10:39in terms of making it happen?
10:41And if so, what were they
10:43and how did you overcome them?
10:45Thanks for that question.
10:47No, we have a great partnership
10:48and working relationship with our state partners,
10:51including State DOT.
10:53The fact that they need to be able to have access
10:55to maintain the structure
10:56was absolutely one of our design considerations.
10:59And so we made sure that we coordinated
11:01with them on that.
11:03Midterms, less than a week away.
11:05Yes.
11:05The president barnstorming the country,
11:07AOC barnstorming the country.
11:09Do you plan on barnstorming the country?
11:11And do you have any predictions
11:12for this upcoming elections?
11:14Will Democrats take the House and Senate?
11:17And will you support,
11:18I know it's like a triple loaded question.
11:19Hit me.
11:20Will you support Hakeem Jeffries for speaker?
11:22You have considerable influence
11:23with many predicted new incoming members of the House.
11:26Yes.
11:27To your third question,
11:29to your second question,
11:31I'm hopeful.
11:32I'm hoping and praying
11:33that Democrats take back the House
11:35and that we win the Senate as well.
11:37And this is always that time
11:39where hope and anxiety meet.
11:40And it is a question of who prevails.
11:42What I would always say to others
11:44is that hope will not win the election.
11:47However, the action that comes from hope can't.
11:48And this is really a moment
11:50where there are a lot of elections
11:51that are very, very close
11:53and could really be decided
11:54over the next week or so.
11:56And in terms of barnstorming,
11:57my plan is to barnstorm New York City.
11:59It's been a real pleasure
12:00to be going alongside Governor Hochul
12:03and canvassing for her re-election.
12:05People are excited
12:06by a track record
12:07of delivering universal child care
12:10for two-year-olds
12:10for the first time
12:11in our city's history.
12:12That is something
12:13that would not have been possible
12:14without her support.
12:15They are shocked
12:16by her opponent's insistence
12:18that if he were to win,
12:19he would cancel that program
12:20and his labeling
12:21of the parents
12:22who benefit from it
12:23as lazy
12:24and sitting at home
12:25and watching the view.
12:26And finally,
12:27we've also been having
12:28a lot of conversations
12:29around artificial intelligence.
12:30And one thing
12:30that I've really appreciated
12:31about the governor
12:32is the moratorium
12:33that she put in place
12:34for the construction
12:35of large-scale data centers.
12:37And what you've also heard
12:38from her opponent
12:38is a continued insistence
12:40that data centers
12:41are something that should be
12:42a key part
12:43of what the immediate,
12:45medium-term,
12:45and long-term future
12:46of the state is.
12:47And it is completely
12:48out of step
12:48with that of the people
12:50of the state,
12:51two-thirds of whom
12:51are in opposition
12:52to the construction
12:52of those data centers.
12:53Just to clarify
12:54the travel piece of it,
12:55just New York City,
12:56you won't be going up
12:56to like New York 17
12:57or even New York 21
12:59or any in-state travel?
13:00As of now,
13:01my focus is on the five boroughs.
13:03That's where it's tended to be.
13:04I'm excited for it.
13:06Okay, we'll just go
13:07next to John Ake from Politico.
13:12Hi, Mr. Mayer.
13:13Hi, John Ake.
13:13How are you?
13:13Good.
13:15I have a couple questions.
13:16Did the NYPD commissioner
13:18sign off on you
13:19using the NYPD Police Academy
13:21gym in Queens
13:22to play late-night basketball?
13:24And if not,
13:25who told your office
13:26that it was an okay use
13:27of the space?
13:28And then secondly,
13:29who have you been
13:30playing these games with?
13:34Five people
13:35who are better than me
13:36at basketball,
13:37which is also not
13:37very difficult.
13:40What I will say is
13:41there are a lot of people
13:42who have come away
13:43from that article
13:43thinking that I'm much better
13:44at basketball than I am.
13:45But when it comes
13:46to your question,
13:47I'd always been told
13:48that late-night pickup
13:49at this facility
13:50would be of no disruption
13:51to recruits,
13:52and I would never want
13:53to interfere with training
13:54at the academy.
13:55And if my use of the facility
13:56were to ever cause a disruption,
13:58then I would find
13:59somewhere else to play.
14:00Okay, thanks.
14:00We'll go next to Hoseley.
14:05Hi, Mr. Mayer.
14:06Hi, Hoseley.
14:06How are you?
14:06I'm good, thank you.
14:07Two quick ones
14:08about horse carriages.
14:09That was passed
14:10by the City Council
14:11last week.
14:13Will your administration
14:14pursue offering
14:16some form of compensation
14:18for those in the industry?
14:19And secondly,
14:20as you know,
14:21the legislation leaves
14:23a lot of the technical issues
14:24in terms of what's next
14:26in your court
14:27for your administration
14:28to figure out.
14:29Was that your preference
14:30and something you had requested
14:31in conversations
14:32to be able to take the lead
14:34on figuring out
14:35different jobs
14:36for horse carriage drivers?
14:39I think to your first question,
14:40yes.
14:40To your second question,
14:42our preference
14:42throughout all the conversations
14:43was how to sunset
14:45this industry
14:46while protecting
14:47the livelihoods
14:47of the workers
14:48who have built their lives
14:49around this industry.
14:50And so that is
14:51what a lot of the focus is
14:53of our internal
14:53facing conversations
14:54is how to fulfill that
14:56for every single one
14:57of those who've been
14:58building their lives
14:59around us.
14:59What might that compensation
15:01look like?
15:02I think that's the subject
15:02of the conversation,
15:03but it is one that we want
15:05to be real and tangible.
15:06Thank you very much.
15:07Now we have a question
15:07from News 12 in the back.
15:09Right behind Saheli.
15:15Hi,
15:15Edric Robinson with News 12.
15:17Hi, how's it going?
15:19Just about the intersection here.
15:21Were the lights considered?
15:23Because some of the neighbors
15:24are telling me
15:24the timing of the lights
15:25was an issue
15:26more than anything else.
15:27They felt like it was too fast.
15:29Was that considered
15:30when the plan went in place
15:31to redesign this third avenue?
15:34You know, with that,
15:35I'm going to ask
15:35if the DOT commissioner
15:36is still present
15:37that he can come and speak to you
15:38about the specificity
15:39of the lights.
15:41Do we have our DOT commissioner
15:43here still?
15:43No, I think he's off
15:44to continue the work of DOT.
15:47We'll get back to you
15:48on the question of the lights.
15:50Okay, we have time
15:50for a few more.
15:52We'll go over...
15:53Actually, before we do that,
15:55I've just heard
15:55from the esteemed council member
15:56that yes,
15:57that was a part
15:58of the consideration.
15:59Wonderful.
16:00Okay, we'll go to the gentleman
16:00on the second row.
16:02Right here.
16:07Hello, Mr. Mayor.
16:08Hi, how's it going?
16:08It's from CBS News New York.
16:10How's it going?
16:10Good, good.
16:11How are you?
16:11Doing well.
16:12So this question
16:12is actually on behalf
16:13of Marsha Kramer
16:14who couldn't be here today.
16:16We love Marsha.
16:16I'm just going to read it verbatim.
16:17She wants to know,
16:18why are you looking
16:19to replace Ms. Linda Tigani
16:21from the Commission
16:22on Racial Equality
16:23or Equity, excuse me?
16:25There are reports
16:25that you had
16:26a tumultuous relationship
16:28with her.
16:28Can you talk about that?
16:30Absolutely.
16:30You know,
16:31Linda has served
16:31a full term
16:32of three years
16:33in this position.
16:34And even though
16:34that term has come
16:35to an end,
16:36we all owe her
16:37a debt of gratitude
16:38for the work
16:39that she has done
16:39to advance racial equity
16:40across the city.
16:42And alongside
16:42the city council,
16:43we have agreed
16:44to extend her term
16:45to next summer.
16:46And we're excited
16:47to work with
16:48the same council
16:49to put forward
16:50Christopher Alexander
16:51as the next commissioner
16:52to pick up
16:53the mantle
16:54that Linda
16:55is going to leave behind
16:56and to continue
16:56to provide
16:57the steadfast leadership
16:58that the commission
16:58deserves
16:59as well as
16:59that New Yorkers deserve.
17:00And just a little bit
17:01about Christopher.
17:02He's someone
17:03who has spent
17:03his career
17:04advancing
17:05this very cause
17:06of racial equity.
17:07Someone who
17:08has currently
17:09been leading
17:10the NAACP
17:11New York conference
17:12as well as
17:13the work
17:13that he did
17:13to implement
17:14the legalization
17:14of cannabis
17:15across the state.
17:16And I'm confident
17:17in his abilities
17:18to advance this work
17:19as well as
17:20his ability
17:22and capacity
17:22to hold us
17:23accountable
17:23should we waver in it.
17:26Okay, we have time
17:26for one more.
17:27We're going to go
17:27to Kelly from New York 1.
17:30Hi, Mr. Mayor.
17:31Hi, Kelly.
17:31How's it going?
17:32I'm doing well.
17:32I wanted to ask you
17:34about the curb act
17:34that's causing
17:35some controversy
17:36in the city council.
17:37This is something
17:37that you've been after
17:38when it comes to
17:39the SRG
17:40and disbanding them.
17:41I wanted to know
17:42your position
17:42on that bill.
17:44Many of your allies
17:46in the council
17:46are pushing for this.
17:47I mean,
17:47do you think
17:48that this bill
17:49should come up
17:50for at least
17:51a hearing in the council?
17:52Do you support the bill?
17:54And where do you stand
17:56as of today
17:56on disbanding the SRG?
17:58So I continue
17:59to be where I've been
18:00in support
18:01of disbanding the SRG,
18:02in support of
18:03decoupling
18:04our city's response
18:06from terrorism threats
18:07from its response
18:09to First Amendment
18:10activity.
18:11And that continues
18:12to be the subject
18:13of internal conversations
18:14and a commitment
18:15that we will fulfill
18:16for New Yorkers
18:17to protect their
18:19First Amendment rights
18:19while also keeping them safe.
18:21And when it comes
18:21to Councilmember Osei's
18:23legislation,
18:24it is one
18:24that we are
18:25supportive of the spirit of.
18:26And we've been
18:27having conversations
18:28around specific language,
18:29but we're excited
18:30to see the work
18:30that he's been doing
18:31and the work
18:32that council members
18:32have been doing
18:33to that end.
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