Transcript: Mayor de Blasio Delivers Remarks at Kehilat Rayim Ahuvim

May 30, 2015

Mayor Bill de Blasio: ...I now have the great honor of being able to perform wedding ceremonies – one of the great peaks of this job.  But when I realized, thinking back to my own beginning with Chirlane, it is a moment that takes a lot of strength, that takes a lot of belief, and it is the beginning of something extraordinary. And if we had a more perfect world, every kind of support and every kind of clearing of the path would be there for our young people. And I think for many – [inaudible] – for many generations that was true, but now that’s [inaudible].

Here is a wonderful couple – Boaz, a post-doc student at Columbia; Alyssa, a graduate student at Parsons. What could be better? What could be better? Two young people who find love who are highly educated and have so much to offer our society, but who are going to help to continue the great vision of this city – of being a center of not just learning, but of learned people that apply their skills making us stronger, making us a capital of the world in every sense – business, culture, technology, you name it. 

So, here's a couple that's everything we would want. And, their challenge, like so many other New Yorkers, is now they have to find a place to live that they can afford, that they can afford. 

[Laughter]

When I was running for mayor, I can't tell you how many people came to me, and talked with such spirit, most of them about facts that they remember a – an affordable New York City. They remember, not a city that was perfect. In fact, we all know, a city with its share of problems, but a city that for generation after generation had been affordable – a city where it was a given that you could live and create something. 

This is why we are in this great cultural capital. This is why are this great business capital. You know, wherever you turn, you, you hear these stories, the rags to riches stories that make up New York City.  And they’re truly some extraordinary things. Some legends, some myths are true. This one’s true – people came from all over the world, many fleeing oppression, many fleeing poverty. They were able to do something here that was impossible. [inaudible] some people grew up here, no matter how humble the circumstances, there was a way forward. 

So given it was a, if you will – a birthright of New Yorkers that you could live here and stay here. And I think it is absolutely connected to why we became so great. I think it was, there was a hunger, it was an entrepreneurship, it was a creativity – whatever word you choose – a sense of striving. But it was accommodating to be raised here – the door was open. Was it a perfect example of oneness and tolerance? No. There was prejudice, there were conflicts, but that wasn't the dominant theme. 

The reality is, for generations – in fact, one could argue going all the way back to the Dutch – this place opened the door to anyone and everyone. The Dutch, by the way, were just interested in making a buck. And they were -- they didn't care, back in the 1600s, where you were from or who you were, as long as commerce kept going. 

And we have some of that spirit here today still on our side. But, the fact is, for generations this was an open city. And the open city allowed for great accomplishment. And the open city also allowed the ability of every kind, every example of humanity to co-exist more or less in peace. And that was underlied by the notion that every young couple, every immigrant, [inaudible]. 

And now, first time [inaudible] really, I believe this is an accurate historical statement º for the first time in our history, just in the last decade or so [inaudible]. But the day it dawned on you that the – the house or the apartment in your neighborhood that used to be 100 percent easily affordable, suddenly is going for a million dollars, or two million dollars, or whatever [inaudible] number you want to choose. It happened almost out of no where for so many spots. 

I remember the day Chirlane and I went to buy the house that we own in Park Slope [inaudible]. And we believed in our hearts had we aited a few more days, we would have been priced out as the market [inaudible]. It was that quick. [inaudible] if we’re going to be that city for all, if we’re going to be that city that works to improve what we have [inaudible]. The New York City that we know and love and how are we acting to the drama. Well yes, I am convinced [inaudible], and I am convinced we are acting through the drama. We are aggressively morphing to create affordable housing all over the city [inaudible] 400,000 units [inaudible] for half a million people. And because of my New York Pride I will put that in perspective – that many people that our affordable housing plan will accommodate as [inaudible] within the city limits of [inaudible] apartments. That’s how grand it is, that New Yorkers [inaudible]. And this is the grand plan that actually invests our reality [inaudible]. So we here in the city, we’re saying we understand there is absolute crisis, we are taking every tool we have here, using it to change our reality, to build and preserve affordable housing to keep this the open city. 

And we know that so many young couples or so many people who have that genius that spark that created an entrepreneurship [inaudible] depending on us, and everyone in this room can help to support and encourage those efforts, through the democratic process. We need the partners of the city [inaudible]. We need the partners of the letters sent in Albany. Now, for the next three weeks we have a moment of particular decision, and it is one of those break point moments that we will look back on and say we either got it right or we got it wrong. And I guarantee you many, many, many more young couples will feel the impact of the decision we are about to make. And these decisions rest in Albany. But when I say we its because of my faith in democracy that our voices reach even as far as Albany, New York, and influence the events there. 

In the next 3 weeks, there's only 3 weeks left in the legislative session, what's on the docket. Rent regulation. Rent regulation that affects over 2 million New Yorkers. There's 8.5 million of us right now – 8.5 million. We are the largest – we are the largest population in our entire history of [inaudible]. Everyone knows were going to grow even further. But between two and – two and half million New Yorkers depend on rent regulation for affordable housing. And we have seen what happens, when it’s leave rent regulation, or leave [inaudible], or leave different efforts to protect affordability. They go to market rate. We've seen how many families do not have the opportunity to live in this city or certainly to live in the neighborhood they love. We've seen people who have literally have to leave. Or how many good people don't even try to come here because of that. So here we have a tool, imagine anything else in the city anywhere that affects almost 2.5 million people – how crucial it would be to preserve and protect it, in fact, to strengthen it. That's what’s up for grabs now. You know. And I understand something about politics, and I understand something about partisan differences or different viewpoints from different part of – parts of the state. I sometimes think we have to be a little more elemental. Two and a half million people, that's what it’s about. 

Its not complicated. [inaudible]. 2.5 million people are in specific immediate need. Democracy is supposed to respond to that. So I don't get lost in the politics of their breed. I bring it back to the elemental question, are we serving humanity? See, that's what's up for grabs in the next three weeks. And don't for a moment believe that the impossible, both good or bad, can't happen. We've seen too many times and certainly Washington has been an [inaudible]. I bet a lot of us in this room could create a list of things that we said would never happen. Politically impossible, no one in government would ever do that, good or bad. Sometimes it's good, sometimes the underdog wins, sometimes the great reform is achieved. But sometimes the things we thought were untouchable, and people would thing better of that, or be above the fray, sometimes something happens, some bad policy for the wrong reasons. If we were to lose rent regulation, and it could be, there are those in Albany who would like to end it.

We would fundamentally change lives of people in the city, and we would be saying to 2.5 million people you may not need to stay much longer. In fact it must be strengthened, so that this ability to keep the open city and diverse city in every sense, the reality is the backdrop here is bright and you know it, you've felt it in your own lives, or with your friends and family. 56 percent of New Yorkers – 56 percent – over half of "renters" pay more than 30 percent of their income on a place to live. There's is a very substantial number of people in this city who are paying more than 50 percent of their income. That kind of crisis needs strong solutions. Our affordable housing plan, 200,000 units, is that type of solution. Continuing and strengthening rent regulation is that type of solution. And we think we can go even farther, and Ill be very brief making this point. You know that same trajectory that I mentioned, how the city has had a historic reality, then we went through something unusual in the last few decades. 

Well, some of that of course indicates very good news. Strength of our economy, the fact that people want to come here from all over the world, the fact there's a lot of young people who not so long ago would of inevitably chosen to live in the suburbs, now prefer energetically to live in the city. And all of those trends are part of our challenge, but also of course are part of our strength. Which means our housing market is booming, and the values and prices are higher than ever, but here's an interesting thing. The tax system is based on the [inaudible] so the battle days in New York City, when it came to a town [inaudible] in the 1970s. Remember 1970s, a lot of people didn't want to live here, a lot of people were leaving, a lot of people weren't investing, weren't building businesses. So back in the 1970s a tax break was put in place to solve [inaudible]. It said if you develop housing in the city we will give you a tax break. It wasn't illogical at the time. Well that same concept that has never been meaninglessly outdated. It will reform in pieces, but today in New York City and New York State, if you want to build even the most luxurious town, in any of them, you get a tax break. And a lot of us came to the conclusion that our obligation to the tax payer was to update that. 

To say there's going to be tax payer dollars involved in affordable housing, given the prices I described. And to say to those who have done very well, that we need your help to create more affordable housing because it’s in all of our interests. It’s in all of our interest to have this be that open entrepreneurial city. We put together a plan, and here's a piece of irony for you. We put together a plan that represents these values, affordability and inclusion, and asking more back on behalf of the citizen and the taxpayer, the rent and real estate industry in this city, and said we can do this together. And low and behold, we found common ground. Because I would say simply, the people that have spoken in recent years, the people have declared their deep desire for more affordable housing. People have declared their desire to see that their resources are involved as tax payers that we get more back. So we came to an agreement that the real estate industry in this city, and we said we will go to Albany together. And we will ask that this tax subsidy be reformed that every time it is used there’ll be affordable housing created. 

We will ask that those [inaudible] luxurious homes help us create affordable housing. That some affordable housing [inaudible]. That we can preserve this magic, this strength, this core that has made New York City great. It’s one of those moments that people get to decide, are we going to protect our will our heritage, our strength, are we going to pass it to the next generation, are we going to continue, if you will, the secret formula, or are we going to risk it. And I believe we have that opportunity right now. I believe that if you are going to do public service, you better start from a position of opportunity. It’s very hard otherwise. Can I get an Amen [inaudible] ?

[Laughter]

I didn't hear it, so I'm worried.

[Laughter]

But I'll finish with this. Think about this wonderful young couple. Think about Alyssa and Boaz. Think about thousands and thousands and thousands like them. 

Think about them bringing all of their town’s energy to the city. And it being a given, you’re not getting the cheapest apartment, but that there will be an apartment. There will be an opportunity for them. And this strength that has been passed on from generation to generation continued to grow. Those who work hard will be rewarded. And they will build up our community stronger then ever. That is the dream, it can be achieved because there is such a common sense to it, such a profound need in so many people affected it can be achieved. This is what we’re fighting for in these next three weeks. We need your help, this is what we need. Thank you.