Nadler, a senior member of Congress, said this mayor’s race is about “ending an eight-year rule in which the needs of the middle class, needs of low income people are on the backburner”—a criticism lobbed at the two-term mayor. Nadler also slammed the city’s reliance on Wall Street for revenue at the expense of small business.

“We need, as mayor, someone who understands the city cannot survive only on Wall Street,” Nadler said.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg is running for re-election to a third term, arguing that the economic collapse requires continuity and his particular brand of leadership. But his opponents argue that he has been too friendly with Wall Street and the real estate developers that contributed to this problem in the first place. As the city hits record jobless rates, with particularly high numbers of unemployed in the African American community, concrete plans to fix an ailing system are desperately needed.

We asked the candidates how they plan on preserving jobs, as businesses large and small must cut back on employees, and how they intend to create new jobs without relying on traditional sectors of the city’s economy (like real estate and Wall Street). We also asked how they would help large and small businesses thrive through initiatives like tax incentives and training. Finally, we asked how these candidates would spend federal stimulus dollars to inject a much-needed shot of adrenaline into the economy.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, running as a Republican and Independent

Job Preservation/Creation
The mayor’s Five Borough Economic Opportunity Plan, his strategy for getting through the recession, pledges to preserve or create 400,000 jobs through various initiatives. To help people obtain work, the mayor has set up Workforce 1 Career Centers that give job training, career advice and job placement opportunities. According to the administration, the centers have helped place 68,500 people in jobs so far. The mayor is also using $32 million in federal stimulus money to help train and place workers through other career training efforts. He is additionally putting money toward infrastructure to create more construction jobs and diversifying New York’s economy by making existing buildings energy efficient, an initiative that could potentially create thousands of green jobs. For example, the mayor’s capital investment plan is putting money toward infrastructure to create construction jobs, and his “Greener, Greater Buildings Plan,” a six-point strategy to make existing large buildings energy efficient through retrofits, will create approximately 19,000 green construction jobs.

Diversifying the Economy
To reduce the city’s reliance on Wall Street and real estate, the mayor has been working with the City Council to lure the film and television sectors back into the city through a targeted tax incentive program and an easy online permitting process. According to the city, this has contributed to a 92 percent increase in shooting days and $5 billion a year in economic activity, as well as 100,000 jobs.

The mayor has also been working on improving tourism in the city; the industry is currently responsible for 370,000 jobs. In 2006, the mayor announced a plan to attract 50 million tourists to the city by 2015. In 2008, 47 million tourists visited New York City and spent approximately $30 billion.

Initiatives to attract biotechnology companies to New York recently netted a pledge from Eli Lilly’s ImClone to locate its research headquarters in East River Park. The mayor says the move will create 2,000 permanent jobs and 1,800 construction jobs.

In light of the recent challenges facing media companies with a traditional business model, Bloomberg also has a plan for maintaining and enhancing New York’s status as a global media capital. The mayor said the initiatives, which include increasing collaboration among media companies, training top talent and attracting global companies to the city, will ultimately create 8,000 jobs.

Tax Incentives
The mayor is against the unincorporated business tax, which places a double tax on small businesses. He has helped to eliminate or reduce this tax for 17,000 small businesses in the city by increasing credits that offset the tax. This plan was in the mayor’s 2009 State of the City address, and he proceeded to work with local business leaders, the City Council and the state so that it could be included in the FY 2010 budget. The effect of the credits is that unincorporated businesses with taxable incomes under $100,000 pay no tax, and unincorporated business with taxable incomes under $150,000 pay a reduced tax. Albany’s approval of the mayor’s plan has saved small businesses nearly $25 million annually through the reduction or elimination of the tax for some small businesses.

The mayor has lobbied Albany to provide other tax incentives for big and small businesses that set up headquarters in New York City, with a particular emphasis on emerging international markets like China and India. The mayor would not, however, approve a plan that would give property tax incentives to landlords who agree to renegotiate leases with small businesses suffering from construction on the Second Avenue subway line.

Small Business
Bloomberg created six NYC Business Solution Centers around the city that have so far helped 35,000 small businesses with planning, financing, hiring and training. During Bloomberg’s tenure, he supported the creation of 20 new Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), community groups that focus on local business development. That is the largest number of BIDs to be created by one single administration. To help small businesses through the recession, the mayor is expanding the NYC Capital Access Loan Guarantee program, which leverages city funds to give emergency loans to small businesses and non-profits. He is also putting $500,000 in state funds toward the NYC Business Solutions Training Grant program to help small businesses train employees. Other online tools, like NYC Business Express website, help small business owners more efficiently deal with government and the permitting process.

Stimulus Money
The mayor is investing $261 million of the federal stimulus funds in transportation and capital improvement projects, specifically those that will require jobs even after initial construction is complete. Examples include reconstruction of West 125th Street and East Houston Street, and the rehabilitation of three roadway bridges in Manhattan, which the city says will preserve or create approximately 32,000 jobs. He is also using $400 million for infrastructure improvements to the city’s public housing developments, including more than $8 million for elevator construction improvements in King Towers and $2 million in repairs to Washington Heights Rehab IV facility.

Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr., Democrat

Job Preservation/Creation
Thompson has been a vocal critic of the Bloomberg administration’s efforts to preserve and create jobs on Wall Street, arguing that the mayor’s approach has ignored the middle and working class. He released a study as comptroller showing that $1 billion worth of state and federal initiatives, like occupational training and related employment programs, were highly uncoordinated and inefficient. The study recommended a series of ways to improve and fix those programs. Thompson also called on Bloomberg to create an Office for Skills Education to oversee workforce development programs.

A spokesperson for the Thompson campaign, Anne Fenton, said they have not yet released a specific job creation or preservation plan. Thompson, however, has pledged to work with community partners and employers to create a comprehensive job strategy and focus on expanding sectors of the economy that allow for middle-income wages. As comptroller, Thompson joined the mayor and labor leaders in creating the city’s Commission on Construction Opportunity to improve and ease access for those interested in joining New York City’s development sector. He has long called for an increased focus on technical education, which he says has far better results than traditional high school education in teaching kids marketable skills that will help them get jobs.

Diversifying the Economy
Thompson said he is committed to harnessing the city’s diverse economic potential. As comptroller, he committed $450 million of pension fund money to the City Investment Fund, which invests money in real estate that is outside the parameters of traditional business districts. These investments specifically foster economic growth in low-, moderate- and middle-income neighborhoods. He also committed $200 million of pension fund money to a joint fund with real estate giant Tishman Speyer to acquire and redevelop properties throughout the five boroughs. Projects assisted by this fund include two office buildings in Central Harlem with 389,450 rentable square feet of space to attract jobs and business to the neighborhood; 25,000 square feet of medical office space and 32,000 square feet of retail space in Fort Greene, Brooklyn; and the construction of the Citibank building in Long Island City, Queens. The Citibank project will provide 1.4 million square feet of office space, which will bring jobs and economic activity to a neighborhood that has been particularly hard hit by the decline in industrial manufacturing.

Tax Incentives
Thompson opposes taxes, fees and fines that he says unfairly burden businesses. For instance, Thompson supported changing tax regulations to eliminate the unincorporated business tax, which he said unduly burdens small companies. He has also called for the federal government to revise the alternative minimum tax, which was originally created to target the super rich but has since become a burden for middle class families.

Small Business
As city comptroller, Thompson led an initiative that created Banking Development Districts, where $200 million in city funds were deposited in new bank branches in the city’s underserved communities so that loans could be made to small businesses to encourage job growth. He also proposed creating a database for new and existing businesses to connect through the city’s Department of Small Business Services.

Stimulus Money
A spokesperson for Thompson did not provide details on his plans for federal stimulus funds.

Council Member Tony Avella, Democrat

Job Preservation/Creation
The way to stem job loss and create more jobs in New York City is to bolster small businesses, according to Avella. He supports creating a commercial rent control system so that landlords cannot charge small businesses astronomically high rents, a situation that makes it almost impossible to run a profitable small business in the city. Avella also said that the city has to crack down on landlords who ask tenants for money—sometimes as much as 30 percent of a lease—in exchange for the rights to continue that lease, an illegal practice. Loan programs, job training and tax incentives do not help address the real problem, Avella says. “Let’s fix the main problem first,” he said, referring to rising cost of rent. “If there’s no business, all these other things don’t matter.”

Diversifying the Economy
Avella believes that jobs are being lost because New York has declined as a manufacturing hub over the last 20 years. Bloomberg’s program of rezoning industrial areas for mixed-use has forced out factories to make room for luxury housing, exacerbating the problem, Avella says. To bring jobs back to New York City, he believes that New York must become a manufacturing center again. This will happen by turning the clock back on Bloomberg’s efforts to rezone industrial areas to allow for residential buildings. Avella said the city needs to set aside areas for just industry to allow factories to flourish.

Tax Incentives
Like the other candidates, Avella opposed the unincorporated business tax. He does not, however, support tax incentives for large businesses because he said they are doing well without the help of the city. Any aid for large business should come from the federal government as part of plans to address the national recession; New York City should focus its energy and money on small businesses. And the way to help small businesses, according to Avella, is to create commercial rent stabilization so that small business owners can afford real estate in New York City. Once that problem is solved, he said, many other challenges confronting small business owners will evaporate.

Stimulus Money
Avella said that he does not have enough information about the federal stimulus funds to comment. He added, “A lot of this is still speculation. The key is that the money goes to the right spots. Information that comes through from the state and the city is less than perfect.” To date, more than $3.4 million in federal stimulus dollars have already been spent out of a total of $21 billion allocated to New York City.

Sound Bytes

Experts rate the mayoral canididates
We asked a handful of representatives from various financial and economic development groups what they thought of each candidate’s work. Below are brief summaries of their feedback.

Kathryn Wylde, president and CEO of Partnership for New York City, a nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing economic opportunities in the five boroughs

Michael Bloomberg: “The industry/business collaboration with city government in developing and implementing economic development strategies has never been greater and I have been involved in economic development in the city for 30 years. This is the first time economic development has included a strong focus on creating industry clusters and in supporting business and job-creation efforts, as opposed to simply real estate development, which is most of what we’ve called economic development in the past.”

William C. Thompson: “We have worked with Bill Thompson in his capacity as comptroller in investing in pension funds. He has also been working with the business community to evaluate some of the economic development plans that have been put forward to the city. As comptroller, he has similarly tried to work in partnership with business to support job creation in the city.”

Tony Avella: “I would agree with the importance of supporting small businesses, and both the mayor and the comptroller have positions similar to support small business. However, the experience of the city in trying to look at mandates like commercial rent control, there’s been a general resistance to mandates that ultimately will make it difficult for local neighborhood economies to respond to changes in the marketplace, and so I think that’s there’s been general agreement that incentives are far preferable to one-size fits all mandates.”

Nicole Gelinas, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank focused on New York City issues

Michael Bloomberg: “One problem that we’ve had throughout the Bloomberg administration is that the boom overwhelmed what could have been an opportunity for job creation in other sectors. Despite what the mayor’s office says, we have gotten more dependent on revenues from Wall Street and it’s only been growing under the Bloomberg administration until the crash last year. In terms of job creation and diversifying the economy away from Wall Street, one way to do it is by lowering income taxes. The only people who can afford to pay these income taxes are people who are making huge salaries on Wall Street… We had record tax revenues and we didn’t do much to improve the public transit system. We’re not doing much with stimulus money. We’re letting existing imbalances get worse. We spend way too much on a health care system that’s riddled with fraud. Bloomberg has been good on quality of life and keeping the city safe, but if you talk to a lot of these guys they just hate the taxes that they’re paying.”

William C. Thompson: “In terms of his position on using the pension funds to invest in local businesses, I’m very wary of that because it’s not that I think he’s doing anything he shouldn’t be doing, but when you’re using public money to invest in certain popular enterprises you wonder whether you’re doing it for the best return or to please constituencies. They are always investing in affordable housing and its always politically pleasing, but it’s not the best return for taxpayers. He should talk about taxes and costs, but I haven’t really heard about that.”

Tony Avella: “Don’t just complain about landlords, but look at why the city is charging a commercial rent tax, an extra tax from tenants. [In terms of not giving tax incentives to big businesses], I think he’s definitely right about that. I think it’s better to have lower costs across the board and businesses can decide which ones want to be here.

Election Briefs

D.A. CANDIDATES ON WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS—Leslie Crocker Snyder has proposed the Second Look Bureau, Richard Aborn calls for an Office of Professional Responsibility and Cyrus Vance, Jr. wants a Conviction Integrity Panel.

All of the candidates for Manhattan district attorney have detailed their plans to tackle wrongful convictions, and each has explained how his or her proposal is more effective than those put for by the other two candidates. Despite varying details, all the plans suggest videotaping interrogations to better detect false confessions, and using double-blind line-ups and photo arrays, in which the administrator does not know the identity of the suspect.

Snyder’s Second Look Bureau is a four-year-old plan inspired by the so-called Palladium case, in which a man who was accused of murdering a nightclub bouncer wrongfully convicted. The office, which would be staffed by attorneys who have no prior involvement in the cases handled, would investigate whether a conviction merits a re-examination. Snyder sees the bureau working in conjunction with the videotaping and double-blind line-up reforms.

“We hope to get the first look right. If we do make a mistake, we’re going to have a bureau and a credible basis for us to take a second look,” Snyder said in a previous interview with Our Town.

The bureau has been criticized by her opponents as too reactionary.

“I don’t think we should wait until cases reach the conviction stage to examine or re-examine a case to make sure we have the right person,” Aborn said at a debate hosted by sister publication City Hall.

Aborn touts his plan to prevent wrongful convictions in the first place, a central piece of his proactive campaign message. The plan would increase access to DNA, provide services for those exonerated and create an Office of Professional Responsibility that would create guidelines to stem wrongful convictions. This office would collect and investigate allegations of prosecutorial misconduct.

Aborn, a member of the state Bar Association’s task force on wrongful convictions, was endorsed by advocate Jeffrey Deskovic, who spent time in jail for a murder he did not commit.

Vance similarly criticized Snyder’s Second Look Bureau and noted that his plan, built around a Conviction Integrity Unit, has a broader mandate. The unit will look at cases that are deemed questionable throughout all phases of a case.

“The Conviction Integrity Unit, first of all, mandates that the district attorney office is advocating and implemented best practices in the office,” Vance said. “That unit should be making sure we are, within the office, providing the resources and guidance for young prosecutors on issues that may confront them in handling cases.”

Vance also wants to expand discovery, a pre-trial phase in which parties request evidence and documents from one another.

MESSINGER MAKES KEY ENDORSEMENTS—Ruth Messenger, the 1997 Democratic nominee for mayor, former Manhattan borough president and longtime West Side Council member, made two endorsements in the comptroller and district attorney primaries.

Messinger is supporting Brooklyn Council Member David Yassky in his bid for comptroller, further solidifying his support in Manhattan, home to prime Democratic voters.

Messinger also threw her support to district attorney hopeful Leslie Crocker Snyder, a former judge and prosecutor backed primarily by law enforcement unions. The endorsement—along with support from Geraldine Ferraro, a former vice presidential candidate and Queens congresswoman—also gives Snyder progressive credibility, which has dogged her campaign. Snyder is a former supporter of the death penalty, though in the narrowest of circumstances.

“I can say with certainty that Leslie’s core progressive values, unmatched experience and vision for the office are exactly what the electorate wants in their next district attorney,” Messinger said in a statement.

The endorsement will likely help Snyder more with Manhattan’s progressive constituency than with female voters, given that she is the only woman in the race. The women’s vote makes up most of the Democratic primary electorate in Manhattan.

But Aborn and Vance are not ceding that crucial bloc of voters to Snyder.

Aborn held a rally at City Hall earlier in July with several prominent progressive women who have endorsed his campaign, including Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal, Council Member Gale Brewer, former West Side State Sen. Catherine Abate and The Nation editor Katrina vanden Heuvel.

Each cited Aborn’s progressive, “proactive” policies including his proposal for a hates crime bureau, work with gun-control laws and support of Rockefeller Drug Law reforms.

Vance, meanwhile, held a rally with feminist icon and activist Gloria Steinem when he introduced his plan to combat domestic violence, which he declared a public health crisis.
—Dan Rivoli

But the drama isn’t exactly unwarranted. The population of the city has grown significantly since Mayor Michael Bloomberg took office in 2002, with more than 168,000 new residents. As a result, space, especially for housing, is at a premium. Affordable housing for New York City’s middle class, which seems to be at the heart of today’s housing debates, is a particular concern.

We asked each mayoral candidate to clarify his position on these issues, and to expand on other housing challenges, like infrastructure support, rent control and stabilization, historic preservation and property taxes. If information on one of these subjects does not appear under a candidate’s name, it means the campaign did not provide information on that topic.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, running as a Republican

Affordable Housing
Under the Bloomberg administration, nearly 80,000 new units of affordable housing were added to the city. He also helped maintain 21,000 city-regulated units that are part of the Mitchell-Lama program—an initiative created in the 1950s that is expiring out of its requirement for affordability—by creating regulatory and financial tools that allow owners to refinance, restructure and extend existing mortgages. While housing advocates have applauded Bloomberg’s efforts to create affordable housing for middle-income families, they are pushing his administration to focus on helping Mitchell Lama residences maintain their long-term affordability, and directing city resources at fixing and repairing existing units and buildings.

Rent Control
After the 2008 Housing and Vacancy Survey showed that the city’s vacancy rate was 2.88 percent, well below the 5 percent rate the rent control law requires, Bloomberg signed legislation extending rent stabilization. The Rent Stabilization Law has been re-signed every three years since 1979. On the state level, Bloomberg supports legislation being considered that would prevent units expiring out of the Mitchell Lama program from having their rents arbitrarily raised. He also signed into law the Tenant Protection Act, which protects tenants from landlords who willingly or inadvertently create an untenable living environment that forces residents to vacate their rent-controlled homes; landlords can then rent out apartments at market rate prices. Unlike his two opponents, Bloomberg has not called upon the Rent Guidelines Board to halt raising prices on rent-controlled units this year.

Development
During his tenure, the Bloomberg administration has made development a priority, to the chagrin of many critics who say he leaves neighborhood character and affordable units by the wayside. But the mayor says he won’t stop any time soon. One of the mayor’s major initiatives was rewriting the city’s zoning rules that restrict housing in industrial areas. Through a campaign of rezoning, the mayor has cleared the way for residential development in transit hubs that were heretofore home to run down or vacant factories. As part of his Five Borough Economic Opportunity Plan, his answer to the economic recession, the mayor is proposing even more rezoning to reinvigorate the city and encourage new development.

Infrastructure
As the mayor encouraged growth in the city and made it more habitable for young families, critics say his administration dropped the ball on supporting infrastructure, especially when it came to public education. District 2, which covers the East Side and parts of downtown, is so packed that hundreds of children seeking to enter kindergarten in their zoned schools were turned away earlier this year. The city expects that gifted program placements should resolve most, if not all, of the overflow for Upper East Side schools, and is securing more space in the downtown portion of the district. Still, the mayor says he is sufficiently planning for infrastructure improvements. As part of PlaNYC, Bloomberg’s 20-year sustainability plan, he plans to add more public schools, especially in areas targeted for new development. For example, in Hunters Point South, a middle-income development project in Queens, the mayor plans to add an intermediate school for the children who will end up living there.

Historic Preservation
Since 2003, the city has given historic protection to more than 2,400 buildings on the mayor’s watch. To date, the city has designated 20 historic districts and is on track to designate more historic districts citywide than any other previous administration. Still, critics and preservation advocates argue that the immense development the city has recently undergone has not kept pace with the need to preserve and landmark historic sites and neighborhoods across the boroughs. On the Upper West Side, the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission is considering a proposal from the West End Preservation Society to give historic status to approximately 100 buildings on West End Avenue between West 70th and 107th streets. The commission is also considering extending the Upper East Side historic district to protect 76 additional buildings. But the commission has not supported a 13-year attempt by Upper West Side residents and elected officials to designate Morningside Heights a historic district.

Property Taxes
During the economic downturn that followed 9/11, the mayor raised property taxes to help balance the city’s budget. Once conditions improved, Bloomberg has given property owners a $400 rebate ever year since 2004 and later imposed a property tax cut. During the most recent economic turmoil, however, Bloomberg tried to end the rebate and reinstate the full property tax, but the City Council fought his attempt and kept the rebate alive.

Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr., Democrat

Affordable Housing
As part of his campaign for mayor, Thompson has been meeting with affordable housing advocates to discuss the challenges for working- and middle-class families living in New York City. He has accused the mayor of overburdening families with too many taxes, and he has pledged to make affordable housing a priority. But he has not expounded on specific plans.

As comptroller, Thompson is responsible for four of the five city pension funds and has overseen $100 billion in assets. He used that position to create more units of affordable housing by investing New York City Pension Funds into efforts to build and save more low- and middle-income housing. He allocated more than a $1 billion in investments toward affordable housing, a significantly higher amount than his predecessors of the last two decades. Still, critics say Thompson has yet to articulate a comprehensive housing platform.

Rent Control
Thompson has called upon the Rent Guidelines Board to implement a rent freeze this year, in light of the economic crisis. The board raises rents annually on rent-controlled units; this year, there is a proposed hike of 2 percent to 4.5 percent for one-year leases, and 4 percent to 7.5 percent for two-year leases. At press time, the vote was scheduled to held on June 23.

Development
Thompson has called for smart growth, which he characterizes as encouraging development with a purpose. He says he is committed to attracting developers to New York City, and in a speech to the New York Building Congress, he noted that, “We need to make sure that companies can find what they need in New York, because if they can’t, we know they will take their business elsewhere.” He has simultaneously called for the city to provide adequate infrastructure to keep apace with development.

Property Taxes
Thompson has accused the mayor of overtaxing the city, and rejected the mayor’s claim that the city cannot afford property-tax rebate checks this year. He suggested that the mayor use the nearly $2 billion that was being rolled over into the following year’s budget to pay out the rebates. Thompson told a group of affordable-housing advocates that particularly in these difficult economic times, “I understand what New Yorkers are dealing with. They have less in their pocketbooks every month and the mayor’s proposed tax and fee increases are making matters worse, not better.”

Council Member Tony Avella, Democrat

Affordable Housing
Avella is a critic of using the Metropolitan AMI, or area median income of New York City residents, to determine eligibility for affordable housing. The Department of Housing and Urban Development currently requires applicants for affordable housing to fall below a certain percentage of that number. Avella argues that the system is flawed, since neighborhoods often include such a wide range of incomes, and he is in the process of drafting legislation to change the procedure used to determine eligibility. The Bloomberg administration has not taken a position on Avella’s proposed legislation, but a representative for the mayor said his affordable housing plan addresses people at a variety of income levels. Avella also said that landlords who do not properly maintain their affordable housing units should be “thrown into jail,” a critique of the city’s laxity toward unscrupulous landlords. Avella pointed to a building in his district where a landlord ignored city violations for so long that the Fire Department was forced to step in and evacuate tenants for eight months until repairs could be made. Violations should be enforced and landlords who do not regularly upgrade their buildings or keep them clean, functional and safe should face repercussions, the Council member says.

Rent Control
Like Thompson, Avella has also called on the Rent Guidelines Board to impose a rent freeze this year. But he has gone one step farther by advocating for dissolving the board altogether. He characterized the board as a “phony sham” controlled by landlords and developers. The board, which is made up of nine members, is chosen by the mayor, with two members representing tenants concerns, two members representing the general public and a chairperson appointed at the mayor’s discretion. If elected, Avella says he would place control of he board directly into the hands of the mayor and the city.

Development
Avella believes that the city needs to invest funds in creating more affordable housing. He does not, however, think that it will be difficult to attract more upscale development to the city. Avella opposes all public financing for private developments, including Yankee Stadium. Public funds should go to affordable housing, not private enterprise, according to Avella. “New York City is the place to be,” he said. “Big developers are going to come here. You just have to put some limits on construction.”

Infrastructure
Large-scale development often comes with side effects that directly impact the city’s infrastructure, like the need for additional sewer systems or new public schools. If elected, Avella says he would require developers to fund infrastructure improvements. Those who argue that they cannot afford to provide those services and still make a profit will be forced to open their books to prove it. “If you’re putting in a development and it’s going to overburden the infrastructure, someone has to be responsible,” Avella said.

Landmark Districts
Avella wants more community control and oversight for development, which includes giving community members more power to landmark buildings and neighborhoods. He currently envisions more community board oversight of development, but he did not offer specifics on exactly how much power the neighborhood body should have. While he applauds the work of the Landmarks Preservation Commission, Avella said the agency is understaffed and not fully equipped to deal with the number of buildings under threat. He also called for the dissolution of the Board of Standards and Appeals, the agency that gives variances to developers seeking a waiver for zoning regulations.

Property Taxes
Avella believes the best stimulant for the economy is a tax cut. He proposes lowering the property tax to allow more middle-income families to buy real estate, and he argues that the lower taxes would also encourage and attract development. What about balancing the budget? Avella said there are other ways to raise revenue. One suggestion is for the city to stop contracting out nearly $9 billion a year in services. While Avella does not have specifics on which city services should not be contracted out, he said the option should be explored as an alternative source of revenue.

———-

Sound Bytes

Experts rate the mayoral canididates

By Shayndi Raice

We asked a handful of representatives from various housing and development groups what they thought of each candidate’s work on the issues. Below are brief summaries of their feedback.

David Hanzel, policy director for the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development, a membership organization for New York City housing nonprofits.

Michael Bloomberg: “Generally, we believe that the Bloomberg administration has made an ambitious and historic commitment to creating and preserving affordable housing across all income levels. Our consistent issue is around the issue of long-term affordability. When he announced he 2030 sustainability plan, we thought there was an opportunity to extend affordability for city projects and that opportunity was missed.”

Bill Thompson: “Thompson has not articulated a comprehensive housing platform. The only thing that we’ve been aware of is his work trying to protect Battery Park City. He aligned with the mayor on that. The other thing that he’s been a lot stronger on is the importance of strengthening rent regulation. The mayor has been conscpiciously absent on the need to stregthen rent regulation.”

Tony Avella: “What we’ve been concerned about is that the Rent Guidelines Board has increased rents at a rate that doesnt match where landlords are. I’m not sure that zero percent increase [Avella’s position] is the right amount. There needs to be a fair examination of what the actual costs are from both sides [so they can] come up with a reasonable increase.”

Frank Ricci, director of government affairs for the Rent Stabilization Association, the largest trade association in the city that represents property owners.

Michael Bloomberg: “For our members, the two issues that matter that the mayor has control over is property taxes and water and sewer rates. Bloomberg has presided over an administration where both of those have risen dramatically.”

Bill Thompson: “He has taken a position of zero rent increases for the Rent Guidelines Board and that’s problematic, given the reality of the costs that owners have seen. He’s been very vocal on the issue of water and sewer rates. We’ve had double-digit increases for a couple of years now.

Tony Avella: “Tony Avella is the most far to the left. He’s very anti-real estate and very anti-development. He’s been part of a City Council that has voted for two years for mid-term tax increases.”

Simeon Bankoff, executive director of the Historic Districts Council, a citywide advocate for historic districts and preservation.

Michael Bloomberg: “Under Mayor Bloomberg, many more historic districts have been designated than under any other mayor. The landmarks agency has finally grown. This Landmarks Commission is seemingly more responsive to community. Every mayor of New York is pro-development. This mayor has been shockingly more pro-development than anyone ever anticipated. There has been a number of instances that have been very disappointing from a preservation point of view. Any large-scale development seems to have the backing of the mayor, and therefore any hope for preservation is at best an afterthought, and that’s a very disturbing thing.”

Bill Thompson: Thompson has not responded to questions posed to him in March from the Historic Districts Council. Bankoff, therefore, could not comment on his position on historic preservation.

Tony Avella: He is the diametric opposite of Bloomberg. He takes community input very seriously. He has made community-based planning a major issue and he is very “anti” what he regards to be overdevelopment. As chair of the Zoning Committee, he has seen an enormous amount of rezoning, more than any other Council member, and met with people all across the city who wanted to have rezoning done. He seems very sympathetic to people who are concerned about their neighborhood character. He’s been a very strong supporter of the Landmarks Commission. He actually sponsored the demolition-by-neglect bill, which enabled the City Council to charge fines for buildings that are being neglected.”

MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, RUNNING AS A REPUBLICAN

Mayoral Control of Schools
Bloomberg released data showing that the graduation rate under mayoral control has increased by more than 11 percentage points (though that data has been disputed; see box). The law that gives him control of the school system is up for renewal in June, and debate between the candidates has focused on how best to check that power. A Bloomberg spokesperson said diluting the mayor’s authority would lead to a “politics of paralysis,” where competing interests would take over in a Board of Education-type system that would leave no one fully accountable.

Charter Schools
Under Bloomberg, New York City has gone from having 17 charter schools to 103 authorized schools, as of February. Bloomberg said he believes that charters foster a sense of competition between schools, giving principals and teachers incentive to provide the best service so that students will choose that particular school. Critics have said the city should focus on making public schools better, but Bloomberg argues that charter schools are in fact a type of public school and that being part of a bureaucracy (i.e., Department of Education and union regulations) is not essential to the concept of a public school.

Merit Pay for Teachers
During his tenure, the mayor has raised teacher salaries by 43 percent, according to a spokesperson. He also introduced a pilot program in the city’s highest need schools that attach teacher bonuses to performance targets. The same idea has been applied to principals, who in 2007 had their bonuses attached to school accountability measurements. Additionally, the administration provides bonuses to teachers who split time between teaching and mentoring students, as well as to principals who take on struggling schools.
Parental Involvement
Bloomberg established the Office of Family Engagement and Advocacy within the Department of Education, which serves the 1 million public school families. He also created a new position in each school called parent coordinator, to act as an intermediary between parents and the school system. He is in the process of creating PS311, which is 311 for parents—a way to find out a child’s progress at school with a quick telephone call.

Small Schools
Bloomberg broke up large underperforming high schools and replaced them with several smaller schools to give students more individual attention. He has released data that shows the graduation rate for small schools is higher than the citywide average, but that data has been challenged both statistically and anecdotally. Regardless, Bloomberg has pledged to open more small schools if he is elected to a third term. Critics of the small school movement say that it duplicates resources that the city does not have, does not provide the wide array of clubs and classes that a larger school can offer and has historically excluded students with special education needs.

WILLIAM C. THOMPSON, JR., DEMOCRAT

Mayoral Control of Schools
Thomson, who served as president of the Board of Education from 1996 until he was elected City Comptroller in 2001, said that he supports renewing mayor control of schools, but not in its current form. One of his key suggestions for improvement revolves around oversight. Instead of the Panel for Education Policy, a 13-person oversight committee that essentially does the mayor’s bidding (the mayor appoints eight of its members), Thompson wants to install a nine-member school board that would come from a pool of nominees chosen by a 19-member nominating committee comprising parents, teachers and principals.
Thompson has also accused the Department of Education of “manipulating” numbers to show an increased graduation rate and test score gains. He wants to set up an independent body to study data on student progress.

Charter Schools
Thompson supports charter schools and is committed to expanding them. Smaller classes, extended school days and a longer school year—hallmarks of charters—are keys to improving graduation rates and test scores, according Thomson. Despite his assertion that Bloomberg’s statistics are faulty, he has repeatedly said that he believes charter schools and small schools graduate their students at a higher rate than traditional public schools.

Parental Involvement
Thompson lists parental involvement as one of his top concerns with the current state of education in the city. In testimony before the City Council, Thomson said the Office of Family Engagement and Advocacy is understaffed, and is not equipped to handle the task of being the sole intermediary between schools and parents. Parents are unaware of School Leadership Teams, groups of parents and school staff that meet once a month to decide on individual school policy. Thompson wants to tie principal evaluations to the efficacy of each leadership team. He also wants to reinvigorate Community Education Councils, parent representatives to the community-at-large, and make it easier for parents to get involved in schools by streamlining the process for joining such councils.

Technical Education
Thompson is a supporter of increasing career and technical education high schools, arguing that they help at risk students stay in school and ultimately attend two- and four-year college programs. As comptroller, he commissioned a study that looked at technical high schools and ways to improve them for students and employers. The study found that such schools were under-funded and were given limited access to city resources by the Department of Education. Thompson’s recommendations included increased funding, expanded intervention programs for high-risk teenagers and a standardized five-year graduation plan.

TONY AVELLA, DEMOCRAT

Mayoral Control of Schools
While Avella said he does not want to overturn mayoral control of schools, he thinks the mayor “blew a wonderful opportunity.” Like Thompson, he wants greater oversight, but he suggested that the City Council and State Legislature play a greater role. However, he does not have a clear vision of what exactly that role would be. If elected, he plans on speaking with teachers and parents about the best way to move forward. “They know the system better than anybody,” Avella said. “Part of the solution can come from them.”

Charter Schools
Charter schools take away precious funding from public schools, Avella argues. If the public school system is broken, the government should fix it, not abandon it. “Why create a whole new system? Why not improve the public schools?” he said. “That’s the way I look at it. Make every school the best it can be and make sure every child gets the best education and the same education, no matter where they live in the city.” While Avella said he would not shut down charter schools if elected mayor, he believes that they would ultimately become unnecessary if the proper resources were invested in public schools.
Merit Pay for Teachers
Avella said he has no formal position on the issue. He said that when elected mayor, he would gather together the experts—parents and teachers—and ask them what they think. But Avella said he thinks teachers can be given incentives without money. “We have got to return the sense of morale and accomplishment to the teachers before anything else,” he said.

Parental Involvement
Avella has few specifics on how he would encourage parental involvement. But he knows it’s necessary. “Kids excel when parents are involved,” he said. “I would like, the day after I’m elected, to start meeting with parents, teachers and principals to start to come up with a plan that we can all get behind.”

Small Schools
Although the Bloomberg administration has come out with figures showing that small schools are a success, Avella is suspicious. He said he hears from parents and teachers that the experiment is not working out well. Small schools are not, however, out of the question; Avella pledged to include them in any discussion he would have with parents, teachers and principals.

ANTHONY WEINER, DEMOCRAT

Mayoral Control of Schools
Weiner supports mayoral control, but he thinks Bloomberg did a bad job at execution. “I think we should keep mayoral control and get rid of the mayor,” said Weiner at a February panel on education in Queens. Weiner, as well as other critics of the mayor, has said that Klein and Bloomberg have a top-down approach more comparable to a business than a school system. The Congressman said he would put education experts in charge of the school system.

Charter Schools
Weiner is a supporter of charter schools, but he’s not an enthusiastic one. A spokesperson said he is “open to them, but does not believe they alone are the panacea to the problems facing our city.”

Merit Pay for Teachers
Weiner selectively supports attaching teacher salaries to student performance. He said he supports giving teachers higher salaries to take on challenging assignments, like struggling schools or high-risk schools. He also believes teachers should be paid higher salaries in areas where there is a void, like math and science.

Parental Involvement
Weiner has been a critic of the current administration’s relationship with parents. He wants more transparency in the school system so that parents can be empowered by having easy access to information about their children.

–

DATA DISPUTE

By Andrew Hawkins

While Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Joel Klein have reported increases in graduation rates and test scores, those findings have been disputed.
Brooklyn Assembly Member James Brennan, a frequent critic of mayoral control, released a report saying that standardized test scores actually began rising four years before Bloomberg took office.

Other indicators used by the Department of Education have also been questioned. Eighth graders, for instance, have made no significant progress when compared to national test scores since Bloomberg took over the schools. National scores also show little gains in narrowing the achievement gap between white and minority students.

Klein, however, has defended his record.

“People can always challenge the information,” he said. “They also pick and choose the numbers.”

He dismisses the comparison of city scores to national ones, saying that the department does not factor national numbers into its “accountability metric.” Compared to the state average, he says, the city outperforms almost every other school district.

The graduation rate, which has hovered barely above 50 percent during Klein’s tenure, is also a source of controversy. Klein has stopped counting discharges—students removed from the rolls but not considered dropouts—but does count failing students who earn credit by turning in independent projects. According to the original parameters, critics say, the graduation rate has increased only 6 percent since Bloomberg took over the schools. That is about half the increase Klein regularly advertises.

–

ELECTION BRIEFS

ENDORSEMENT SCORECARD
Over the past few weeks, candidates in a variety of races have been disseminating endorsement updates like it’s going out of style. Below is a summary of citywide and Manhattan races.

Mayor: In the mayor’s race, Comptroller William Thompson received endorsements from Manhattan elected officials on the Upper West and East sides in the past month. Former Mayor David Dinkins, the city’s first black mayor, endorsed Thompson on the steps of City Hall. Rep. Charles Rangel, whose district covers parts of the Upper West Side, endorsed Thompson as well.

West Side legislators State Sen. Eric Schneiderman and Assembly Member Daniel O’Donnell, along with Assembly Member Deborah Glick, who represents Tribeca, gave their support to Thompson.

On the Upper East Side, home to Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Assembly Member Micah Kellner also came out in support of Thompson in the mayor’s race.
Public Advocate: Council Member Bill de Blasio is solidifying support with Manhattan’s elected officials. Last week, Rangel gave his support to de Blasio. Weeks before, a group of West Side elected officials endorsed de Blasio, including Rep. Jerrold Nadler, State Sens. Eric Schneiderman and Tom Duane, Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, a former West Side Assembly member.

On the East Side, State Sen. Liz Krueger, along with Assembly Members Jonathan Bing, Micah Kellner and Brian Kavanagh, and Council members Dan Garodnick and Jessica Lappin, have endorsed de Blasio.

Comptroller: In the Comptroller’s race, Manhattan’s elected officials are splitting their support between Council members David Yassky of Brooklyn and John Liu of Queens. Yassky was endorsed by East Siders Bing and Garodnick.

Liu, who has drawn support largely from the black and Latino communities, was endorsed by Schneiderman and State Senate colleague Bill Perkins on the West Side, along with Kellner on the East Side.  Council Member David Weprin of Queens was endorsed by Dinkins.

District Attorney: Richard Aborn has sewn up much of the support from elected officials and Democratic clubs. In addition to Perkins, Aborn is supported by Bing, Glick and O’Donnell, along with Assembly colleagues Richard Gottfried and Linda Rosenthal. Aborn also got the support of Katrina vanden Heuvel, long-time editor of the Nation magazine.

Cyrus Vance, Jr., whose support comes from former prosecutors and alumni of retiring District Attorney Robert Morgenthau, was endorsed by Dinkins and Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum. He also recently announced the support of downtown Council Member Alan Gerson and the Chinatown Democratic club United Democratic Organization.

Leslie Crocker Snyder, Morgenthau’s 2005 opponent, is supported largely by police and law enforcement unions.
—Dan Rivoli

GUN PLAN
Richard Aborn, a Democratic candidate for Manhattan District Attorney, recently unveiled a five-point plan for combating gun violence in the city.
“We need a plan to crack down on gun violence by going after guns at their source, deploying micro-stamping technology to better identify guns used in crimes, and fighting for tougher restrictions on the buying and selling of them,” Aborn said in a statement.

The plan includes sharing trafficking gun data with other cities and states, a program in which parents can give police permission to search homes for guns and introducing a five-year renewal process for handgun permits.
—Clara Martinez Turco

COUNCIL SPENDING, ONLINE
Council Member David Yassky, Democratic candidate for City Comptroller, launched ItsYourMoney-NYC.com, a searchable online database of the city’s budget and City Council earmarks for fiscal year 2009.

“City taxpayers deserve to know where their hard-earned money is being spent, and the results city government is producing with those dollars,” Yassky said in a statement.

The website allows visitors to search earmarks by keyword, borough, funding recipient, agency, dollar amount and Council Member. Visitors can also track city agency spending by program, and they can provide feedback about the budgets and the programs.

In addition to the launch of ItsYourMoneyNYC.com, Yassky issued the campaign’s first position paper for city budget reform.
—    Clara Martinez Turco