NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – A day after he announced he was running for New York City mayor in 2021, Comptroller Scott Stringer joined 1010 WINS to outline his vision for the city amid COVID-19 and a financial crisis.
With the city facing a 2022 budget gap of $4.2 billion, Stringer said he'll use his experience as the city's chief financial officer to get the city back on track.
"We are at a point in time when the city is within a financial crisis the likes we've really never seen in a generation. It's going to require new leadership at City Hall with financial experience, with government experience, to not just turn our economy back on, but do it in a way that is safe, do it in a way that reinvests in so many communities that have been hit hardest by COVID," Stringer said.
The comptroller said there are a number of ways he aims to fill the budget gap.
"First, we have reserves. Not enough, but enough that we can draw down on. We should look at different tools put on the table. We obviously need a bailout from Washington. We do have limited borrowing that we could put forth. And we do have to consider asking the wealthiest people in the city, who have done well over the last 20 years, to pay a little bit more in taxes. Look, we've asked frontline workers—nurses, doctors, delivery workers—to risk their lives in the city. They're the heroes of the moment. And I want other people to be heroes too," he said.
Stringer said it's also up to the city government "to do our share."
"The mayor has to look at more efficiencies in city agencies. These agencies have been poorly managed. They have been bloated in so many ways. They don't even think about rooting out the waste within those agencies," he said.
"I've demanded that they've done that. Look, I've returned millions of dollars and have taken a 4 percent cut in the Comptroller's Office without laying off one city worker. Why can't every agency be directed by the mayor to do the same? And then we've got to manage better. Look at what's happening in terms of quality of life. Garbage everywhere. This is just a city government that has just lost control of how to manage the city on a daily basis," he said.
Asked who he considers to be his most formidable opponent in the crowded race for mayor, Stringer said he doesn't really think about "who's in front, who's behind."
"I've got to do my thing. And the way I'm approaching this campaign is I'm building a multi-racial, intergenerational coalition of supporters," he said. "I believe in New York. We are strong. We are resilient. But we need decisive leadership."
Asked what would happen if coronavirus cases spike again, he said, "We would have no choice but to shut the city down."
"I was one of the first elected officials that said, 'Look we have to shut this city down.' I shut my office down in March, because lives matter. And don't believe Trump that this crisis is over. Masks matter. Safety matters," Stringer said. "As we turn the city back on, what I want to say to people—whether it's the small business owners I was talking to yesterday or people who are listening this morning—we need to take the economy, slowly open it, but also listen to science and medicine. That is the only way we're going to make this city work, and I'm prepared to do that job if people will have me."
