1 00:00:02,160 --> 00:00:05,600 Speaker 1: I'm Alec Baldwin, and you're listening to Here's the thing. 2 00:00:06,760 --> 00:00:11,600 Speaker 1: This pandemic continues to affect not just New York City's health, 3 00:00:11,720 --> 00:00:16,280 Speaker 1: but its economy. Almost one hundred thousand New York City 4 00:00:16,320 --> 00:00:21,520 Speaker 1: residents filed for unemployment benefits the week of May fourth alone. 5 00:00:22,440 --> 00:00:25,920 Speaker 1: Total claims in the age of coronavirus are now at 6 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:29,760 Speaker 1: one million. That's one out of every eight New Yorkers. 7 00:00:30,760 --> 00:00:33,479 Speaker 1: Is this a blip or is at the beginning of 8 00:00:33,520 --> 00:00:37,879 Speaker 1: a fundamental change? A couple of weeks ago, via zoom 9 00:00:37,920 --> 00:00:40,440 Speaker 1: from my home on Long Island, I spoke to the 10 00:00:40,479 --> 00:00:44,720 Speaker 1: two people perhaps best able to answer these questions. Tom 11 00:00:44,760 --> 00:00:48,320 Speaker 1: Wright has both the perspective and the influence to shape 12 00:00:48,440 --> 00:00:51,880 Speaker 1: New York's future. He's the head of the century old 13 00:00:51,920 --> 00:00:56,680 Speaker 1: Regional Plan Association. Many New York fixtures that we take 14 00:00:56,720 --> 00:01:00,680 Speaker 1: for granted, from a pedestrian Times Square to the George 15 00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:04,240 Speaker 1: Washington Bridge, came from the minds at the r p A. 16 00:01:05,120 --> 00:01:08,959 Speaker 1: Every twenty years, they put out their plan, thinking about 17 00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:12,160 Speaker 1: how the demographics and economy of the tri state area 18 00:01:12,360 --> 00:01:16,520 Speaker 1: are changing and what policies will best meet these new challenges. 19 00:01:17,480 --> 00:01:20,840 Speaker 1: The last one came out in two thousand seventeen into 20 00:01:20,880 --> 00:01:24,199 Speaker 1: a very different world than the one we inhabit now. 21 00:01:24,840 --> 00:01:27,479 Speaker 1: Katherine Wilde is the head of the Partnership for New 22 00:01:27,560 --> 00:01:31,720 Speaker 1: York City. She's on every Most Powerful New Yorker's list 23 00:01:32,160 --> 00:01:36,039 Speaker 1: every year. That's because the Partnership is the main condudate 24 00:01:36,080 --> 00:01:41,000 Speaker 1: for communication, lobbying, and philanthropy for New York City's major 25 00:01:41,080 --> 00:01:47,600 Speaker 1: corporations JP, Morgan, Jet, Blue, IBM, Google, Deloitte, Bloomberg, Blackstone. 26 00:01:47,840 --> 00:01:50,640 Speaker 1: The list goes on and on. Anytime they want to 27 00:01:50,680 --> 00:01:53,960 Speaker 1: speak with one voice, it's Kathy they go through. Her 28 00:01:54,120 --> 00:01:57,960 Speaker 1: career began in nineteen seventies Brooklyn, during what had been 29 00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:02,000 Speaker 1: the worst of the city's then fiscal crisis. Despite crime, 30 00:02:02,280 --> 00:02:07,280 Speaker 1: crumbling transit, and terrible city services, wild helped lead public 31 00:02:07,320 --> 00:02:11,680 Speaker 1: private efforts that revitalized the neighborhood of Sunset Park. She 32 00:02:11,880 --> 00:02:16,400 Speaker 1: sees foreboding parallels between New York's current crisis and the 33 00:02:16,480 --> 00:02:20,679 Speaker 1: last time industry fled the city well in the nineteen seventies, 34 00:02:20,680 --> 00:02:25,280 Speaker 1: we saw the industrial waterfront literally disappear in the matter 35 00:02:25,320 --> 00:02:28,959 Speaker 1: of five years. American Can, American Machine and Foundery, Bethlehem Steel, 36 00:02:29,040 --> 00:02:33,760 Speaker 1: Rhinold Brewery, uh Domino, Sugar, Revere sugar. They were gone 37 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:39,760 Speaker 1: in five years between seventy and seventy five, and Brooklyn 38 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:43,760 Speaker 1: shrunk by four hundred thousand people. The city shrunk by 39 00:02:43,760 --> 00:02:47,680 Speaker 1: a million people, lost half its fortune, five hundred companies, 40 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:51,280 Speaker 1: and there was a ripple effect both in the economy 41 00:02:51,360 --> 00:02:55,720 Speaker 1: in terms of unemployment and at the same time in 42 00:02:55,800 --> 00:02:59,640 Speaker 1: the city fiscal situation. As you know in v New 43 00:02:59,720 --> 00:03:03,000 Speaker 1: York's city went to bankrupt. They were saved by a 44 00:03:03,040 --> 00:03:05,920 Speaker 1: bailout by the banks and the pension funds, the labor unions, 45 00:03:06,360 --> 00:03:09,400 Speaker 1: and we got out of that crisis very slowly. It 46 00:03:09,440 --> 00:03:13,520 Speaker 1: took forty years in vent Brooklyn's population was two point 47 00:03:13,600 --> 00:03:17,639 Speaker 1: six million people. It did not reach that again until 48 00:03:18,760 --> 00:03:21,120 Speaker 1: last year, so it took more than forty years to 49 00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:24,960 Speaker 1: come back. That's more what we're looking like if we 50 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:29,360 Speaker 1: don't really get our act together quickly in New York 51 00:03:29,400 --> 00:03:33,480 Speaker 1: City and the greater metropolitan area and figure out how 52 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:37,480 Speaker 1: to recoup what this pandemic is doing to us. We 53 00:03:37,600 --> 00:03:42,680 Speaker 1: have almost a million people lost jobs, so we are 54 00:03:42,760 --> 00:03:48,000 Speaker 1: really facing a crisis that's very similar loss of GDP. 55 00:03:48,120 --> 00:03:50,880 Speaker 1: It's is of our growth city product of our economic 56 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:54,000 Speaker 1: output is what's projected. So we're gonna look very much 57 00:03:54,560 --> 00:03:57,920 Speaker 1: like we did at the end of the seventies when 58 00:03:58,160 --> 00:04:01,440 Speaker 1: the city was totally broke and people were out of 59 00:04:01,480 --> 00:04:05,600 Speaker 1: work and leaving the city in droves. Yeah. Yeah. The 60 00:04:05,640 --> 00:04:07,880 Speaker 1: only thing I'd add to what Kathy said earlier was 61 00:04:07,960 --> 00:04:11,480 Speaker 1: that the million person loss actually would have been twice 62 00:04:11,520 --> 00:04:15,720 Speaker 1: as much but for the one really successful policy during 63 00:04:15,760 --> 00:04:17,960 Speaker 1: that time, which was that we were open to immigrants, 64 00:04:18,520 --> 00:04:21,800 Speaker 1: and essentially for every two people who left the city, 65 00:04:21,839 --> 00:04:25,160 Speaker 1: one rejoined from somewhere around the world, and it would 66 00:04:25,160 --> 00:04:28,000 Speaker 1: have taken us even longer to recover if we hadn't 67 00:04:28,040 --> 00:04:32,800 Speaker 1: been an open society. Good point in Under current immigration policy, 68 00:04:32,960 --> 00:04:38,000 Speaker 1: we won't have that luxury exactly now Um described for 69 00:04:38,040 --> 00:04:40,720 Speaker 1: people you go first time, who you represent, and what 70 00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:45,039 Speaker 1: they exactly do. Sure Regional Plan Association is a private 71 00:04:45,320 --> 00:04:48,440 Speaker 1: civic group. We've been around, uh next weekend it will 72 00:04:48,440 --> 00:04:51,600 Speaker 1: be ninety eight years. And what we've done for almost 73 00:04:51,600 --> 00:04:54,000 Speaker 1: a century is look at not just New York City 74 00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:56,840 Speaker 1: and it's five boroughs, but the entire metropolitan region, all 75 00:04:56,880 --> 00:05:01,119 Speaker 1: of Long Island, southwestern Connecticut, the Hudson Valley, northern New Jersey, 76 00:05:01,279 --> 00:05:06,159 Speaker 1: and think about the long term health, wealth, prosperity, growth 77 00:05:06,200 --> 00:05:10,920 Speaker 1: sustainability UM of that entire region. There is no public 78 00:05:10,960 --> 00:05:14,640 Speaker 1: sector entity that thinks about that. At the federal state levels, 79 00:05:14,720 --> 00:05:16,200 Speaker 1: we have a couple of things like the m t 80 00:05:16,360 --> 00:05:18,800 Speaker 1: A and the Port Authority that work on portions of it, 81 00:05:19,320 --> 00:05:22,359 Speaker 1: but there's nobody kind of thinking about the entire region. 82 00:05:22,440 --> 00:05:25,920 Speaker 1: So our p A is an independent voice has UM 83 00:05:26,240 --> 00:05:29,840 Speaker 1: once every generation created a long range plan saying here 84 00:05:29,880 --> 00:05:33,840 Speaker 1: are the major transportation investments, the economic development investments, the 85 00:05:33,920 --> 00:05:36,320 Speaker 1: kinds of policies that we're going to need, and then 86 00:05:36,360 --> 00:05:39,640 Speaker 1: we advocate for them. And we've been around since things 87 00:05:39,680 --> 00:05:42,880 Speaker 1: like nine eleven and two thousand and eight Superstorm Sandy, 88 00:05:42,920 --> 00:05:44,960 Speaker 1: and we played a role in the rebuilding and each 89 00:05:44,960 --> 00:05:48,680 Speaker 1: of those. What is the regional plan that your regional 90 00:05:48,720 --> 00:05:51,440 Speaker 1: plans are based on a certain level of economic growth, 91 00:05:51,800 --> 00:05:53,720 Speaker 1: and the bottom seems to have fallen out of there. 92 00:05:53,720 --> 00:05:56,280 Speaker 1: What are you guys talking about? Yeah, no, you know, 93 00:05:56,800 --> 00:05:59,479 Speaker 1: that's absolutely correct. I mean when we released the plan 94 00:05:59,560 --> 00:06:01,640 Speaker 1: three years ago, it was about how to deal with 95 00:06:01,720 --> 00:06:04,599 Speaker 1: the kind of catastrophic growth we were facing at the time, 96 00:06:05,080 --> 00:06:07,800 Speaker 1: and nowadays it's going to be much more about what 97 00:06:07,839 --> 00:06:10,159 Speaker 1: do we do to get back on the path to growth? 98 00:06:10,680 --> 00:06:12,840 Speaker 1: The way I think about what's happening right now is 99 00:06:12,880 --> 00:06:15,440 Speaker 1: that certain parts of life in our economy and society 100 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:18,440 Speaker 1: have been on pause, and so nobody's going to restaurants, 101 00:06:18,480 --> 00:06:20,880 Speaker 1: we're all staying home and things. But other parts of 102 00:06:20,920 --> 00:06:24,480 Speaker 1: our lives, changes that we're coming slowly have been accelerated. 103 00:06:24,920 --> 00:06:30,440 Speaker 1: Um using zoom to do a podcast, distant remote learning, telemedicine, 104 00:06:30,839 --> 00:06:32,880 Speaker 1: and so things that we're going to happen over time 105 00:06:32,880 --> 00:06:35,599 Speaker 1: but we're happening fairly slowly have suddenly happened in just 106 00:06:35,680 --> 00:06:37,560 Speaker 1: a couple of weeks instead, and they're not going to 107 00:06:37,680 --> 00:06:40,599 Speaker 1: snap back to how they were before. And so we're 108 00:06:40,600 --> 00:06:43,239 Speaker 1: going to be doing a kind of planned four point 109 00:06:43,320 --> 00:06:45,800 Speaker 1: two after this to take a fresh look at that 110 00:06:46,240 --> 00:06:48,159 Speaker 1: some of the things, I mean, the two most controversial 111 00:06:48,200 --> 00:06:51,000 Speaker 1: things we proposed three years ago. We're charging people to 112 00:06:51,080 --> 00:06:53,520 Speaker 1: drive into Manhattan and shutting the subways down in the 113 00:06:53,520 --> 00:06:56,440 Speaker 1: middle of the night for maintenance. Um, we're now doing 114 00:06:56,440 --> 00:06:59,279 Speaker 1: the shutting, and we're going to need congestion pricing even 115 00:06:59,360 --> 00:07:03,640 Speaker 1: sooner then next year, because I worry that as businesses 116 00:07:03,680 --> 00:07:07,000 Speaker 1: start to open and people avoid mass transit, we will, 117 00:07:07,120 --> 00:07:11,560 Speaker 1: like cities in Asia already have see unbelievable traffic congestion. 118 00:07:11,960 --> 00:07:15,080 Speaker 1: Were there discussions ever along the way about what we're 119 00:07:15,080 --> 00:07:19,960 Speaker 1: dealing with now? No, I honestly, we look at we 120 00:07:20,040 --> 00:07:22,880 Speaker 1: looked at climate change, we looked at energy policy, we 121 00:07:23,040 --> 00:07:26,760 Speaker 1: looked at economic policy and things, and we've even talked 122 00:07:26,760 --> 00:07:30,120 Speaker 1: about public health in terms of social determinants and the 123 00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:34,320 Speaker 1: built environment. But no, honestly, we never did see something 124 00:07:34,400 --> 00:07:37,560 Speaker 1: like this coming. And I wish we had obviously now 125 00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:41,040 Speaker 1: Katherine wild to tell us what group you're working with 126 00:07:41,120 --> 00:07:44,360 Speaker 1: now and what's their mission so to speak. Well, for 127 00:07:44,440 --> 00:07:47,960 Speaker 1: many years, I've worked with the Partnership for New York City, 128 00:07:48,080 --> 00:07:51,200 Speaker 1: and it's an organization that was created at the end 129 00:07:51,240 --> 00:07:54,840 Speaker 1: of the seventies by David Rockefeller and the other bankers 130 00:07:54,880 --> 00:07:57,960 Speaker 1: that worked with organized labor and with Governor Hugh Carey 131 00:07:58,320 --> 00:08:02,720 Speaker 1: to restructure the city these finances and Rockefeller felt that 132 00:08:02,760 --> 00:08:06,360 Speaker 1: the city had gone into a tailspin. Business had paid 133 00:08:06,400 --> 00:08:09,840 Speaker 1: no attention, and as a result, he felt that we 134 00:08:09,880 --> 00:08:13,720 Speaker 1: should make sure that New York City never have that 135 00:08:13,800 --> 00:08:16,440 Speaker 1: situation again where no one was paying attention. So he 136 00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:20,440 Speaker 1: organized the Partnership to work with government, with labor, with 137 00:08:20,480 --> 00:08:24,160 Speaker 1: civic groups like Tom's to bring the business leadership, the 138 00:08:24,200 --> 00:08:27,480 Speaker 1: CEOs of the city to the table with their resources 139 00:08:27,600 --> 00:08:30,720 Speaker 1: so that we could solve these kind of challenges. Like Tom, 140 00:08:30,800 --> 00:08:34,640 Speaker 1: we didn't anticipate a pandemic would be the biggest challenge 141 00:08:34,679 --> 00:08:38,079 Speaker 1: the city would ever face in the twenty one century. 142 00:08:38,120 --> 00:08:40,320 Speaker 1: But here we are. When did you become involved with 143 00:08:40,360 --> 00:08:43,440 Speaker 1: the Partnership for New York. Originally I went to work 144 00:08:43,480 --> 00:08:47,720 Speaker 1: for the Partnership as a volunteer in one when David 145 00:08:47,760 --> 00:08:51,959 Speaker 1: Rockefeller announced that he thought it was the responsibility of 146 00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:55,319 Speaker 1: the business community to rebuild the neighborhoods that had burned 147 00:08:55,360 --> 00:08:58,960 Speaker 1: down in the nineteen seventies. You were raised in Madison, Wisconsin. 148 00:08:59,600 --> 00:09:05,320 Speaker 1: I were brought you to New York. They said, people 149 00:09:05,360 --> 00:09:07,400 Speaker 1: moved to New York because they don't fit in where 150 00:09:07,400 --> 00:09:11,600 Speaker 1: they grew up. That's I'm not a chiefe head. I'm 151 00:09:11,640 --> 00:09:16,040 Speaker 1: not a chiefe head, but but I've been at the Partnership. 152 00:09:16,120 --> 00:09:19,120 Speaker 1: I went there to rebuild neighborhoods. We did over forty 153 00:09:19,600 --> 00:09:23,320 Speaker 1: units of affordable housing ownership housing. So if you go 154 00:09:23,360 --> 00:09:26,400 Speaker 1: to any of the communities of the city that are 155 00:09:26,559 --> 00:09:30,640 Speaker 1: thriving today but burned down in the seventies and eighties, 156 00:09:30,800 --> 00:09:33,840 Speaker 1: they're full of owner occupied homes where people moved out 157 00:09:33,840 --> 00:09:36,840 Speaker 1: of public housing, bought a home at a very low 158 00:09:36,880 --> 00:09:41,679 Speaker 1: cost on free city land, private bank financing, UH, combination 159 00:09:42,040 --> 00:09:45,800 Speaker 1: of resources, limited developer profit. That's the kind of solution 160 00:09:45,840 --> 00:09:48,400 Speaker 1: that we're going to need again today, where everybody's pitching 161 00:09:48,440 --> 00:09:52,280 Speaker 1: in the banks, the builders, the community, the home buyers 162 00:09:52,320 --> 00:09:54,680 Speaker 1: put down their savings as the down payment for the 163 00:09:54,720 --> 00:09:59,040 Speaker 1: equity before the houses were built. UM, and it's repopulated 164 00:09:59,080 --> 00:10:02,640 Speaker 1: the city with UH, with middle class families that had 165 00:10:02,640 --> 00:10:05,640 Speaker 1: fled in the previous decade. It says here that you 166 00:10:05,760 --> 00:10:09,000 Speaker 1: played a role in the incredible story of New York 167 00:10:09,080 --> 00:10:12,079 Speaker 1: City's pushed to make its own ventilators. How did you 168 00:10:12,120 --> 00:10:15,600 Speaker 1: get involved with that? We have an investment fund at 169 00:10:15,600 --> 00:10:19,199 Speaker 1: the Partnership that invests in sort of what comes next, 170 00:10:19,240 --> 00:10:22,040 Speaker 1: And we had invested in a company in the Brooklyn 171 00:10:22,120 --> 00:10:25,560 Speaker 1: Navy Yard, which is probably the most exciting economic development 172 00:10:25,600 --> 00:10:28,320 Speaker 1: project in the twenty one century. And so one of 173 00:10:28,320 --> 00:10:31,760 Speaker 1: the companies, their new lab that we had supported, got 174 00:10:31,800 --> 00:10:34,720 Speaker 1: the idea when we had not enough ventilators in the 175 00:10:34,760 --> 00:10:36,719 Speaker 1: city for the number of people coming into the I 176 00:10:36,880 --> 00:10:39,480 Speaker 1: c U. They said, let's invent a ventilator. And in 177 00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:42,760 Speaker 1: four weeks. It was actually built in a factory in 178 00:10:42,800 --> 00:10:45,720 Speaker 1: Long Island City, and my role in that was simply 179 00:10:45,760 --> 00:10:48,120 Speaker 1: when they needed a part, to get to the CEO 180 00:10:48,200 --> 00:10:50,199 Speaker 1: of that company and say we need a part now, 181 00:10:50,240 --> 00:10:52,679 Speaker 1: and we know there's a long line for this, but uh, 182 00:10:53,080 --> 00:10:55,640 Speaker 1: let's get it first. You know, there's a lot of 183 00:10:55,840 --> 00:11:00,400 Speaker 1: uh neurosis and a lot of anxiety uh out there 184 00:11:00,480 --> 00:11:03,080 Speaker 1: right now. So there's a lot of speculation of what's 185 00:11:03,080 --> 00:11:05,400 Speaker 1: going to happen. And I thought people say to me 186 00:11:05,440 --> 00:11:08,079 Speaker 1: that they anticipated over the next two to three years 187 00:11:08,160 --> 00:11:10,640 Speaker 1: about a half a million people will leave New York City, 188 00:11:10,679 --> 00:11:14,480 Speaker 1: maybe even more. Many people feel that that New York 189 00:11:14,520 --> 00:11:20,640 Speaker 1: in particular is a feted Petrie dish of viralogical threats 190 00:11:20,720 --> 00:11:24,360 Speaker 1: to them. Now they're very, very scared. We live on 191 00:11:24,400 --> 00:11:28,200 Speaker 1: eastern Long Island for our weekend slash summer home, and 192 00:11:28,280 --> 00:11:30,960 Speaker 1: we're out here now, living out here since March twelveth. 193 00:11:30,960 --> 00:11:33,200 Speaker 1: We're gonna stay out here through the summer. And we 194 00:11:33,240 --> 00:11:34,959 Speaker 1: have friends of ours who are here who said told 195 00:11:35,040 --> 00:11:36,920 Speaker 1: us they're not going back. They're going to stay in 196 00:11:36,960 --> 00:11:39,400 Speaker 1: their houses here and enroll their kids in school here 197 00:11:39,480 --> 00:11:42,400 Speaker 1: or do an online thing. Are you worried about that ton. 198 00:11:42,920 --> 00:11:46,319 Speaker 1: I'm worried about it, but but I think it's very addressable. 199 00:11:46,360 --> 00:11:49,200 Speaker 1: I mean, we did see after nine eleven there were 200 00:11:49,240 --> 00:11:52,480 Speaker 1: concerns that New York was going to see continued terrorist attacks, 201 00:11:52,600 --> 00:11:55,880 Speaker 1: and we managed to make the city safe again. Um, 202 00:11:56,080 --> 00:11:58,000 Speaker 1: the barometer of the city, a lot of it is 203 00:11:58,000 --> 00:12:01,640 Speaker 1: around the transit system. If people feel safe getting on 204 00:12:01,679 --> 00:12:05,040 Speaker 1: the subway and busses again, then they'll generally feel safe 205 00:12:05,040 --> 00:12:07,160 Speaker 1: in New York. They'll feel safe going to a restaurant, 206 00:12:07,200 --> 00:12:09,640 Speaker 1: and they'll feel safe going to school or an office. 207 00:12:10,320 --> 00:12:12,800 Speaker 1: And so we've been looking at this through the lens 208 00:12:12,840 --> 00:12:15,120 Speaker 1: of what's it gonna take to make it not just 209 00:12:15,160 --> 00:12:18,320 Speaker 1: feel safe but be safe. Do we shift resources towards 210 00:12:18,320 --> 00:12:21,600 Speaker 1: the transit police and have a lot of transit cops 211 00:12:21,640 --> 00:12:23,200 Speaker 1: down They're saying, if you don't get a mask on, 212 00:12:23,320 --> 00:12:25,640 Speaker 1: you ain't getting on the subway. That's it. In London, 213 00:12:25,920 --> 00:12:28,920 Speaker 1: when the Tube before they invested and it would get overcrowded, 214 00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:32,240 Speaker 1: they would during rush hour in the morning, they would 215 00:12:32,280 --> 00:12:34,679 Speaker 1: close the gates and say nobody's able to get onto 216 00:12:34,720 --> 00:12:36,960 Speaker 1: the system until some people get off because of the 217 00:12:37,000 --> 00:12:40,120 Speaker 1: overcrowding conditions, and they were worried about people I think 218 00:12:40,160 --> 00:12:42,840 Speaker 1: literally falling into the tracks. I think that we're going 219 00:12:42,920 --> 00:12:46,560 Speaker 1: to have to start to actively manage these systems much 220 00:12:46,600 --> 00:12:48,920 Speaker 1: more than we've been doing it. And by the way, 221 00:12:49,080 --> 00:12:51,920 Speaker 1: earlier today, about twelve hours ago, the New York City 222 00:12:51,960 --> 00:12:54,400 Speaker 1: subway shut down for the first time in its history 223 00:12:55,120 --> 00:12:57,959 Speaker 1: so that in the wee hours they could do cleaning 224 00:12:57,960 --> 00:13:00,560 Speaker 1: and maintenance of the system. It's something we posed about 225 00:13:00,559 --> 00:13:02,320 Speaker 1: three years ago, and I took a lot of heat 226 00:13:02,920 --> 00:13:06,000 Speaker 1: for it, um but I think that to make it 227 00:13:06,120 --> 00:13:10,080 Speaker 1: safe for the the people who use it between five 228 00:13:10,120 --> 00:13:13,000 Speaker 1: am and one am, uh, you have to shut it 229 00:13:13,040 --> 00:13:15,000 Speaker 1: for a couple of hours just to just to do 230 00:13:15,040 --> 00:13:19,319 Speaker 1: that maintenance. So we've already taken that first very dramatic step, 231 00:13:19,320 --> 00:13:21,079 Speaker 1: and I think more of those things are going to 232 00:13:21,160 --> 00:13:23,559 Speaker 1: be coming online. I think the m t A is 233 00:13:23,600 --> 00:13:26,600 Speaker 1: going to be learning from other global cities about best 234 00:13:26,600 --> 00:13:29,520 Speaker 1: practices and what they're doing to make the system safe. 235 00:13:30,120 --> 00:13:33,080 Speaker 1: And I think that wearing masks, more frequent cleaning of 236 00:13:33,120 --> 00:13:36,760 Speaker 1: the system, making sure that it's not overcrowded. You can't 237 00:13:36,800 --> 00:13:38,880 Speaker 1: just leave it up to bus drivers to tell people 238 00:13:38,880 --> 00:13:40,360 Speaker 1: they can't get on a bus. You've got to come 239 00:13:40,400 --> 00:13:42,920 Speaker 1: up with better ways to do it, and so I 240 00:13:42,960 --> 00:13:45,520 Speaker 1: think all of that's on the table. Well, he's brought 241 00:13:45,679 --> 00:13:47,839 Speaker 1: the governor has brought in Mayor Bloomberg, who's going to 242 00:13:47,920 --> 00:13:50,960 Speaker 1: set up a contact tracing system, which will be important 243 00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:54,000 Speaker 1: for transit because if you do come in contact with 244 00:13:54,080 --> 00:13:57,160 Speaker 1: someone who comes down with the virus, you'll be informed, 245 00:13:57,160 --> 00:13:59,360 Speaker 1: you'll be tracked. There's going to be a whole new 246 00:13:59,400 --> 00:14:02,840 Speaker 1: public how regime, and New York will probably do that 247 00:14:02,920 --> 00:14:05,400 Speaker 1: better than any place else in the world and throw 248 00:14:05,440 --> 00:14:08,360 Speaker 1: more resources at it than any place else in the world. 249 00:14:08,400 --> 00:14:11,240 Speaker 1: So that's what we've got to sell now. On the 250 00:14:11,280 --> 00:14:15,120 Speaker 1: other hand, I heard about creating space for private officers, 251 00:14:15,160 --> 00:14:17,920 Speaker 1: for folks to work from their Long Island area if 252 00:14:17,920 --> 00:14:20,960 Speaker 1: they don't want to be at home with their four kids. Um. 253 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:23,480 Speaker 1: I heard the same thing today about Palm Beach, Florida, 254 00:14:23,840 --> 00:14:26,720 Speaker 1: that they're looking at developing similar kind of facilities, and 255 00:14:26,720 --> 00:14:28,000 Speaker 1: we're going to hear more and more of that. And 256 00:14:28,040 --> 00:14:30,360 Speaker 1: what we've got to start thinking about, which is something 257 00:14:30,440 --> 00:14:32,480 Speaker 1: the Regional Plan has been thinking about for a while, 258 00:14:32,960 --> 00:14:36,360 Speaker 1: is thinking about our region from northern New Jersey to Fairfield, 259 00:14:36,400 --> 00:14:40,000 Speaker 1: Connecticut to Long Island and saying, okay, if third of 260 00:14:40,040 --> 00:14:41,960 Speaker 1: the people that come into the city want to work 261 00:14:41,960 --> 00:14:44,480 Speaker 1: from home. How do we make sure that the region 262 00:14:44,520 --> 00:14:47,800 Speaker 1: as a whole benefits from that, How do we replan 263 00:14:47,960 --> 00:14:51,920 Speaker 1: our transportation system to work for those people? And what 264 00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:55,640 Speaker 1: are we going to do, most importantly within New York 265 00:14:55,720 --> 00:14:59,320 Speaker 1: City to develop the next generation of jobs, whether it's 266 00:14:59,400 --> 00:15:03,240 Speaker 1: the folks to wing, public health tracing, or or the 267 00:15:03,280 --> 00:15:05,480 Speaker 1: other things that we're going to have to develop to 268 00:15:05,520 --> 00:15:08,000 Speaker 1: reinvent the city. The only other thing I wanted to 269 00:15:08,440 --> 00:15:12,200 Speaker 1: mention on this note that I'm really worried about that 270 00:15:12,240 --> 00:15:16,320 Speaker 1: you don't hear much about, is our universities. So much 271 00:15:16,720 --> 00:15:20,280 Speaker 1: of our leadership in the innovation economy and of the 272 00:15:20,400 --> 00:15:23,480 Speaker 1: kids that the talent that stays to New York and 273 00:15:24,200 --> 00:15:28,160 Speaker 1: grows here comes from overseas to go to our great universities. 274 00:15:28,600 --> 00:15:32,080 Speaker 1: They're having a terrible time. They had to close down 275 00:15:32,360 --> 00:15:37,400 Speaker 1: in March, uh complete the semester, complete the year, and 276 00:15:37,640 --> 00:15:42,080 Speaker 1: summer school online. They've got people suing them to get 277 00:15:42,120 --> 00:15:47,040 Speaker 1: their tuition back. They've got horrible time lining up, especially 278 00:15:47,080 --> 00:15:50,280 Speaker 1: international students for next year, who really pay the freight. 279 00:15:50,840 --> 00:15:53,480 Speaker 1: So all these are issues that we have to figure out. 280 00:15:53,800 --> 00:15:56,960 Speaker 1: I think the university situation is something we should be 281 00:15:57,000 --> 00:16:00,560 Speaker 1: paying a lot of attention to. One thing I was 282 00:16:00,600 --> 00:16:03,160 Speaker 1: also curious about, is what do you think is going 283 00:16:03,200 --> 00:16:06,960 Speaker 1: to happen to city, state income taxes and sales taxes 284 00:16:07,000 --> 00:16:10,480 Speaker 1: in the immediate sense in New York About the state's 285 00:16:10,520 --> 00:16:17,040 Speaker 1: projecting thirteen billion over the next year um of lost. Yeah, 286 00:16:17,080 --> 00:16:24,480 Speaker 1: the city's about UM seven point four billion. Yeah, reduced revenues, 287 00:16:24,600 --> 00:16:29,600 Speaker 1: So that's what or some substantial yeah. Catherine Wild of 288 00:16:29,640 --> 00:16:32,720 Speaker 1: the Partnership for New York City with Tom Wright of 289 00:16:32,800 --> 00:16:37,080 Speaker 1: the Regional Plan Association. Tom has the distinction of being 290 00:16:37,120 --> 00:16:40,840 Speaker 1: here's the things only two time guest. Hello Tom, How 291 00:16:40,880 --> 00:16:44,120 Speaker 1: are you good to see you? Tom? I always assumed that, 292 00:16:44,160 --> 00:16:48,440 Speaker 1: like Paul McCartney, Billy Joel or Barbara streisand would be 293 00:16:48,440 --> 00:16:54,240 Speaker 1: our person. We've decided to have pandemic to do it virus. 294 00:16:54,360 --> 00:16:59,520 Speaker 1: Tom could book you twice. Last year, Tom fiscal watchdog 295 00:16:59,640 --> 00:17:03,080 Speaker 1: Nicole Julys and two thousand twenty one Marrow front runner 296 00:17:03,160 --> 00:17:06,679 Speaker 1: Corey Johnson came on the show. The discussion was about 297 00:17:06,720 --> 00:17:10,199 Speaker 1: how to fix the city's troubled transportation agency, the m 298 00:17:10,280 --> 00:17:14,480 Speaker 1: t A, which is largely controlled from Albany. Long before 299 00:17:14,520 --> 00:17:18,960 Speaker 1: the crisis of COVID nineteen, Johnson had strong feelings about 300 00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:22,800 Speaker 1: Albany's type grip. The m t A is set up 301 00:17:22,840 --> 00:17:26,040 Speaker 1: to deflect any level of accountability. So we can talk 302 00:17:26,080 --> 00:17:30,119 Speaker 1: about all these super important issues on repairing, contracting, and 303 00:17:30,119 --> 00:17:33,359 Speaker 1: on negotiating with unions and expanding the subway system. But 304 00:17:33,480 --> 00:17:37,000 Speaker 1: until you get down to the fundamental issue of singular 305 00:17:37,040 --> 00:17:41,160 Speaker 1: accountability and responsibility, everyone is always going to be able 306 00:17:41,200 --> 00:17:43,600 Speaker 1: to point fingers, which is why I called for municipal control. 307 00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:49,600 Speaker 1: For our full conversation text m t A to seven 308 00:17:49,680 --> 00:17:53,520 Speaker 1: zero one zero one. That's m T A to seven 309 00:17:53,600 --> 00:18:08,960 Speaker 1: zero one zero one. This is Alec Baldwin and you're 310 00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:12,719 Speaker 1: listening to here's the thing now. More on the post 311 00:18:12,840 --> 00:18:16,920 Speaker 1: COVID future with Kathy Wilde and Tom Wright. The New 312 00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:20,679 Speaker 1: York region's transit agencies, the Port Authority, the mt A, 313 00:18:20,720 --> 00:18:24,400 Speaker 1: New Jersey Transit, and the Long Island Railroad have received 314 00:18:24,440 --> 00:18:27,320 Speaker 1: some money from the federal Cares Act, but it's not 315 00:18:27,359 --> 00:18:32,560 Speaker 1: nearly enough. They are facing a devastating operating deficit. Um 316 00:18:32,600 --> 00:18:37,720 Speaker 1: they are seeing, you know, roughly their ridership decline. And 317 00:18:37,800 --> 00:18:42,159 Speaker 1: we are more reliant in New York on transit fares 318 00:18:42,280 --> 00:18:45,320 Speaker 1: paying for operations than anywhere else in the country. In 319 00:18:45,400 --> 00:18:47,920 Speaker 1: Los Angeles they subsidize that. They don't they don't charge 320 00:18:47,920 --> 00:18:50,560 Speaker 1: people that much and and so it doesn't make as 321 00:18:50,560 --> 00:18:53,440 Speaker 1: big a difference. Um So, the m t A is 322 00:18:53,520 --> 00:18:56,600 Speaker 1: losing about two hundred million dollars a week right now 323 00:18:57,000 --> 00:19:00,000 Speaker 1: because of the loss of ridership on the subways, bus, 324 00:19:00,080 --> 00:19:03,440 Speaker 1: is Long Island Railroad, Metro North. Uh. They got some 325 00:19:03,480 --> 00:19:06,399 Speaker 1: money from the federal government, but it's not enough and 326 00:19:06,440 --> 00:19:08,760 Speaker 1: they're gonna need They've gone back and asked for another 327 00:19:08,960 --> 00:19:11,679 Speaker 1: three point nine billion dollars and if they don't get that, 328 00:19:12,320 --> 00:19:15,640 Speaker 1: the only option for them is essentially to raid their 329 00:19:15,640 --> 00:19:19,399 Speaker 1: capital budgets and to take They had just approved a 330 00:19:19,560 --> 00:19:22,960 Speaker 1: fifty one billion dollar mt A five year capital plan. 331 00:19:23,040 --> 00:19:26,040 Speaker 1: It was the largest and historic plan, funded by congestion 332 00:19:26,119 --> 00:19:30,680 Speaker 1: pricing and other things. And if they have to raid 333 00:19:30,840 --> 00:19:34,960 Speaker 1: that for the operations, it means that the system will 334 00:19:34,960 --> 00:19:37,600 Speaker 1: start to decline in what all the things we talked 335 00:19:37,600 --> 00:19:42,640 Speaker 1: about on the show exactly, signals and and everything like that. 336 00:19:43,160 --> 00:19:45,960 Speaker 1: And so it's really important to protect that capital budget. 337 00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:48,639 Speaker 1: At the same time, the capital plans were created in 338 00:19:48,680 --> 00:19:52,159 Speaker 1: a different environment. Um I was talking to ahead of 339 00:19:52,160 --> 00:19:54,680 Speaker 1: the Port Authority the other day, and you know they're 340 00:19:54,720 --> 00:19:56,880 Speaker 1: going to have to take a fresh look and think 341 00:19:56,920 --> 00:20:00,280 Speaker 1: about whether they can spend the kind of money on 342 00:20:00,280 --> 00:20:03,320 Speaker 1: on the airports and the Lincoln Tunnel and the tolls 343 00:20:03,359 --> 00:20:06,200 Speaker 1: and others that they expected. And all of those capital 344 00:20:06,200 --> 00:20:10,000 Speaker 1: plans were driven by projections of future growth that may 345 00:20:10,040 --> 00:20:13,480 Speaker 1: not materialize either. So I think a kind of reassessment 346 00:20:13,560 --> 00:20:16,040 Speaker 1: of the capital plans is going to come. There's going 347 00:20:16,080 --> 00:20:17,960 Speaker 1: to be a reduction in them. The key is to 348 00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:20,159 Speaker 1: make sure that we don't raid them too much for 349 00:20:20,240 --> 00:20:23,199 Speaker 1: the operating and that we think about what are the 350 00:20:23,240 --> 00:20:25,359 Speaker 1: new demands that the system is going to have again, 351 00:20:25,440 --> 00:20:27,879 Speaker 1: making sure that the subway is safe, making sure that 352 00:20:27,960 --> 00:20:32,360 Speaker 1: we can um collect tolls efficiently and and things like that. Well, 353 00:20:32,920 --> 00:20:35,320 Speaker 1: the other piece of this is, though, if we can 354 00:20:35,359 --> 00:20:38,800 Speaker 1: get the federal government to come up with a rational 355 00:20:39,520 --> 00:20:43,000 Speaker 1: response in terms of helping us close the gaps not 356 00:20:43,119 --> 00:20:45,639 Speaker 1: just on the transit system, but the loss of city 357 00:20:45,640 --> 00:20:50,160 Speaker 1: and state revenues and the expenses that have been incurred 358 00:20:50,200 --> 00:20:52,320 Speaker 1: by the city and state to get us out of 359 00:20:52,359 --> 00:20:57,240 Speaker 1: the hole. Our tax structure is already uncompetitive, but the 360 00:20:57,280 --> 00:21:01,440 Speaker 1: inertia of loving New York, loving its call cultural activities, 361 00:21:01,560 --> 00:21:06,000 Speaker 1: its public gatherings, Broadway, all the things that are now gone. 362 00:21:06,200 --> 00:21:08,800 Speaker 1: At least for the moment, there was, there was a 363 00:21:08,840 --> 00:21:12,320 Speaker 1: stickiness to New York that kept us all here paying 364 00:21:12,440 --> 00:21:16,960 Speaker 1: high taxes, putting up with the longest commute in the country. 365 00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:21,000 Speaker 1: That that is threatened right now, and to the extent 366 00:21:21,960 --> 00:21:27,479 Speaker 1: our local government solution is to raise taxes more. That's 367 00:21:27,560 --> 00:21:31,639 Speaker 1: going to actually have the exact opposite effect, will end 368 00:21:31,680 --> 00:21:33,840 Speaker 1: up further gutting the city. We've got to figure out 369 00:21:33,840 --> 00:21:36,440 Speaker 1: how to come together with plans Number one. We should 370 00:21:36,440 --> 00:21:40,879 Speaker 1: be fighting together to make sure that Washington comes through 371 00:21:41,040 --> 00:21:44,080 Speaker 1: with at least half a trillion dollars for cities and 372 00:21:44,119 --> 00:21:47,320 Speaker 1: states across the country, and then make sure that that 373 00:21:47,480 --> 00:21:51,440 Speaker 1: money is allocated on the basis of the harm done, 374 00:21:51,560 --> 00:21:54,280 Speaker 1: the injury done. It doesn't bother you that we're just 375 00:21:54,400 --> 00:21:57,600 Speaker 1: ladling on more debt for the federal government. Well, since 376 00:21:57,640 --> 00:22:00,680 Speaker 1: these cities are our city is a response sable for 377 00:22:00,800 --> 00:22:04,600 Speaker 1: a big chunk of the federal economy. That and we 378 00:22:04,680 --> 00:22:08,080 Speaker 1: send twenty one billion dollars more in taxes to the 379 00:22:08,119 --> 00:22:11,280 Speaker 1: federal government than we get back every year up to now. 380 00:22:11,760 --> 00:22:15,639 Speaker 1: Their vested interest is in making sure that our cities 381 00:22:15,680 --> 00:22:18,119 Speaker 1: are functional, that we can keep the police going to 382 00:22:18,240 --> 00:22:20,720 Speaker 1: great point. I don't want to say as goes New York, 383 00:22:20,800 --> 00:22:23,919 Speaker 1: so goes the country, but it's true. It's true in 384 00:22:23,960 --> 00:22:26,600 Speaker 1: that giver taker thing. I mean, you sit there and 385 00:22:26,600 --> 00:22:29,520 Speaker 1: see you want to say that, McConnell. You want to say, Hey, Kentucky, 386 00:22:29,760 --> 00:22:32,120 Speaker 1: you guys just live off of all the money you make. 387 00:22:32,760 --> 00:22:35,280 Speaker 1: Absolutely so Cole and you guys just live off of 388 00:22:35,320 --> 00:22:36,960 Speaker 1: all the money that you collect. Him of it, and 389 00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:39,919 Speaker 1: we'll keep all of our money. I'll give you another number. 390 00:22:40,040 --> 00:22:43,000 Speaker 1: In the two and a half trillion that's been allocated 391 00:22:43,119 --> 00:22:48,120 Speaker 1: so far under the Federal Cares Act, new York got 392 00:22:48,640 --> 00:22:54,119 Speaker 1: five hundred dollars per COVID case. Montana, which had a 393 00:22:54,200 --> 00:22:58,080 Speaker 1: total of four hundred and fifty seven cases, received two 394 00:22:58,119 --> 00:23:03,760 Speaker 1: point seven million per case. That's how the politics have worked. 395 00:23:04,080 --> 00:23:08,920 Speaker 1: And when New York was doing great as an economy, 396 00:23:08,960 --> 00:23:12,680 Speaker 1: that was okay, we subsidized the rest of the country. 397 00:23:12,720 --> 00:23:16,280 Speaker 1: That situation is reversed. We are the hardest hit city 398 00:23:16,440 --> 00:23:20,159 Speaker 1: in the world. We're twenty percent of the deaths in 399 00:23:20,240 --> 00:23:23,880 Speaker 1: this country. We're in our city. We have to reverse 400 00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:27,880 Speaker 1: that conversation and make our case is four more years 401 00:23:27,960 --> 00:23:30,399 Speaker 1: of Trump and his attitude towards cities and those he 402 00:23:30,600 --> 00:23:34,159 Speaker 1: used as his political non supporters. Does that terrify you 403 00:23:34,280 --> 00:23:36,160 Speaker 1: for the future of New York. Well, in the case 404 00:23:36,200 --> 00:23:39,200 Speaker 1: of cities, Trump's bark is a little worse than his bite. 405 00:23:39,280 --> 00:23:41,920 Speaker 1: I think he's going to support the city's getting this money. 406 00:23:41,960 --> 00:23:45,200 Speaker 1: I really do, because because it's in his interests. Even 407 00:23:46,080 --> 00:23:49,240 Speaker 1: of export imports come through the port of New York 408 00:23:49,280 --> 00:23:52,119 Speaker 1: and New Jersey. We are the entry point to the 409 00:23:52,200 --> 00:23:56,800 Speaker 1: global marketplace. We are the financial services capital of the world. 410 00:23:57,880 --> 00:24:00,879 Speaker 1: There's no way that they can write us off. So 411 00:24:00,960 --> 00:24:04,680 Speaker 1: I believe that it is um in Trump's interest to 412 00:24:04,800 --> 00:24:09,000 Speaker 1: support New York City, and I think he'll He usually 413 00:24:09,000 --> 00:24:12,600 Speaker 1: acts on his interests. Um Now, tom My question for 414 00:24:12,640 --> 00:24:15,600 Speaker 1: you is it seems like moments ago that de Blasio 415 00:24:15,720 --> 00:24:19,399 Speaker 1: was running for president. Now, of course Deplasio is in 416 00:24:19,480 --> 00:24:21,800 Speaker 1: a lot of hot water and people with a lot 417 00:24:21,800 --> 00:24:24,240 Speaker 1: of criticism. But I want to give him the benefit 418 00:24:24,280 --> 00:24:26,320 Speaker 1: of the debt, even though my attitude abo about him 419 00:24:26,320 --> 00:24:29,320 Speaker 1: as evolved. What was he thinking Do you have a 420 00:24:29,320 --> 00:24:32,080 Speaker 1: little bit more of an understanding from your position? What 421 00:24:32,160 --> 00:24:34,480 Speaker 1: was he thinking that he decided to keep things open 422 00:24:34,520 --> 00:24:38,439 Speaker 1: that way. Look, there's been an enormous amount of frustration, 423 00:24:38,680 --> 00:24:41,760 Speaker 1: to put it mildly, from in our communities with with 424 00:24:41,800 --> 00:24:44,439 Speaker 1: a lot of the decisions that he's made, um not 425 00:24:44,560 --> 00:24:48,160 Speaker 1: moving more quickly on on protections, and just kind of 426 00:24:48,800 --> 00:24:52,639 Speaker 1: not seeming to understand even to this day as he 427 00:24:52,760 --> 00:24:56,200 Speaker 1: kind of drives around back to Brooklyn to to walk 428 00:24:56,240 --> 00:25:00,119 Speaker 1: through his his favorite park, without realizing that that when 429 00:25:00,160 --> 00:25:02,320 Speaker 1: you're sending a message that everybody is supposed to be 430 00:25:02,400 --> 00:25:04,800 Speaker 1: hunkering down and staying at home, that maybe he should be. 431 00:25:04,920 --> 00:25:12,240 Speaker 1: He should be demonstrating that himself personally. Um uh, de 432 00:25:12,359 --> 00:25:15,440 Speaker 1: Blancio is God. I don't know exactly how to answer this, Alec. 433 00:25:15,480 --> 00:25:17,800 Speaker 1: I mean, it's you want me to rescue you, you 434 00:25:17,920 --> 00:25:20,560 Speaker 1: jump in, Cathy. You'll do it more politically than I will, 435 00:25:20,600 --> 00:25:24,919 Speaker 1: because this is a first time experience for all of us. 436 00:25:25,040 --> 00:25:28,240 Speaker 1: And I really think that the governor and mayor have 437 00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:32,399 Speaker 1: done as much as they possibly could on this balancing 438 00:25:32,440 --> 00:25:36,160 Speaker 1: act between seeing nine hundred thousand people out of work, 439 00:25:36,560 --> 00:25:39,800 Speaker 1: children out of school and not getting an education, kids 440 00:25:39,880 --> 00:25:44,400 Speaker 1: not graduating, closing it. This was a terribly painful decision 441 00:25:44,400 --> 00:25:47,080 Speaker 1: to make, and I will give them both credit, both 442 00:25:47,119 --> 00:25:51,320 Speaker 1: of them, have consulted with the health community number one, 443 00:25:51,680 --> 00:25:55,119 Speaker 1: with the business community and employers number two, with the 444 00:25:55,359 --> 00:25:59,240 Speaker 1: educators number three. They've both worked their tails off to 445 00:25:59,359 --> 00:26:04,000 Speaker 1: get computers to kids who didn't have them. China for 446 00:26:04,040 --> 00:26:07,879 Speaker 1: a while cut us off from supplies, the masks and 447 00:26:07,960 --> 00:26:11,240 Speaker 1: the gallons, et cetera. De Blasio set up a whole system. 448 00:26:11,280 --> 00:26:15,440 Speaker 1: We're making those in the Navy yard. We've delivered as 449 00:26:15,480 --> 00:26:19,480 Speaker 1: of today, a million face shields to our hospitals out 450 00:26:19,480 --> 00:26:23,680 Speaker 1: of the Brooklyn Navy Yard. They're feeding hundreds of thousands 451 00:26:23,720 --> 00:26:28,040 Speaker 1: of people. The city is under Katherine Garcia, the Sanitation commissioner, 452 00:26:28,119 --> 00:26:31,400 Speaker 1: was anointed foods Are and she's taken over. They're doing 453 00:26:31,400 --> 00:26:35,639 Speaker 1: a terrific job of feeding the healthcare workers, of feeding 454 00:26:35,680 --> 00:26:39,360 Speaker 1: the kids that are no longer getting school lunches. The 455 00:26:39,400 --> 00:26:43,200 Speaker 1: dimensions of this crisis, and for you know, government often 456 00:26:43,280 --> 00:26:45,880 Speaker 1: can't walk into gum. At the same time, this has 457 00:26:45,920 --> 00:26:49,280 Speaker 1: been a crisis on every front. I've been on the 458 00:26:49,320 --> 00:26:53,320 Speaker 1: phone with them twenty four seven and they're all working 459 00:26:53,359 --> 00:26:56,400 Speaker 1: their tails off. What would you like to see Cuomo 460 00:26:56,480 --> 00:27:00,400 Speaker 1: do in the short term and the long term? The state? Well, 461 00:27:00,520 --> 00:27:03,240 Speaker 1: Number one is the city and state have to be 462 00:27:03,840 --> 00:27:07,000 Speaker 1: have to be speaking with one voice. Obviously, I guess 463 00:27:07,000 --> 00:27:08,800 Speaker 1: you just made my point, which is a very difficult 464 00:27:08,800 --> 00:27:11,920 Speaker 1: thing between the bassio and Cuomo, so I'm told well, 465 00:27:12,040 --> 00:27:15,560 Speaker 1: And it was between Rudy and Potechi, and it's all 466 00:27:15,880 --> 00:27:19,320 Speaker 1: between Lindsay and Rockefell. It's always been there. There's a 467 00:27:19,359 --> 00:27:23,960 Speaker 1: tension there. Um. New York City is the economic heavyweight, 468 00:27:24,160 --> 00:27:26,919 Speaker 1: and the upstate has always felt we screwed around with 469 00:27:26,960 --> 00:27:29,760 Speaker 1: their politics. That doesn't go away, and there's a natural 470 00:27:29,800 --> 00:27:33,200 Speaker 1: tension there. But but so far, so good. We had 471 00:27:33,240 --> 00:27:36,680 Speaker 1: them together announcing the closure of the subway from one 472 00:27:36,760 --> 00:27:39,679 Speaker 1: to five in the morning. They both had to sell it. 473 00:27:39,680 --> 00:27:42,960 Speaker 1: It was particularly controversial because it meant getting the homeless 474 00:27:42,960 --> 00:27:46,359 Speaker 1: out of the subway, and that's a very politically charged issue, 475 00:27:46,400 --> 00:27:50,119 Speaker 1: and they stuck together on that. Sharing the responsibilities between 476 00:27:50,119 --> 00:27:53,119 Speaker 1: the city's public health system and the larger voluntary system 477 00:27:53,160 --> 00:27:58,280 Speaker 1: that the state regulates. They understand the importance of working together, 478 00:27:58,400 --> 00:28:01,320 Speaker 1: particularly as we start to re open the economy and 479 00:28:01,359 --> 00:28:04,520 Speaker 1: bring people back. We have to sell confidence. That will 480 00:28:04,560 --> 00:28:06,960 Speaker 1: not happen if we're a house divided, if we're a 481 00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:10,480 Speaker 1: city in state competing with each other. New York historically 482 00:28:10,520 --> 00:28:14,919 Speaker 1: has been resilient because we were pragmatic. During Occupy Wall Street, 483 00:28:15,440 --> 00:28:18,840 Speaker 1: the Washington A f l c I O. TRUMPA tried 484 00:28:18,840 --> 00:28:22,520 Speaker 1: to get the unions to march with Occupy Wall Street, 485 00:28:22,560 --> 00:28:27,280 Speaker 1: to march Don Broadway in protest and create a giant outpouring. 486 00:28:27,800 --> 00:28:31,440 Speaker 1: Organized labor leaders refused to do it. They said, we 487 00:28:31,560 --> 00:28:34,400 Speaker 1: need the financial industry in New York. We need them 488 00:28:34,440 --> 00:28:38,320 Speaker 1: to come back. And they rose above the ideological to 489 00:28:38,480 --> 00:28:41,520 Speaker 1: come down on the side of New York. And that's 490 00:28:41,560 --> 00:28:44,640 Speaker 1: the moral, the lesson that we have to take forward. 491 00:28:44,880 --> 00:28:47,200 Speaker 1: We've got to stick together. I was thinking as you 492 00:28:47,240 --> 00:28:51,000 Speaker 1: were talking, Kathy. In the seventies, Um, to help the 493 00:28:51,040 --> 00:28:54,600 Speaker 1: city get out of its financial crisis, the Rooten family 494 00:28:54,720 --> 00:28:57,920 Speaker 1: and members of the real estate community started prepaying taxes 495 00:28:58,000 --> 00:29:02,440 Speaker 1: because they knew that the city needed the seats immediately. Correct, correct, 496 00:29:02,520 --> 00:29:06,240 Speaker 1: And you know right now, Um, the big companies Bloomberg 497 00:29:06,280 --> 00:29:09,400 Speaker 1: announced this, some the banks have announced at MasterCard they're 498 00:29:09,440 --> 00:29:11,640 Speaker 1: paying their vendors within one or two days as soon 499 00:29:11,680 --> 00:29:14,360 Speaker 1: as they can for the very same reason, just to 500 00:29:14,560 --> 00:29:18,400 Speaker 1: keep the money in the system and to keep businesses going. Yeah, 501 00:29:18,440 --> 00:29:20,400 Speaker 1: which makes a lot of sense. I'll also just say 502 00:29:20,440 --> 00:29:23,760 Speaker 1: on the to take the regional perspective, Cathie will be shocked. 503 00:29:24,040 --> 00:29:26,960 Speaker 1: Governor Cuomo has also been instrumental in pulling together the 504 00:29:27,000 --> 00:29:32,600 Speaker 1: neighboring states and maybe laying the groundwork for creating more 505 00:29:32,720 --> 00:29:36,760 Speaker 1: of an ongoing coordination between these states on investment policies 506 00:29:36,760 --> 00:29:39,440 Speaker 1: and other things. Because if all the things come to 507 00:29:39,480 --> 00:29:42,360 Speaker 1: pass where some people start to say, let's let's leave 508 00:29:42,360 --> 00:29:46,120 Speaker 1: accounts payable outside Manhattan, well what we like is for 509 00:29:46,160 --> 00:29:48,760 Speaker 1: them to stay in the metropolitan region. For for the 510 00:29:48,800 --> 00:29:53,000 Speaker 1: businesses to see themselves as regionally based, distributing their their 511 00:29:53,040 --> 00:29:56,320 Speaker 1: workforce across the region as needs and costs make the 512 00:29:56,360 --> 00:29:59,440 Speaker 1: most sense. And that's beneficial for all of us. And 513 00:29:59,480 --> 00:30:01,240 Speaker 1: I and I think that we're I think it's been 514 00:30:01,400 --> 00:30:05,000 Speaker 1: two remendous leadership on the part of the governors up 515 00:30:05,000 --> 00:30:08,200 Speaker 1: and down the Northeast working together. One question I had 516 00:30:08,200 --> 00:30:12,000 Speaker 1: for you, Kathy. You spoke out forcefully against the city's 517 00:30:12,040 --> 00:30:15,800 Speaker 1: workers Bill of Rights granting sickly even hazard pay for 518 00:30:15,960 --> 00:30:19,160 Speaker 1: essential workers, which of course put you at odds with 519 00:30:19,240 --> 00:30:21,760 Speaker 1: the Corey Johnson and so for people like that, why 520 00:30:21,800 --> 00:30:25,200 Speaker 1: why was that the case? Well, I testified yesterday that 521 00:30:25,440 --> 00:30:28,320 Speaker 1: it's not a matter of lack of compassion. We all 522 00:30:28,360 --> 00:30:32,200 Speaker 1: share that, but the burden of some of these um 523 00:30:32,280 --> 00:30:34,240 Speaker 1: of some of these requirements, and this is focused on 524 00:30:34,440 --> 00:30:39,560 Speaker 1: essential industries. Well, essential industries is everything from the securities 525 00:30:39,600 --> 00:30:43,800 Speaker 1: industry Wall Street, to the healthcare workers to the grocery 526 00:30:43,840 --> 00:30:47,880 Speaker 1: store workers, etcetera. And there's a lot of difference in those. 527 00:30:47,960 --> 00:30:52,080 Speaker 1: And at the federal level we have done a lot 528 00:30:52,240 --> 00:30:55,520 Speaker 1: to get money to workers with the enriched unemployment. There 529 00:30:55,560 --> 00:30:59,200 Speaker 1: are issues of resources. Do we have the resources the 530 00:30:59,280 --> 00:31:03,400 Speaker 1: businesses that they're asking to pay essential workers and the hospitals, 531 00:31:03,440 --> 00:31:07,760 Speaker 1: by the way, they are all stretched very thin financially. 532 00:31:08,040 --> 00:31:10,520 Speaker 1: So it's not that you can just pass a law 533 00:31:10,640 --> 00:31:13,760 Speaker 1: like you could do in the last twelve years when 534 00:31:13,800 --> 00:31:17,400 Speaker 1: we had prosperity. These businesses have profit margins of five 535 00:31:17,600 --> 00:31:20,720 Speaker 1: cent or less and a lot of those are gone. 536 00:31:20,760 --> 00:31:24,840 Speaker 1: Our consumer spending year over year is down thirty in 537 00:31:24,880 --> 00:31:28,680 Speaker 1: New York City since a year ago, so that money 538 00:31:28,800 --> 00:31:32,200 Speaker 1: has disappeared from our economy. There's a tendency to think, well, 539 00:31:32,240 --> 00:31:34,400 Speaker 1: we can make a law and fix this. A law 540 00:31:34,480 --> 00:31:38,120 Speaker 1: will not fix this. We have compassion for these workers, 541 00:31:38,160 --> 00:31:40,680 Speaker 1: we all want to reward them, but you're not going 542 00:31:40,720 --> 00:31:42,520 Speaker 1: to do that with a law, you have to figure 543 00:31:42,520 --> 00:31:45,080 Speaker 1: out another way to do that. And in the case 544 00:31:45,120 --> 00:31:49,680 Speaker 1: of the nineteen seventies crisis, the unions, the workers sacrifice, 545 00:31:49,720 --> 00:31:53,280 Speaker 1: They sacrifice, their salary increases the public service workers. I 546 00:31:53,280 --> 00:31:55,000 Speaker 1: think we can count on that. Again. That's what was 547 00:31:55,040 --> 00:31:57,600 Speaker 1: my next question, which was do you think that New 548 00:31:57,680 --> 00:32:01,280 Speaker 1: York unions, which are pretty tough union can be relied 549 00:32:01,360 --> 00:32:05,800 Speaker 1: upon to sacrifice? Again, I absolutely do, I absolutely do. 550 00:32:05,920 --> 00:32:08,160 Speaker 1: I think they care about New York. They've got a 551 00:32:08,240 --> 00:32:10,680 Speaker 1: huge stake in the future of the city. Just as 552 00:32:10,800 --> 00:32:14,120 Speaker 1: I think everybody has to sacrifice. People have to see 553 00:32:14,200 --> 00:32:17,880 Speaker 1: that business is sacrificing. People have to see funds that 554 00:32:17,920 --> 00:32:20,920 Speaker 1: are being raised by the one percent to support the 555 00:32:21,040 --> 00:32:25,840 Speaker 1: undocumented workers who don't qualify for the Trump unemployment insurance. 556 00:32:26,240 --> 00:32:28,400 Speaker 1: That's the kind of thing that's going on in New York, 557 00:32:28,680 --> 00:32:32,960 Speaker 1: top end restaurants that are delivering meals to poor communities 558 00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:37,240 Speaker 1: and to healthcare workers. I absolutely believe that everyone is 559 00:32:37,280 --> 00:32:39,520 Speaker 1: going to make a sacrifice for the city because we 560 00:32:39,600 --> 00:32:41,600 Speaker 1: all love it. We've got to get that back. The 561 00:32:41,680 --> 00:32:44,840 Speaker 1: question is timing and how much suffering is between now 562 00:32:44,880 --> 00:32:47,000 Speaker 1: and then. Yeah, if I can, if I can agree 563 00:32:47,040 --> 00:32:49,120 Speaker 1: with that and and one of the things that we 564 00:32:49,200 --> 00:32:51,720 Speaker 1: do have as an advantage in New York, frankly, is 565 00:32:51,760 --> 00:32:54,280 Speaker 1: that we went through these tough times over the last 566 00:32:54,280 --> 00:32:58,960 Speaker 1: twenty years. Between nine eleven two thousand and eight Sandy, 567 00:32:59,120 --> 00:33:02,560 Speaker 1: the city came together after each of those communities started 568 00:33:02,560 --> 00:33:05,280 Speaker 1: looking out for each other, started to realize how how 569 00:33:05,280 --> 00:33:08,600 Speaker 1: important those connections were. Because I talked to my counterparts 570 00:33:08,640 --> 00:33:10,920 Speaker 1: around the country, and I don't think other cities and 571 00:33:11,000 --> 00:33:14,400 Speaker 1: metro regions have that kind of resiliency that New York 572 00:33:14,440 --> 00:33:17,480 Speaker 1: does because they haven't been tested over the last generation 573 00:33:17,560 --> 00:33:20,640 Speaker 1: the way we have. I'm trying to focus myself on 574 00:33:21,160 --> 00:33:24,320 Speaker 1: what we can control, what we have the power to change. 575 00:33:24,640 --> 00:33:26,280 Speaker 1: You know, one thing we're all very concerned about is 576 00:33:26,320 --> 00:33:29,440 Speaker 1: Broadway because Broadway is maybe not a big cylinder in 577 00:33:29,480 --> 00:33:32,040 Speaker 1: the city's ecind of was one of them. And I've 578 00:33:32,040 --> 00:33:34,560 Speaker 1: been on the line and talking to people a lot 579 00:33:34,560 --> 00:33:36,040 Speaker 1: about what we're going to do. You know who I 580 00:33:36,080 --> 00:33:40,240 Speaker 1: suggest you talk to, Henry Tims, who's president of Lincoln Center. 581 00:33:40,320 --> 00:33:42,800 Speaker 1: That's a very good point, Todd Haimes from the Roundabout Theater, 582 00:33:42,840 --> 00:33:45,000 Speaker 1: which I'm on the board of. Not to end on 583 00:33:45,040 --> 00:33:48,080 Speaker 1: a downer, but the arts and culture even more so 584 00:33:48,200 --> 00:33:51,360 Speaker 1: than restaurants. I it's really hard to see what it's 585 00:33:51,360 --> 00:33:53,920 Speaker 1: going to take for Lincoln Center and and and Broadway 586 00:33:53,960 --> 00:33:56,360 Speaker 1: to come back. That's going to be really hard. Some 587 00:33:56,440 --> 00:33:59,000 Speaker 1: of the big ones which have we listen to Philharmonic 588 00:33:59,040 --> 00:34:01,120 Speaker 1: that I'm on the board of, had reserves that they 589 00:34:01,120 --> 00:34:03,200 Speaker 1: were piling up in order to do the renovation of 590 00:34:03,280 --> 00:34:06,280 Speaker 1: David Geffen Hall. And I mean, I think they're gonna 591 00:34:06,280 --> 00:34:08,759 Speaker 1: be okay in terms of they're going to survive. It's 592 00:34:08,760 --> 00:34:10,800 Speaker 1: just that they're gonna have to dip into that money 593 00:34:10,840 --> 00:34:14,640 Speaker 1: that was capital improvement money as operating cash, and that 594 00:34:14,680 --> 00:34:16,800 Speaker 1: we're gonna we're gonna have to go back several spaces 595 00:34:16,840 --> 00:34:19,560 Speaker 1: on the game board in terms of raising money. Listen, 596 00:34:20,280 --> 00:34:23,320 Speaker 1: I'm very grateful not only for you doing the podcast, 597 00:34:23,360 --> 00:34:25,239 Speaker 1: but for the work that you do on behalf of 598 00:34:25,280 --> 00:34:27,040 Speaker 1: the people of the city of New York. Thank you 599 00:34:27,080 --> 00:34:29,920 Speaker 1: so much, Thank you, thank you. It's always a pleasure. 600 00:34:30,560 --> 00:34:34,280 Speaker 1: Stay safe, and I'm gonna be sending you my proposal 601 00:34:34,360 --> 00:34:37,040 Speaker 1: for the funding for therapy for sixty two year old 602 00:34:37,040 --> 00:34:38,799 Speaker 1: out of work. I'll add it in the fifth Plan. 603 00:34:40,080 --> 00:34:42,720 Speaker 1: But you also have an important role as that champion 604 00:34:42,800 --> 00:34:46,000 Speaker 1: for the city that everybody would enjoy hearing from al 605 00:34:46,480 --> 00:34:53,799 Speaker 1: Thank you, Kathy Wilde and Tom Wright. At least the 606 00:34:53,840 --> 00:34:56,480 Speaker 1: private sector effort to bring the city back from this 607 00:34:56,560 --> 00:35:01,120 Speaker 1: pandemic will be in good hands. This is Alec Baldwin 608 00:35:01,400 --> 00:35:06,880 Speaker 1: and you're listening to here's the thing. Oh,