20 Things from 2020 That Need Fixing
Two-Part Series. Next up: 21 Ideas for 2021
The crises of 2020 convinced me to run for Mayor of New York City. For me, 2020 started on December 30, 2019, when the Wuhan government alerted healthcare providers about an “abnormal pneumonia,” and went on to become the year that would test the very nature of our Democracy.
Pre-existing structural inequities and injustices were laid bare by the COVID pandemic and the ensuing economic crisis. The pain now unifies everyone in New York City: the fabric of our communities is torn. Our safety net is insufficient. The City has many levers of relief at its disposal that have gone unused. When we see people suffering in this pandemic, and we know some of that suffering could have been avoided, we have to ask, where’s the leadership? We now know that the City government has had the wrong priorities, ignoring things that really matter, leaving the City unable to address this crisis and future crises.
In 2020, New Yorkers inspired me. New Yorkers rose to the occasion to fill the gaps, sometimes at the cost of their own lives. And the Black Lives Matter protests gave me a new resolve to do my part to help finish the work of the Civil Rights movement, from which I personally have benefitted. So, I’m running for Mayor.
Over the next many weeks, I intend to publish a series of posts dealing with responses to our challenges. However, I want to start by sharing what I think the biggest challenges facing our community are -- and ways forward to fix them.
The 20 Crises of 2020
Narrow View of Public Health
COVID requires us to redefine public health. We learned that public health doesn’t just mean the absence of disease; it means the presence of well-being. There are many public health crises: poverty, mental health, overcrowding at home, at work, and at rest, access to clean nutritious food, living in carbon pollution, racism, and too many people living in fear of an abuser. The NYPD responds to over 230,000 domestic incidents per year.
The Jobs Crisis is a Small Business Crisis
Entire industries have been wiped out or severely impacted and, with them, we lost over 700,000 salaried positions and over 500,000 independent contractor jobs. In August, the joblessness rate was as high as 33%. But while we often talk about the big businesses headquartered in NYC, 98% of the City’s businesses have fewer than 100 employees -- employing half of New Yorkers. The largest employer of New Yorkers is small business -- not corporate giants. Shouldn’t these small businesses get the same, if not more, help that large corporations receive?
Crisis of Care
The caregiving system is broken and it’s women who are paying the price, too often forced to make the terrible choice between caring for others for pay or caring for their own families. 93% of families cannot afford center-based childcare, contributing to the fact that four times as many women as men dropped out of the labor force in September. Meanwhile, 1 in 5 child-care jobs has disappeared nationally, affecting women of color disproportionately. The caregiving crisis is a family crisis for 52.3% of New Yorkers who are women.
Eviction Crises are Mortgage Crises
Imagine the entire population of Washington, DC or Boston becoming homeless. That’s what the 200,000 eviction cases pending in NYC Housing Court could look like. Eviction and foreclosure moratoriums are welcome relief, but what happens when they expire? Tenants pay landlords who pay mortgages. If the goal is to protect communities by keeping residents (and small businesses) in place, the only solution is to create flexibility in mortgages that can be provided to landlords willing to pass the benefit through to their tenants. The eviction crisis is a mortgage crisis (and therein lies the solution).
The Crisis in Education Impacts Our Future
For too many of the 1.1 million students in K-12 public schools, 2020 and 2021 will be lost educational years. The crisis reveals both the importance of digital infrastructure in schools, and also its gross insufficiency as the sole replacement for in-person learning. The inflexibility of the entire system is symbolized by our decrepit and outmoded school buildings, as well as our lack of city-wide broadband access, designed and built for educational models that haven’t adapted to change for over a century.
Crisis of Public Safety
When any group in our city feels unsafe, we have a safety crisis. The Black Lives Matter protests unveil the depth and breadth of outrage against our broken systems, which only keep certain people safe. Unforgettable images of police brutality are seared into our consciousness. When we over-invest in police omnipresence, whose safety are we prioritizing?
Crisis of Public Transportation
New York City can’t afford our current public transit system, but we can’t afford not to have it. And our transportation systems haven’t adapted to the changing City. Uber and Lyft get most of their growth in trips between the boroughs, which indicates a major transportation need for the public. And the growth in biking, electric scooters, and other carbon-free transportation is both hopeful for climate, while uncovering a huge need in micro-trips. By thinking creatively and working with the private sector, we can 1) expand transit between the boroughs; 2) create new transportation resources that support micro-trips; and 3) reduce automobile usage.
Crisis of Lost Creativity
Theater alone provides over $14 billion in economic activity to the city annually, yet when Broadway went dark, it was as if it never existed. The arts industry as a whole was forgotten in relief plans and even in official pronouncements, despite the fact that it brings more money to NYC than every sports team combined. 72% of domestic tourists, and 61% of foreign tourists, say Broadway is “very important” in their reasoning to visit NYC. Without the arts, there is no tourism to the City; without tourism, we have no economy. Sustaining artists and the arts organizations is a key strategic requirement for any future rebound.
The Crisis of Affordable and Available Housing
Too many New Yorkers are still homeless and still in crisis because we still lack truly affordable housing. New York City’s population has increased by over 1 million people since I moved here in 1985, while the supply of truly affordable housing has declined due to funding cuts and increased residential demolitions.
Climate Crisis is Here
It was only a stroke of luck that New York City didn’t experience the climate catastrophes experienced in the West and the South. Their hardships stand as reminders about how unprepared we are to face future climate crises. Threats come from rising sea levels, more damaging storms, and increasing carbon emissions from fossil fuels. Meanwhile, the solutions to fight climate change are coming from other cities. We have an economic opportunity here in addressing our crisis.
Budget Crisis
The City faces tax revenue shortfalls across the board, from income taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, and other fees. While a Democratic majority in Congress provides some hope, relief will likely be delayed, insufficient, and undependable. The next Mayor will need to figure out how to do more with less.
A Crisis of Data and Technology
We can’t make decisions, maintain trust, or have transparency without data. We can’t measure success or understand failure without data. As private technology companies deliver increasing levels of convenience, the shortcomings of City government are drawn into sharp contrast. And technology and security are intrinsically linked, as demonstrated by the recent Russian cyberattacks against the Federal Government. This will be a crisis we can count on.
The Crisis of Unequal Distribution
From broadband, to masks and other PPE, to groceries, to student laptops, to financial relief, to vaccines, the evidence of broken supply chains surrounds us. We’ve left it in the hands of nonprofits and community organizations to solve these problems. How can the city work hand-in-hand with these organizations, so together, we can do more?
The Crisis of Broken Business Models
Tourism, travel, fashion, retail, restaurants are among the business models whose weakness was exacerbated by COVID and exposed by the Black Lives Matter movement. As we rebuild and re-think our business models, equity has to be at the heart of change.
The Crisis of Siloed Government
The broken business model that the City can best control is its own government. Integrated services delivery is the best practice in social services -- and government . Every problem worth addressing is interconnected, inextricably linked to other problems. The need for kids to learn from home exposes the need for reliable housing and infrastructure. The need for COVID relief exposes the need for more accessible healthcare. Yet, silos -- branches of city government that don’t share information or work well together --make coordinated responses impossible. This is a crisis that we can and must avoid, so City government can meet the needs of every New Yorker.
The Crisis of a Broken State-City Relationship
The City depends on the State for many things, from taxation and funding, to operational integration, to policy coordination. The acrimonious relationship between the Governor and the Mayor compounds our problems and puts the City at risk. A functioning NYC requires a leader who knows how to play well with others and who genuinely believes in the cooperative efforts between state and local markets.
The Crisis of a Booming Stock Market in a City with a Busted Economy
The stock market is at its highest ever levels. Are you seeing the benefit of that in your bank account? While the City is in crisis, both markets appear to reflect a return to the sort of economic growth that will benefit the wealthy without regard for the many. In a repeat of past cycles, vast stores of capital are building up in anticipation of fire sale prices for assets like real estate and companies. This will continue to expand the economic divide in the city.
The Crisis in Washington, DC
Our country is facing massive problems on a grand scale, which means that New York City cannot depend on the financial largess of Washington as our sole salvation. And while money makes things easier, money doesn’t solve all problems. The next Mayor will have to do more with less. I will make sure that City offices and agencies are run efficiently and effectively towards clear shared goals set by the People. And while we’ll work effectively with our federal officials, NYC will stand ready to help ourselves.
The Crisis of a Lack of Preparation
New Yorkers have always prospered by being leaders in embracing the future. But today, we’re playing catch up. As New York City declines, the future keeps happening, with huge impacts on the future of work, the future of education, and the future of business.