How New Deal New York Will Invest in NYC Communities and Infrastructure to Create 100,000 Jobs
By Maya Wiley
This piece is the first of a series to hear from New York City mayoral candidates.
Make no mistake, nothing about The Big Apple is small. New Yorkers are taught to dream big -- it's in our blood. Like our skyscrapers, many of our dreams reach high, and many see the city as a place of promise and intrigue. New York is both grand in ambition and opportunity, and just like our city, the challenges we face today loom equally large.
Today, we face an ongoing global pandemic that has taken 27,000 of our neighbors and family members, a citywide budget crisis, record levels of wealth inequality, and raised cost of living. Our city’s infrastructure crumbles all around us. We can all agree that to get us back on a road to recovery, it is going to take much more than status quo governance. It is going to take a bold, ambitious, and inclusive vision. This is why as mayor, I will launch the New Deal New York that will create 100,000 jobs, invest billions in our city’s infrastructure, and into communities facing these challenges.
New Deal New York will be an important part of my recovery plan for a New York City that has been dealt a body blow. Over half of New York City households have lost a job, wages, or hours during the pandemic. Our bridges and roads are crying for repair, but New York’s budget crisis has left us unable to make necessary fixes. While some fled New York, working-class New Yorkers, mainly those of color, kept this city running, and paid the price economically. As of September, Black and Latinx city households are facing much higher rates of food and housing insecurity and Asian American New Yorkers have faced record job loss. Nearly a third of city households with incomes below $50,000 are now food and housing insecure. And businesses owned by people of color had the hardest time accessing aid and were the most likely to close during the pandemic. This is all in addition to the disproportionate way this virus has killed people of color.
The same policies will only yield the same results. New Deal New York will center around a massive infrastructure, stimulus and jobs program consisting of a $10 billion investment to provide a boost to our City’s economy. It will put residents back to work, invest in the future of our communities, and address our city’s deepening inequities. By investing in the communities traditionally left behind, we can recover our former greatness by providing opportunity. Even better, this is a plan New York City can do entirely on our own.
Transforming and expanding our city’s deeply underinvested public housing will guarantee that every New Yorker does not worry about putting a roof over their head and that uninhabitable units are move-in ready. Providing expanded broadband access and job training will create pathways to success. Modernizing our city’s infrastructure will ensure our longevity. Improving our climate infrastructure will increase our resilience. And finally, protecting our beloved arts, restaurants, and nightlife will revitalize the cultural dynamism that makes New York a global treasure.
For many, the pandemic has forced them to hit the reset button on their life’s priorities, but for so many more, this pandemic has taken loved ones, deepened personal economic turmoil, or forced them to lose their homes. As mayor, it will be my job to ensure my administration fights for all New Yorkers, and that means creating a comprehensive plan that takes care of all New Yorkers, especially those left behind. It means addressing the challenges in our city to provide every New Yorker a fair shot at achieving their most audacious dreams. My job as mayor is to ensure we address the divisions of the past twenty years but also set a course for our city to thrive, not just survive, for the next twenty years.
This recovery will not be easy. New York needs a steward to guide our city to shared success. It is time to widen the size of our tent. I look forward to including you in a New Deal New York’s promise.
Maya Wiley is a candidate for New York City mayor.