Election Review – What Others Can Learn From NYC
The election in the City is over.
We looked at this last municipal election cycle to see what other cities or countries can learn from New York City’s primaries and general elections. This city often is a window into the future, so what topics matter here soon might become important elsewhere, as well.
New York was hit harder by the pandemic than many cities, so the consequences of the pandemic dominated the debates. Here are our five topics that were discussed and that may carry some relevance beyond the City. For more, we recommend the The City’s Meet Your Mayor quiz.
A Spike in Crime
Older New Yorkers remember a time when crime was their neighbor in parts of the City. While those times are long gone, the memories of the bad days of the Big Apple still linger. Public safety is a table stake for development, which means that little will develop when crimes are high.
New York City’s crime rate is still one of the lowest in any large city. However, a spike in crime rates, particularly murders and shootings, dominated the debate. Mr. Adams, with his credentials as a former police lieutenant, was trusted by voters most on this issue, and he promised specifically to address gang violence. Regardless of geography, it’s likely that public safety will play an increased role in any near-term election.
Families and Economic Development
Not surprisingly, economic recovery was the second most important topic. Many of the City’s core economic engines have been hit hard, including real estate and office space, restaurant and hospitality, and Broadway.
The debate saw some classic arguments on how best to assist in the recovery, including cutting red tape for small businesses. For instance, New York allowed restaurants to expand onto the street or offer alcoholic beverages to go. These are fairly minor issues, however, when compared to how the candidates shifted how to foster economic development in light of the pandemic. For the first time, for example, the issues around child care were seen through a lens of economic recovery, as supporting families to provide for their children is a prerequisite to bringing parents back to work. It is likely that the new thinking here will soon spread.
Homelessness
In the last administration, homelessness among single adults grew by 60% to the highest number since the 1930s. The major cause, according to the Coalition for the Homeless, is worsening housing affordability in New York City and across the globe. In New York City, you would need to work 136 hours per week to afford a two-bedroom at the Fair Market Rent – it is impossible. Instead of tackling this thorny issue, however, the debate focused on mental illness and addiction, which are the lenses in which many New Yorkers view homelessness in their neighborhood. Converting outer borough hotels into permanent housing was one solution mentioned.
Taxation
Any public recovery initiative or help provided during the pandemic costs money. At the same time, income inequality has accelerated during the the pandemic. In the campaign cycle, politicians debated who should pay for New York City’s expenses, and how. Keep in mind that New Yorkers already pay some of the highest taxes in the nation, with an additional income tax of about 10%. Most Democratic candidates (Republicans almost don’t matter in New York City) supported a so-called “millionaire’s tax,” in which the tax rate for individual earnings over $1 million would go up by 0.8% to 9.65%, but Mayor Adams did not. More importantly, most candidates discussed at least some version of Andrew Yang’s Universal Basic Income proposal.
With growing awareness of the widening income equality gap, this topic will be on the front burner for some time to come.