Extended Interview: Public Advocate Jumaane Williams On His Priorities — Transcript

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1. 0:00after a citywide special election a new
2. 0:02Public Advocate has been chosen
3. 0:03Jumaane Williams has been a New York
4. 0:05City Councilman for the 45th district in
5. 0:07Brooklyn but will now finish out the
6. 0:09term of public advocate for the
7. 0:10remainder of the year so what is he
8. 0:12hoping to accomplish we had mr. Williams
9. 0:14here to join me to talk about the new
10. 0:15position thank you for being here
11. 0:17absolutely so let's first talk about
12. 0:19this position was created back in 1993
13. 0:22so relatively new when you look at the
14. 0:24history of New York and some people have
15. 0:25said that they don't necessarily think
16. 0:27it's needed so why do you feel like it's
17. 0:28needed and what do you hope to
18. 0:29accomplish well it's it's important to
19. 0:31make a distinction because most folks
20. 0:33say it's not powerful enough and this is
21. 0:36the first time I've heard that argument
22. 0:37then go to we don't need it as opposed
23. 0:39to make it more powerful I actually
24. 0:42believe it's a critically important
25. 0:44position I think a lot of New Yorkers do
26. 0:46as well
27. 0:46it is am buds men the watchdog over city
28. 0:49and government and I think if we ever
29. 0:51needed that that's absolutely needed
30. 0:53right now and so we do believe that it
31. 0:55can be made better by being giving
32. 0:58subpoena power and having an independent
33. 1:00budget but the powers that it does have
34. 1:02right now are much needed and makes it a
35. 1:05critical part of government you have a
36. 1:07fairly limited budget so what do you
37. 1:09hope then that you're able to accomplish
38. 1:10with what you have kind of walk me
39. 1:12through your agenda list well I've never
40. 1:14heard I've seen an agency or an entity
41. 1:16say that had enough money to do what it
42. 1:18wanted to do I do think we have a budget
43. 1:21that we can accomplish what the city
44. 1:24wants us to do we're going to ask for
45. 1:26some additional funding so we can do
46. 1:29even more what do you want to do and we
47. 1:31want to make sure that there is a better
48. 1:34way for the communities to have a
49. 1:37discussion with government or at least
50. 1:39feel that part of it what it seems now
51. 1:41that happens to this administration in
52. 1:43particular and administration's in
53. 1:44general how the tendency to do things to
54. 1:47communities but we want to do things and
55. 1:49we think government should do things
56. 1:50with communities so very often issues
57. 1:53come up from Rikers to rezoning where
58. 1:55people feel like things are imposed the
59. 1:57public advocate's office can be where
60. 1:59the community voice is actually heard
61. 2:01and we are the go-between between the
62. 2:04city of New York and
63. 2:06the city government when it was created
64. 2:07in 1999 the first election happened in
65. 2:091993 mark green the first public
66. 2:11advocate they said that they wanted a
67. 2:13position that would rise above politics
68. 2:14that would help make decisions on what's
69. 2:16based for the people of the city not
70. 2:18what's base for the occupant and that's
71. 2:20what we've been doing for the past ten
72. 2:21years I'm a city councilor so when you
73. 2:22talk about creating this dialogue
74. 2:24between politicians and the people that
75. 2:26are actually living and working in these
76. 2:28communities you have 3-1-1 there's
77. 2:31certain ways for people to get in touch
78. 2:32with one another but do you actually
79. 2:33want to start a new program do you want
80. 2:35to make that stronger how will you then
81. 2:37allow these people to be a liaison and
82. 2:39have direct access to their politicians
83. 2:40well three one it's not not very
84. 2:43interactive you're just making the phone
85. 2:46would be much broader so there by the
86. 2:50way there are five powers one you can
87. 2:52introduce legislation to you are the
88. 2:54Ombudsman three you are charter cop so
89. 2:56you have the Charter mandated duty to
90. 2:58make sure that let me rephrase their
91. 3:00work let me rephrase how are you going
92. 3:02to allow them to then have a tactile
93. 3:04tangible you know communications with
94. 3:06this visioning the office as well to
95. 3:08build on the best that's happened and I
96. 3:10view these things like a community
97. 3:13organizer that's my training and so we
98. 3:15did during our campaign say we won five
99. 3:17deputy public advocate's in each one of
100. 3:19the borough's and we want to create
101. 3:21offices in each one of the borough's so
102. 3:23we can have a better stream of
103. 3:25information up and down throughout the
104. 3:27system and we want to focus on the
105. 3:29issues that are most at hand that's our
106. 3:32only focuses so we're not although we
107. 3:34can introduce legislation our main focus
108. 3:36is not like the legislature it's not
109. 3:37like the executive order of the the city
110. 3:40it is really and literally to make sure
111. 3:43that the people's voice are heard in a
112. 3:45way that it hasn't been and to make sure
113. 3:46we're advocating for them that's also
114. 3:49purpose and it's an important purpose
115. 3:50now we also appoint people to committees
116. 3:53like the city planning committee which
117. 3:54is integral in many of the reasons that
118. 3:56people heard and we have a vote on the
119. 3:58pension board which is important to make
120. 4:00sure that our retirees can live their
121. 4:02best life based on what we investing in
122. 4:04on not investing in and you said a lot
123. 4:06during your campaign that you want it to
124. 4:08be a voice to the voiceless and I'm
125. 4:10hearing you active that now let's talk
126. 4:11about living specifically here it is so
127. 4:14offensive affordable housing you know
128. 4:17there's not enough for people that need
129. 4:19it and we look at these NYCHA housing
130. 4:20and the crisis that's going on in the
131. 4:22city currently what would you say to
132. 4:25mayor de Blasio and tonight as a whole
133. 4:27as far as kind of getting their acts
134. 4:29together some of these are deplorable
135. 4:31conditions housing is our number one
136. 4:33issue the question is affordable - who
137. 4:35recently I studies show that New York
138. 4:38City went from the 39th to the seventh
139. 4:40most expensive place to live in the
140. 4:42world we are fully failing now
141. 4:45homelessness is on a rise is connected
142. 4:48to the housing that's available and then
143. 4:50we have an allowing one of the last
144. 4:53bastions of deeply income taller
145. 4:55affordable housing in NYCHA it's a huge
146. 4:58issue there were three pillars here one
147. 5:00we have to have true dedicated
148. 5:03investment from the federal government
149. 5:05from the state and of course from the
150. 5:07city but the federal government's they
151. 5:08have failed us on a regular basis we
152. 5:10have to have real management this city
153. 5:13and this administration in particular
154. 5:15has for too long deceived us and what
155. 5:18was going on with management and with
156. 5:19led in particular and lastly any plan
157. 5:22that occurs has to include the knight
158. 5:25residence again we have a tendency to do
159. 5:27things to people but not to residents
160. 5:29are closest to the problem and so they
161. 5:31also are closest to the solution we have
162. 5:33a tendency to just leave them out and
163. 5:35from a bird's eye view impose things on
164. 5:37them but those these things haven't been
165. 5:39happening and we hope that we're in a
166. 5:41phase now where changes are occurring
167. 5:43and the public advocate is a good place
168. 5:45to oversee that and make sure we're
169. 5:47moving in the right direction so let's
170. 5:49talk a little bit about education for
171. 5:50you I know that's something that sets a
172. 5:52priority specifically the specialized
173. 5:53high school admissions test what is your
174. 5:56opinion on this test I know some people
175. 5:57want it to go away and and you want to
176. 6:00see more diversity in these schools so
177. 6:02what would you say to that first of all
178. 6:03the numbers that we saw in the New York
179. 6:06Times report I think seven students in
180. 6:08Stuyvesant and not much better in other
181. 6:10places are abysmal everyone can agree to
182. 6:13that the question is what do we do about
183. 6:16it it's been abysmal for a very long
184. 6:18time we keep focusing on the tests as if
185. 6:21the change the test will change the
186. 6:23diversity problem in the city it
187. 6:25the deal.we is a system that's made up
188. 6:27of more than these eight schools and
189. 6:29what I try to remind people is even the
190. 6:31best schools now that have multiple
191. 6:33criteria the diversity is poor and so we
192. 6:36have to focus on what is the issue when
193. 6:38it comes to diversity one of the reasons
194. 6:40I reject this mayor's proposal I reject
195. 6:42a proposal that would get rid of the
196. 6:44test by itself completely it's because I
197. 6:47went to Brooklyn Tech if there was any
198. 6:49other criteria that would have made me
199. 6:51try to get in there where those grades
200. 6:53or attendance I would not have same
201. 6:54things many of my friends I have I know
202. 6:57someone who was gonna get left back in
203. 6:58eighth grade without this test he would
204. 7:01have been left back
205. 7:01he wasn't he's a very successful
206. 7:02attorney and so my thing is maybe we can
207. 7:05provide access points for everyone some
208. 7:08people can show it again do on the test
209. 7:09some people who can make making sure
210. 7:11thing and doing multiple criteria what
211. 7:13we can't do it's pick communities
212. 7:14against each other which is what has
213. 7:16happened now and so everybody I'm glad
214. 7:18they were hiding this conversation
215. 7:19because it's important but we have to be
216. 7:21careful and focus on what the problem is
217. 7:24and then really figure out the solution
218. 7:25when I were in the 90s the Brooklyn Tech
219. 7:28was booming with diversity what happened
220. 7:31that's a question that we can't skip
221. 7:32over the junior high school I went to
222. 7:34get rid of its gifted and talented
223. 7:35program we saw that happening across the
224. 7:37city particularly in black and brown
225. 7:38communities there were Freedom Schools
226. 7:40so this conversation has to happen with
227. 7:42some context and not sell a panacea
228. 7:45that's actually not going to solve the
229. 7:46problem I also want to talk to you a
230. 7:48little bit about mental health I know
231. 7:50that that's important to you as well in
232. 7:51your acceptance speech you've got a
233. 7:52little emotional talking about how
234. 7:54important it is for you to make sure
235. 7:56that that's discussed especially among
236. 7:58young men so I want to touch a little
237. 8:00bit on chirlane McCray is thrive NYC and
238. 8:05how crucial that is but the budgeting
239. 8:07specifically a billion dollars for
240. 8:09mental health is that something that you
241. 8:11think you would support is that excess
242. 8:13money do you want to know where it's
243. 8:14going and what are your thoughts about
244. 8:15that
245. 8:16I absolutely want to know where it's
246. 8:18going I'm very proud of the intent of
247. 8:21thrive in my see and know there's a
248. 8:23hearing coming up
249. 8:24get some additional answers but I always
250. 8:26try to separate some things out and so
251. 8:28mental illness it's critically important
252. 8:31but I sometimes want to tease that out
253. 8:33of the mental health discussion in in
254. 8:35its entirety there are some people who
255. 8:37have severe and acute issues that we
256. 8:39have to address and make sure that's
257. 8:40addressed the rest of us however also
258. 8:42have mental health issues and should
259. 8:44have discussions to make sure we have
260. 8:46our mental health checked same way some
261. 8:48people go to the dentist hopefully a lot
262. 8:50of people people check in with the
263. 8:51doctor our mental health is critically
264. 8:53important and so we should have the
265. 8:54discussion at the same time to the
266. 8:56extent that thrive NYC said they will
267. 8:58focus on mental illness and have it we
268. 9:01need to be held accountable but we
269. 9:02shouldn't discount the work that's
270. 9:04hopefully being done on mental health in
271. 9:07general what would you say well I do
272. 9:10want to see what was the metrics that
273. 9:13was set aside that was so that there was
274. 9:15success of the system and what funding
275. 9:18was put forth and where the funding is
276. 9:20going those are very basic questions I
277. 9:23hope that there are answer to them if
278. 9:25there aren't we have a problem because
279. 9:27this is a very serious issue and I think
280. 9:29we should dedicate these funds I'm
281. 9:31immensely proud that I firstly has made
282. 9:34this a very big issue in this city
283. 9:36because for far too long too many
284. 9:38communities weren't even talking about
285. 9:39it but those questions have to be
286. 9:41answered and people deserve to have
287. 9:42those answers ok so I want to ask you to
288. 9:44the mayor has not ruled out a
289. 9:46presidential run and we all know that
290. 9:47you would step into that position if in
291. 9:49fact II you know chooses to run you
292. 9:51would step into - mayor so are you
293. 9:53thinking ahead or even thinking past
294. 9:55your primaries that are coming up in
295. 9:57June 25th where do you stand on all this
296. 9:59well one I'm not running for mayor in
297. 10:022021 that was gonna be my follow-up
298. 10:05question okay absolutely do not want the
299. 10:08men job my hope is that he does his job
300. 10:11a little bit better and I would suggest
301. 10:14that he maybe stop focusing on running
302. 10:17around the state there's a lot of sorry
303. 10:19the country yeah there's a lot of issues
304. 10:22that are going on now hopefully who
305. 10:23focus on those but everyone has a right
306. 10:25to look in ahead and see what they want
307. 10:28to do and everybody in this field has
308. 10:29some ambitions
309. 10:30my recommendation is to just focus more
310. 10:33on what's happening in the city when I
311. 10:35ran I said you know if I had to I was
312. 10:37step into the position but I really hope
313. 10:40that the mayor continues out the rest of
314. 10:43his term because as I said on election
315. 10:45night I'm not running for a job that's
316. 10:47not my desire I ran for this position I
317. 10:49think it's a critically important
318. 10:51position and I think we're gonna have a
319. 10:52lot of success mate alright great and
320. 10:54primaries are coming up again - so
321. 10:55you're ready to take it all over just to
322. 10:58be right back but a does pointer there
323. 11:01is a major flaw in our special election
324. 11:04law and that has to be changed it makes
325. 11:06no sense that there's a special than a
326. 11:08primary than a general and then for my
327. 11:10district there's gonna be another
328. 11:12special in May and another election in
329. 11:14June we might see some similar things
330. 11:16happen in Queens so we will it is very
331. 11:18expensive and silly actually all right
332. 11:20well thank you for being here we
333. 11:21appreciate it we wish you all the best