Bill de Blasio Unveils His Vision for Achieving an Affordable New York

Though his "Tale of Two Cities" was the centerpiece of Bill de Blasio's mayoral campaign, details on how the candidate plans to narrow New York City's rising inequality have been scarce. With a speech on Friday, he sought to fill in the gaps.

October 5, 2013, 7am PDT | Jonathan Nettler | @nettsj

"In a breakfast speech to a prominent civic group, Mr. de Blasio, the Democratic nominee for mayor, called himself 'a progressive activist fiscal conservative' and declared that the city’s 'affordability crisis' was as urgent and serious a civic problem as the turmoil faced after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks," reports Michael M. Grynbaum.

So beyond higher taxes to fund universal pre-K and building more affordable housing, how would de Blasio address the crisis? By bolstering labor unions, raising wages for city workers, making businesses provide more sick days, and "invest[ing] in the city’s colleges and local manufacturing concerns".

"Mr. de Blasio offered repeated, if muted, praise for some of the economic development policies of Mr. Bloomberg, a stark contrast to the denunciations that were a hallmark of his primary campaign," adds Grynbaum. "But he also made clear that he believed the current administration had not gone far enough in expanding affordable housing and social mobility in a city where millions of residents remain under the poverty line."

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With Focus on ‘Affordability Crisis,’ de Blasio Offers His Vision for New York

Published on Friday, October 4, 2013 in The New York Times