Mayor Bill de Blasio spoke with the press just before this morning’s Columbus Day Parade. He began with a statement about his first town hall meeting, scheduled for Wednesday evening and intended to focus on tenant rent protections and the recent rent freeze. Saying that “I know you guys are anxious to see the wonderful dialogue” the Mayor suggested that he will have additional town halls, adding that “you’re gonna see a lot of dialogue now and going forward.”
Question topics included the recent agreement with Governor Cuomo on funding the MTA’s capital plan and what New Yorkers should expect from the deal, whether he’s frustrated that many New Yorkers blame the City and the Mayor for MTA problems despite the fact that it’s a state agency controlled by the governor, what he would like the MTA to spend its capital funds on, a recent NYCHA report suggesting that drawing higher income residents close to NYCHA facilities harms NYCHA tenants, his relationship with recently indicted Nassau County businessman and de Blasio donor Harendra Singh, a REBNY lawsuit over a recently passed law restricting conversions of hotels to condo’s/co-ops, the Chase Utley slide which broke Ruben Tejada’s leg and his current relationship with Governor Cuomo.