Transcript: Mayor de Blasio Urges Parents To Apply For New And Existing Seats At Community-Based Early Childhood Centers

May 27, 2014

Mayor Bill de Blasio: So, welcome, everyone. It is such a pleasure to be here at the Brooklyn Chinese American Association. It’s an organization I’ve known for many years and I have admired their work for a long time and really appreciate the fact that they’ve opened up their pre-K program for us to see. ‘

With me, of course, is our host Paul Mak, the president of the association, and we want to thank him and his whole team for the great work they do for the community. I want to thank Sophia Pappas, the Executive Director of the Office of Early Childhood Education at the DOE, who is here, and one of the great driving forces in our pre-K effort citywide. I want to thank State Senator Simcha Felder, Councilmember Carlos Menchaca, and Councilmember Vinnie Gentile for joining us – all who have been very helpful and supportive of our efforts.

We’re here today to talk about the extraordinary pre-K programs in these community-based centers. This is going to be a crucial part of our expansion of pre-K and we wanted New Yorkers to get a sense of just how amazing the offerings are at these centers – and just how comparable they are to the offerings in our public school buildings.

You’re going to see today a great staff working with kids, bringing out the best in them, this beautiful physical facility. To me, this is an example of what we want to see in pre-K’s all over this city. I think it’s well known, this is my highest priority – to make sure we reach every child over the next few years with full-day pre-K and then to keep it that way thereafter.

The evidence – we’ve talked about it before – I’ll just mention it. The evidence is that children who get full-day pre-K have a better vocabulary, better educational outcomes. Throughout their lives thereafter, the effect of early childhood education is felt. It improves their academic performance. It improves their job opportunities later in life. And that’s why it’s such a crucial foundation to set.

We won a historic victory in Albany this year. It’s not time to make it come alive in each and every neighborhood of this city.

Tens of thousands of more kids will get full-day pre-K starting this September. So I always like to remind us of the numbers – right now in New York City, about 20,000 kids get full-day pre-K. In all different settings that are supported by the city of New York, a grand total of about 20,000 kids in full-day pre-K. By this September, that number will be over 50,000. By the following school year, that number will get up over 70,000. That’s the number we want to get to for the long term and that’s the number want to stick to.

The way we’re going to get there is with a combination of seats in a variety of settings. People are familiar with pre-K classrooms in our public school buildings. But there are so many other pieces of the equation. Community-based centers like this are going to be a crucial part of putting together the numbers we need to reach so many children. Again – places that have high quality programs that have gone through a rigorous screening process led by the DOE, once they meet with our approval, they provide us a lot of the capacity we need to reach more and more kids. In fact, 17,000 of the seats that will be available in September will be in community-based centers.

So again, we want to get over 50,000 total. 17,000 of those seats will be in community-based centers.

Now, the number of seats available right now in community-based centers – available for parents to apply to – is substantial and that number will be growing in the coming days and weeks as we get more sites approved and we put them up online available to all parents to apply to. It’s really important – this is the message I want to get across clearly right now – it is crucially important for parents to apply for any sites that make sense for them. They can apply for more than one site – that’s fine – the important thing is that parents should apply for any sites that work for them, either in their neighborhoods or near their workplace or whatever their personal circumstance. Apply for the opportunities that make sense for them.

Anyone who has not yet applied for full-day pre-K for their child can do so – now, we’re going to go over the ways to do it. First and foremost, at www.schools.nyc.gov/prek. That’s the easiest way to get information and to fill out an application instantly for the sites that are available all over the city. And it’s important to constantly look for additional sites that are available. This is a rolling process. So parents should keep applying, keep checking in. They can call 3-1-1 at any point for information, which is very important. 3-1-1 is fully outfitted to provide up-to-the-minute information about sites that are available. And we want to make sure parents know there will be constant updates so they get maximum opportunity.

Now, we’re sending these flyers out all over the city, with the phrase “opportunity starts now,” which really says it all. Opportunity starts now for our pre-K kids, because there’s going to be a chance for full-day pre-K that has never existed for tens of thousands of kids. It reminds people of all the way they can get information – 3-1-1, nyc.gov/prek, and also you can text the letters prek, P-R-E-K, to 877-877.

Now, let me show you what this application looks like. Previously, parents had applied for the sites that are available in public school buildings, for the seats in public school buildings. Now we have a unified form that a parent can use to apply for any and all sites anywhere else in the city. So this form, once filled out, qualifies parents – it’s a very simple, straightforward form – qualifies parents for the opportunities in the community-based centers.

Now, if Paul Mak were to say to me, some of my customers would like a form in Chinese. Well, Paul, here is a form in Chinese. I happen to have it available – I carry it with me wherever I go. Forms in many languages are available and anyone who needs language assistance, the DOE can provide it in getting people the answers they need.

We have school personnel – I spoke to a number of principals and parent coordinators on Friday – they’re energized to reach out to parents who have kids coming up to pre-K level. And they’re helping them to work through the forms, know where the opportunities are. They’re also helping our parents in whatever languages they speak. So the good news is, we have a lot of opportunity here. We need to connect people to the opportunity.

The quality levels, again, guaranteed and constantly overseen by the DOE. There’s one single quality standard for pre-K – it’s the DOE standard that has to do everything from the caliber of the teaching, the curriculum, which is the Common Core pre-K curriculum, the constant training and updating of teachers, the quality control in terms of the physical site, the health and safety of the site. All of that is being managed by the DOE, applying the same centers to the community-based sites as are applied in our public school buildings. And again, the great advantage of the community-based sites is they allow us to – even where we have overcrowded public school buildings, which we know there are some neighborhoods in this city where there’s a huge overcrowding problem, the community-based sites allow us to provide seats even in areas that have overcrowding in the traditional public schools.

So the community-based sites are non-profit organizations; they’re faith-based organizations, including parochial schools and yeshivas; they’re charter schools and charter-affiliated organizations. They’re all sorts of community spaces, including libraries – different depending on each neighborhood. But any site that could provide us with the quality and the health and the safety we require, qualifies to be one of these sites so we can have the space available for the kids we need.

Now, parents know that in the next few days – the day I think we’re expect is June 5 is when most parents will receive the letters from the DOE – for parents who applied by the April 23 deadline – we talked about that a lot back in April, the April 23 deadline – for the public school pre-K seats, they’ll be getting their answers on or about June 5. Some parents will get a seat in the school they requested, and that’s great and they’ll be squared away. For other parents, the important point is, we want them to start applying now for the options that are available to them. Right now. And they can keep applying throughout.

So we know some parents on June 5 might not have gotten the option they wanted. As a parent, I’m very familiar with the letters you get when you apply for different things. Sometimes you get what you hope for, sometimes you don’t. Our message today is there are many other good available options right now. And we want parents to start applying right now for them. And we want to make sure that parents focus on the time while school is still in session. So we’re urging all parents to apply now – certainly by the end of school on June 26. So we want to make sure that, as much as possible, parents have taken all the steps they need to secure full-day pre-K for their children here in June while school is still in session.

And the facts, the numbers, speak for themselves. Whereas today only 20,000 seats are available, in September over 50,000 – that means the odds are with each parent and each child that they’re going to get full-day pre-K this September, but they have to get in the applications if they want to take advantage of this extraordinary progress.

I’ll conclude – and I want to say a quick, brief statement in Spanish, and then turn to Paul and to our elected colleagues. I’ll conclude with a simple quote – and I think it speaks a lot to what motivates me – Nelson Mandela said, “History will judge us by the difference we make in the everyday lives of children.” It’s as simple as that – each generation is given the obligation to prepare the next generation to live a better life. We try and do that – each and every one of us – in our families. All of us who are parents focus on that every day. But as a society, we have an obligation to create a better path for the next generation.

We’re going to do that in this city with full-day pre-K on an unprecedented level. We’re going to reach out to parents to make sure they have the information they need – again, in whatever language they speak. We’re going to answer their questions – because this is a new approach, and a bigger approach and a different approach – we want to help parents get the answers they need. But when they see the quality of places like this and realize that they can get for free, for their children, this extraordinary start in life, we’re convinced that more and more people will sign up. The sign-ups we saw for the seats in the public school buildings were at a record, all-time high – extraordinary response. We expect the same strong response to the community-based options. And we look forward to working with parents to get them to the right choice for their children.

A moment en español.

[Speaks Spanish]

With that, I’d like to bring up an expert – because he runs a great program here in Brooklyn, and it’s an example of what we want to see all over the city. I’d like to welcome Paul Mak.

Paul Mak: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Welcome to Brooklyn Chinatown.

Well, in fact, the Brooklyn Chinese American Association has been operating the half-day UPK program since the year 2000. And at a time when we are seeing Sunset Park and its surrounding neighborhood has one of the highest birthrates, we are very happy and excited that the mayor is really expanding the full-day UPK program. We have operated many after-school programs without [inaudible] public school [inaudible]. And they all tell me that what a difference even the half-day UPK program is able to make on children. So we are very happy now that we have UPK full-day for everyone. And I really encourage all parents to really take this opportunity and apply as soon as possible, because, again, we only have limited space. So, take the opportunity and everyone will be able to see [inaudible] in a year to come. So thank you, again. Thank you, Mayor, for coming. Thank you.

Mayor: Thank you very much, Paul. I’d like to welcome now the council member who represents this wonderful district, Carlos Menchaca.

Councilmember Carlos Menchaca: Bienvenidos, everyone. My name is Carlos Menchaca. I’m representing the 38th District here. And I just want to say thank you to the mayor, and the Department of Education, and our community partners here, like Paul Mak and the Brooklyn Chinese American Association.

You know, I’m here as a city council representative pushing for the expansion of UPK with the mayor. But I’m also here because I was once a Head Start kid myself. And so these rooms really remind me of those moments when my mom sent me to pre-K, to Head Start, to learn English. And this is what’s happening today. Talking to people who have been here, working, this is the first time students in our neighborhood learn English. And so these are very, very important things to not only expand but to get right. And I think we’re on the right track.

So thank you so much for everything you’re doing, Mr. Mayor. And we’re going to continue to do this. Thank you and welcome.

Mayor: Thank you very much. The message is – if you go to pre-K, you will be elected to high office.

Now I’d like to bring up councilmember – [inaudible] – Councilmember Vinnie Gentile.

Councilmember Vinnie Gentile: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. And thank you for being here and thank you for coming to BCA. The fact that the mayor has laid out so many options should say that any parent who wants to get UPK spot in this fall should be able to find one. And that’s good news because, as you heard, UPK works. Universal prekindergarten is a proven starter for children – and that’s great news. And the fact is, that with the mayor’s goal of ultimately having 70,000 students in a UPK program – whether it be community-based or school-based – really means that he is changing the whole opportunity for a generation of students. And that’s a great thing. And I want to thank the mayor for his vision – but not only for his vision, but for the reality of the mechanics to put that vision and make it the reality it will be. Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

Mayor: Thank you, Councilman. And thank you again to Senator Felder for his help in Albany. We appreciate it deeply. It was a really historic moment for this city. I want to – before taking questions – we’ll take questions on topic and then we’ll take off topic – I just want to commend our friends at the Department of Education. I’m holding up the flyer again. They found the single most enthusiastic child in all of New York City to be their poster child for pre-K. She’s very happy to be in pre-K. But we have found as we toured – and I bet we’ll find it today as well – there is a real enthusiasm in the pre-K classroom, there is a real energy as kids are starting to learn, and it’s amazing what it draws out in kids, particularly in the full-day format. So we’ll get a sense of that in a few minutes when we get the tour.

With that, we’ll take questions on-topic first. On-topic, on-topic. Yes.

Question: Mr. Mayor, can you talk about how this information [inaudible] will be communicated to parents? When they go the website now and they see that list of pre-K programs, my understanding is it’s kind of just list, that there’s not a lot of information about how many seats [inaudible]. Can you talk about how the parents are supposed to navigate the process?

Mayor: I’ll start and then Sophia should jump in. We’re trying to use every tool that we’ve got. Obviously, it was important to start to get involved the principals and the parent coordinators in schools all over the city. So they’re going to play a leading role – obviously very trusted people in the lives of parents. They’re going to talk to them about their local options.

The community-based organizations themselves – and Paul can speak to this – have tremendous networks. So they’re going out independently and reaching out, throughout their communities, spreading the word about what they have to offer. But we’re going to be working with houses of worship. We’re going to be working with community organizations. We’re going to be working with tenants associations. Everything and anything that helps to get the word out about how the process works and what the available local options are. And there’ll be, I know, some media efforts as well. But, Sophia, why don’t you speak to that and also how people can get information specifically about a center they may be interested in.

Sophia Pappas, Executive Director of the Office of Early Childhood Education: Thank you. So in terms of the website, we are going to be adding new options as they become available. So, starting at the end of this week, you’ll have thousands more on the community-based provider front. And while in the past we have included just the address and contact information, we’ll be including the number of seats to give parents a sense of the size of the program. We’ll also be utilizing our texting system, whereby parents can enter their zip code or address and find three programs close by to them. So currently you can do that – and you’ll get existing programs. Starting this Friday, they’ll start to get even more of those. And then we’ll be doing a number of things ranging from canvassing, media ads, tapping into the programs themselves to make sure they have good strategies in place to get the word out to families. It’s really all hands on deck – you know, canvassing, media, social media, and, of course, always having the most up-to-date information for parents to access, so that they can go to the sites and learn more about what each unique program has to offer.

Mayor: So, just give us a live example. If a parent from this broader community didn’t know BCA but were interested, how would they get the information? Specifically the details of this center and what it has to offer.

Pappas: So, we would provide the contact information and the number of seats, and then they would come to the center and talk to the center over the phone about what the specific features are that this program has to offer. So, for example, sometimes centers have extended day services or if they want to talk specifically about the curriculum and family engagement practices, they would contact the center directly.

Mayor: On-topic. Thank you very much. On-topic. On-topic, going once – yes, Grace.

Question: In terms of the expansion in the community-based organizations [inaudible] hiring [inaudible] previous tuition [inaudible]?

Mayor: I’m going to call Sophia up. I want to emphasize that we are – we have a very rigorous program in terms of the kind of teacher quality that we require as part of this effort. And, again, there’s ongoing training built into this going forward. But obviously in some cases, they will need additional teaching capacity as they expand a lot. Why don’t you speak to that?

Pappas: So we’re seeing a combination of things. In some cases, centers already have teachers within their programs that [inaudible] teaching half-day, now will be teaching full-day. We also continue to see record numbers of applicants to the DOE for teaching positions and community-based providers can access those candidates as well. And so, we have done a lot with our citywide campaign – Teach NYC Pre-K – you may have seen the subway ads – to draw even more teachers into the fold. But we think we have a really strong pipeline of new teachers coming in through the applications, as well as teachers already working in centers.

Question: [inaudible] for free [inaudible] program [inaudible] accept more students [inaudible]?

Pappas: We’re working with a wide range of partners, some of whom have had private pay, others haven’t. We work with them to figure out how to offer UPK in a way that makes sense. We’re very clear that for those six hours and 20 minutes, it is free to families. And if families want extended day, they may pay for it, but for those six hours and 20 minutes it’s free and families should have access to that.

Mayor: [inaudible] speak to one point off of this. You know, I’ve said before – I want to just frame it again – once upon a time, you know, public education was not a guarantee. And then we got to the point of it becoming a guarantee but until recently even kindergarten was not a guarantee. The reality of today is that pre-K must be guaranteed to all and it must be free to all for this to work the way it has to. It’s so fundamental to a child’s educational future that we have to change the way we do things. The society around us has changed intensely. The demands have changed – the demands of the modern economy – that’s why we have a Common Core curriculum for example. But we need to create a universality – that parents understand pre-K is there for them, it’s available, it’s free, and they know it’s so important to take advantage of so that their kids can have this kind of foundation. So this is part of a bigger societal change that we have to support.

The other thing I want to say is our elected official colleagues have been outstanding in their outreach efforts in their communities as well. And they have – not only are they known and trusted in communities – they have staffs that are out constantly – they’re out constantly at community meetings – so they’ve been very, very helpful in getting the word out and encouraging parents to apply. And one thing I want just to ask all of you to consider as you talk about today is the urgency, that parents should start applying right away if they want to maximize their possibilities for their children. They should start applying right away for the available options, and then keep applying as new options come free.

Question: Right now, this center is half-day pre-K and then Head Start in the afternoon. You’ve got – is the Head Start taught by the same teachers who teach pre-K? And then, once this becomes full-day pre-K, what happens to those Head Start dollars? Does that [inaudible] in the afternoon [inaudible] evening [inaudible]?

Mayor: You guys are both more expert than me. I have – a lot of times Head Start is also for younger children, but who wants to start?

Mak: I guess always a problem with the facility – we do not have enough facilities to really hold as many people as we would love. So what is going to happen – well, at this point is that we would have the – at this point, at this location, we have the part-time UPK and then the Head Start program coming in in the afternoon, so we are expecting that we will be securing additional locations so that we’ll be able to separate those two programs into two different locations.

Question: [inaudible]

Mak: Well, at this moment, it’s the same kids, different teachers.

Pappas: We have a combination of programming. So, in some cases, you have six hours and 20 minutes, and then, what I said before, that’s free to families. In other cases, you could have six hours and 20 minutes for the UPK and then sometimes Head Start can be half the day, so it can attach on and it can be the same kids. And in other cases, within the same facility, you could have one class of six hours and 20 minutes for the UPK and then another class that’s full-day for Head Start. We also have some centers that combine half-day UPK with the full-day of Head Start. So we make sure that each hour – that the hours covered are for discrete funding streams, but there are different combinations that can happen in order to provide families with those extended day services.

Mayor: And a lot of space is being opened up in this process. I want to clarify – a lot of the intense efforts in these last weeks has been to identify additional space. We talked some weeks ago about the application we first put out for every type of organization: public schools, community-based organizations, etcetera. To apply, we originally were looking for 21,000 seats, we get 29,000 seats worth of applications. We’ve continued to open up additional applications. We want to maximize our space options. We want to maximize the geographical spread. We know some, upon investigation, may not make the cut, so we need to have additional options always. So – and obviously we’re looking ahead to the following year when our space needs are going to intensify. The goal here is to not only accommodate ultimately the 70,000 kids in full-day pre-K, but the other kinds of space that are needed for early childhood education at younger grade levels – at younger age levels, I should say, etcetera. So we hope that this larger effort is actually opening up space and finding space that could be converted to purposes that will support children across the city. Let’s see, I owe you one.

Question: Mr. Mayor, so maybe I missed this, [inaudible] the parents get the application, how long does it take to fill those out?

Mayor: To fill it out, you can be the just yourself. It’s one page, and this starts the process. Again, because you’re going to have parents working with – with our help – working with individual places. So for example, someone can fill out this form here in the neighborhood. If they prefer, they can fill out the Chinese language form, same exact information, and then we’re going to make sure that gets to Paul and his team, and they can see if they have a space for that person. But with this form we can also make sure it’s sent to a center a mile away or a half mile away, or another one a mile south so we can see the best chance of getting a match. So the important thing is that parents fill out the form. It’s available online at schools.nyc.gov/prek. It’s available through 311. It’s available through the texting – the information’s available through the texting. What we’re trying to do now, again, through the parent coordinators and the principals in the traditional public schools is get forms in peoples’ hands, and then ask our elected official friends and all the other types of organizations I mentioned before – the [inaudible] organizations, the faith-based organizations – to get the applications in peoples’ hands. The best way to start the process is to fill out the application, ideally online. But even if they fill it out by hand, we’ll work with them to get it to the right centers. Yes?

Question: [inaudible]

Pappas: So it will cover some of it. For the portion that’s happening before the new fiscal year, we’re using city tax levy dollars. In total, it’s $600,000, but that’s covering what comes before and after the new fiscal year.

Mayor: Some of that was already programmed.

Pappas: Right, and some of it we were already building in to our recruitment efforts.

Question: [inaudible]

Pappas: $600,000 total.

Question: [inaudible]

Pappas: No, that’s total with the different funding –

Mayor: A different breakdown.

Pappas: Yeah.

Question: [inaudible] barrier [inaudible]

Mayor: Well I think – no, we got it approved with the help of a lot of our friends in Albany, we got it approved. It’s moving forward. I think now we’re in the implementation phase, which everyone who tries to do something big and important and fast knows that the implementation challenges are always there, especially in a city this big and complicated. So right now, the information barrier is the biggest challenge, to get good information to the hands of parents so they know it’s time to apply now. It’s time to maximize their options and it’s easy to do. That’s the thing we’re focused on right now. Anything else on topic? Going once, going twice – off topic. Yes, sir?

Question: Mr. Mayor, this is the first anniversary of the Citi Bike program. Very successful as far as the public is concerned, apparently not so successful financially. And now the city is asking – maybe even demanding – that $1 million the operators give back to the city for lost parking space revenue. What can be done – what can the city do – to make this program successful and even to expand it, as many people would want?

Mayor: Look, I’m hopeful about the future of the program. It has been successful in many ways. It’s also new, and any new effort takes a while to be sorted out. That million dollars in just a contractual obligation. It’s not a surprise, it’s not something new, it was part of the contract. And I’m confident that we’ll get that reimbursement at the appropriate time. But the fact is, it’s been a success. I’ve said all along, I want to see it expanded to more parts of the city. But I think we’ve all learned also – especially the owners of the company – have learned that there’s some challenges they have to overcome. And we’ll certainly work with them to find ways to do that. So I think it’ll take some sorting out, but I think we’ll get there.

Question: [inaudible] program to [inaudible]

Mayor: I haven’t seen the bill. I’m a homeowner and there’s a tree outside my home, so I know that there can be challenges associated with it. I know there’s also a lot of great things about having trees on your street and it’s good for the environment. So I want to see the bill before I comment, certainly want to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to communicate with homeowners. But let me take a look at it before I comment formally. Yes?

Question: [inaudible]

Mayor: Because it’s a wonderful center, and I’ve known Paul a long time. I’ve known the great work that’s done here at BCA. And we have been to some other centers, we were at a great one in Riverdale a few weeks back. But it’s really time to focus now – to focus the attention of parents on these community-based centers, because so much of the opportunity will be here. And we want to start giving people a sense of them and how they work and how good they are, and that it’ll be the same quality standards as in the public school buildings. So it was important to come to one that’s a great [inaudible] and a great example.

Question: [inaudible] unionize [inaudible]

Mayor: I haven’t talked to them or gotten a sense of their specific vision. I certainly – I think it’s well established – I think it’s good for the world when people are members of unions. I think it helps to guarantee their family’s economic future, so I feel philosophically in agreement. Rich?

Question: Mayor, today is the first day of the Inspector General of the NYPD. What are your hopes for that position? What do you think will take place as a result?

Mayor: I’m very hopeful about it, and obviously I supported the legislation. And I think Phil Eure is a great choice, and brings a lot of experience to the position. Look, first of all let me say, I could not be more impressed by the way Commissioner Bratton and the NYPD have handled the last five month. We’ve kept crime low while consistently improving the relationship between police and community. So the IG is there for many reasons, but I think the backdrop in which the decision was made by the Council, the [inaudible] piece of legislation I supported, was a moment in our history when unfortunately there were tensions between police and community in many neighborhoods. And we had to overcome it. And I think Commissioner Bratton and his team have done an extraordinary job, and I think the men and women of the NYPD have done an extraordinary job. And community leaders have reached out to them too, something very good is happening at the neighborhood level. That being said, the IG is there to look at the policies and the overall work of the NYPD to see the things that we have to do better. And I think that’s good, oversight is a good thing in government. Another set of eyes on the situation always helps. And so I’m hopeful that as issues come up, they’ll do substantial and smart and impartial investigations and come up with ideas on a substantive level. Remember, these are policy investigations. This is not about the average cop on the street, this is about the policies of the department and looking for ways to improve upon them, and I think that’s exactly what you’ll see. Yes?

Question: At 2:00 [inaudible]

Mayor: I’m looking around here, like I hear a voice.

Question: At 2:00 [inaudible] rally [inaudible] to reduce low-level marijuana arrests. From what I understand, the commissioner says [inaudible] Bloomberg [inaudible]

Mayor: I know where you’re going, because you’re adding a lot of good angles, but let me speak to the core of it. I don’t want there to be – I think there’s a lot of misunderstanding, so let me try to first piece apart some of the facts. Commissioner Bratton in his testimony talks about a larger question of legalizing marijuana across the board, which he opposes and I agree with him on that. I don’t think it makes sense to a full-scale legalization. The second piece is the Brooklyn DA Ken Thompson, who I have a lot of respect for, has been working with the NYPD with his rights as a DA, saying, ‘In my jurisdiction, I don’t want to pursue certain types of things that I think consistently end up with no further action and might be unproductive.’ And that has been done – that work has been done carefully in consultation with the NYPD. But throughout it, I’ve talked to the DA about this directly, officers retain discretion – there’s no question about that. And remember, each situation is different. Someone may have a record or they may not have a record. There may be other things going on besides the marijuana possession, so officer discretion is a given in this situation. So I don’t want to misstate what Commissioner Bratton was focusing on or what the DA is talking about. To the overall question, we have seen a decrease in marijuana arrests, and I think that is a reflection of the fact that there’s a pretty strong consensus at this point that the possession of small amounts – you know, there was that question of display of small amounts, that those were unproductive arrests. And that the real thing we’re looking for is serious crime. Again, officer discretion is a given, it is built in, always operational in every single encounter between an officer and a citizen. But in terms of the lowest level marijuana arrests – these are the criminal possession of marijuana in the fifth degree, is the legal term – in the first four months of this year, that category of arrests is down seven percent compared to last year. There have been some analyses offered that were just plain inaccurate, suggesting that that number was the same as last year. It’s not. It has gone down substantially, I think it will continue to go down. So I think the consensus is, there’s [inaudible] of the lowest level offenses that are not where a lot of police time and energy should be focused. Jonathan?

Question: Mr. Mayor, [inaudible] the Obama White House [inaudible] your public schedule [inaudible] What is your rationale for that? Also your thoughts on [inaudible] media transparency [inaudible]

Mayor: I believe deeply in transparency. I think it’s always – by definition I’ve talked to a lot of members of the media and people care deeply about this issue – by definition it’s in the eye of the beholder. But I think we believe there’s a whole swath of information that needs to be available to the public that we need to continue to do a better job on. There’s a lot of day-to-day government business that is appropriately disclosable that we need to do better at. I’ve tried to, in my time as Public Advocate and continue as mayor, done something I believe in. For example, when I have any kind of substantive conversation about a lobbying matter with a lobbyist, I think that should be disclosed. We’ve done that voluntarily. That’s the standard we’d like to see applied more broadly. And I think in the case of closed-press events, it depends obviously on the context. Some, as we’ve said before, the sponsoring organization chose that protocol. It’s not appropriate to tell them they can’t have it. You know, often times the choice would be if you want to be a part of the event and that’s their plan, you have to either come and accept that ground rule or not come at all. And I think in many cases it would be unfair or unwise not to show up. But when I’m giving a full-fledged speech, you know we’ve said very clearly we’re going to provide the remarks from that speech. So I think this is something we work on all the time, but I try and think about it from the perspective of what would be helpful for the public to know. Lobbying disclosure is a great example of that, from my point of view, something the public deserves to know because it has real impact on how people make decisions.

Question: [inaudible] do you regret opening that [inaudible] healthcare [inaudible]

Mayor: Oh I’m convinced healthcare will be saved. I don’t have any question about that. I mean look, right now Judge Baynes took an action at the end of last week moving forward on one of the bidders where there’s a very substantial community healthcare component. Now there’s still a lot of work to be done, and I don’t know all the details, but I know there’s still negotiations going on and details being worked out. But I want to remind you, and some of you may have been with us in those hot days of last summer, with Phil Walzak and his shorts out there on Hicks Street. The – did you ever wear shorts Phil? No, I take that back.

[Laughter]

Flip-flops? Flip-flops, okay. I’ve gotten a concession, flip-flops. There were days when it was going to be padlocked, done, no more healthcare, period. The community – as you know, I used to represent in the City Council, I know it very well. People wanted to make sure there would be healthcare available to them, starting with emergency capacity. The current plan brokered by the judge includes healthcare, including that emergency capacity. We’re hopeful that’s going to get ratified and move forward. So right now, I think we were absolutely right to say that this facility was going to be – instead of being a facility that was padlocked and no more healthcare, that we managed to preserve healthcare for the long-term. Final details pending, but I feel good about where it’s going. Thanks everyone.