Transcript: Mayor de Blasio Appears Live on WNYC's Brian Lehrer Show

June 3, 2016

Brian Lehrer: Good morning, everyone – and Mayor Bill de Blasio joins us for our weekly Ask the Mayor segment to begin the program today. Listeners, use the hashtag #AskTheMayor to tweet us a question. And today on the phones we will take calls from Queens as we continue to rotate and expand access to the Mayor here. The calls could be about anything, but we’re dedicating the lines to callers from Queens for the Mayor today because sometimes you Brooklyn and Manhattanites flood the phones – 2-1-2-4-3-3-WNYC, 4-3-3-9-6-9-2 from Astoria to Auburndale, Long Island City to Laurelton, Jamaica to Jackson Heights you get to ask the Mayor something today from Queens – 2-1-2-4-3-3-WNYC, 433-9692. And Mr. Mayor, welcome back to WNYC.

Mayor Bill de Blasio: Good morning, Brian. I commend you for giving equal time to Queens.

Lehrer: And I’m sure the City is waiting with bated breath for me to ask you about your feud with the Governor. And I will eventually, but I want to start with something much more serious. Monday, as I think you know, will be the one-year anniversary of the suicide of Kalief Browder. The young Bronx man who has become symbolic of massive delays in the criminal justice system after waiting for three years at Rikers on a charge of stealing a backpack, which he was pleading not guilty to and was eventually cleared off; plus an onerous bail system for poor defendants who are charged with small crimes, he became a symbol of that and solitary confinement at Rikers. A new article in the New Yorker and our [inaudible] radio hour, which has done the lead reporting on Browder – the New Yorker has, Jennifer Gonnerman – says he learned how to commit suicide at Rikers watching other teens do it before he killed himself. Will you reflect publicly here on the meaning of Kalief Browder’s death anniversary and what the City is doing about the issues his story raised?

Mayor: Yeah, absolutely Brian. I remember when I first read his story – you know – when it first came to public light he was still alive and I felt a lot of pain over it. I think people all over the City did; and certainly thought of him as a young man – thought of him the same way I would have thought of – you know – my own son thinking what he went through. And obviously a good young man, a young man with such promise. It was very, very painful. And we shouldn’t have lost him. That’s the bottom line on so many levels. I don’t want to say this simplistically, but I do believe in this case he did not die in vain. His story focused the attention of this city and, I think, has caused reexamination of years and years of mistakes at Rikers Island. And let’s face it; what was tolerated there for many years was just unacceptable. And you know a report came out this week from the federal monitor saying that finally some things were starting to change, and we are very, very devoted to these changes. They have to change at Rikers. So, we ended solitary confinement already – what’s called punitive segregation for 16 and 17 year olds; that no longer exists. By the end of this month we will end it.

Lehrer: And he was 16 when he was arrested just so we realize the relationship there.

Mayor: Right. No, that’s right. And then by the end of this month we will end solitary confinement for 18, 19, and 20 year-olds. And at the same time because we put real reforms in place to treat these young people as individuals who are trying to help rehabilitate. Those reforms are having an impact. We provide a lot more opportunities for education and training for young people who are in Rikers. We’ve done a lot more to change the culture of violence and end the culture of violence. And so we finally see a reduction in violence in the section of Rikers where we put our reforms in place, we see a reduction in the use-of-force against inmates by officers and more safety for officers as well. So, we will – it will take years to turn all this around, but I can safely say that finally change is happening to Rikers Island.

Lehrer: And I see that there is a lawsuit against the City by the Bronx Defenders, which says the change that you promised is not coming quickly enough with respect to delays in getting trials through – right to a speedy trial, in the Bronx.

Mayor: Well, I want to challenge that. First of all, The big reforms we have announced – that are what we control – through he Department of Corrections, different approach to screening our officers, training our officers, getting a lot more officers so that the environment can be safer for officers, inmates alike. Cameras – security cameras all over the facility. We moved very quickly on that. It was one of the things that the federal government cared about a lot – to make sure there’s not inappropriate activity by anyone; a very vigorous enforcement against anyone, be they a government employee or civilian who brings in weapons to Rikers, and there have been many, many arrests that you’ve seen. And also, the changes in terms of trying to get positive things for inmates to do as part of the rehabilitation process and reduction of the use-of-force. A lot is moving very, very quickly. We put a huge amount of investment to change the culture there. I think Commissioner Ponte and his team has done an amazing job of taking something that I think many people thought was intractable and acting on it. Now, the court system is a different matter. We absolutely want to speed up the process. We need cooperation from the court system; we need cooperation from the DA who I think is very devoted – the Bronx DA is very devoted to making a series of changes to speed up things. So, that’s where we need to work with our partners on changing some of those approaches, but in terms of the things that we control ourselves – very aggressive reform efforts that are now bearing fruit.

Lehrer: Alright, I want to go to another story and it is the incident in Staten Island of – as the Daily News puts it on the front page today, “Chased to his death: A Staten Island teen fleeing racist dies from Asthma. A pack yelled the N word and I’m going to shoot you in an eerie echo of the 1986 Howard Beach slaying.” What do you know about this incident?

Mayor: Well, I don’t know enough and the police don’t know enough yet. And I want to be very clear about that. We cannot rush to judgment on this. We need to know more. The parallels are obviously causing a lot of concern. We do not take any bias crime lightly. We’re very, very aggressive – the NYPD is very, very aggressive about following up on a bias crime, but we just don’t know enough yet to determine what happened here. I think it is important that people take a breath while the PD has a chance to really investigate and get right to the facts of this case.

Lehrer: Alright, I’m going to throw in some other questions on some other topics as we go along, but as I said at the top it is #AskTheMayor with callers from Queens today. So, we’re going to start taking our Queens callers at 2-1-2-4-3-3-WNYC, 4-3-3-9-6-9-2. And let’s start with David in St. Albans. David, you’re on WNYC with the Mayor. Hi.

Question:  Good morning, Brian. Good morning, Mr. Mayor and good morning New York City. Mr. Mayor, I just wanted to ask you and it has been a question I wanted to ask for a long time, why are New York City residents paying such a high rate for water bills? I consider it a double or a triple tax – especially homeowners where we pay taxes to [inaudible] to maintain the roads and the streets. We pay property tax [inaudible] sewer tax – the water bill we’re paying [inaudible] tax and we’re paying this tax and we’re paying that tax. And as you know, the water bill is extremely high and I want to know why? I know there are caveats for taking care of our properties upstate to ensure that the reservoirs are protected [inaudible] but if you look at the water bill and the rates on the water bill especially the runoff, which is 150 percent of the water actually used. I think it is a bit outrageous. Can you explain?

Mayor: Yes, David. I appreciate the question. And I am a homeowner myself in Brooklyn so I pay the same water bill. Look, a couple of things – first of all, this year, we’re providing a credit back to homeowners all over the City. For the first time, we have needed a practice that goes back to the 1980s where the city did add hidden taxes into the water bill. You’re absolutely right about the history. The water bill – we all thought we were paying for water, turns out that the City was taking some additional money off the top and putting it into the general treasury. When I was Public Advocate I said that had to end, and this year we are ending that. It will be part of the budget that we will be voting on this month – the Council will be voting on this month. So, homeowners all over this City will get a credit and then they will no longer be charged for anything but water. But here is the challenge – I want to be straight up with you about this – maintaining our water supply, obviously one of the most essential things that we do as a government, it is a very, very costly endeavor to have some of the best water anywhere in the country. It doesn’t even need to be filtered it’s so good, but it does – as you indicated – it takes a lot of work upstate to protect our reservoirs and a whole lot of infrastructure that we have to immediately upgrade and protect. So, you can rest assured that after this year you will only be paying for water, but I am not going to tell you that the cost of water gets any cheaper because it is a very elaborate system. But it provides us – you know – with an amazing product that we stand on.

Lehrer: Karine in Jamaica, you’re on WNYC with Mayor de Blasio. Hi, Karine.

Question: Yes. Good morning, Brian. Good morning, Mr. Mayor. I’m calling because of I’ve been having a problem, and I’ve been trying to call for weeks now. I try to get on whenever you’re on, but it’s always too full. I live in a rent-stabilized building, and the landlord has been trying to systematically get rid of people. So he has now piled garbage in the hallway. It’s unbearable. We can’t breathe. We have been to court – different times and different tenants. The court has given him fines. He just pays the fines and continues to pile the garbage in the hallway. And this is an ongoing problem. We have mosquitos. We have vermin. It’s just really, really disgusting.

Lehrer: Have you reported it to the City, Karine?

Question: Yes. We reported it. I reported it to the City. I’ve written a letter to the Mayor’s Office. I’m also in court with the landlord because he refuses to cash my checks – things like that. It’s just – I don’t – I have a lawyer.

Lehrer: What can Karine and the other people in her building do if she’s describing this accurately?

Mayor: Yes – no, I appreciate it. Karine, first of all, we’re going to figure out – if you wrote us a letter with that information, it should have been followed up on right away. So I want to find out what happened there. And I want you to make sure you give your information – how to reach you – to the folks from WNYC. We will follow up with them, so our folks can reach you directly.

But the bigger answer is this – it is illegal to harass tenants in New York City. It’s illegal to not provide them with a proper living space. And it’s something like – for example, putting garbage in the hallway explicitly to try and force people out. That’s potentially a very, a very serious charge that could be held against your landlord. I’m glad you have a lawyer, but we have legal assistance on top of that available. And to any New Yorker listening – anyone who’s been harassed, overcharged, not provided heat and hot water, or illegally evicted – if you’re being treated illegally by your landlord, we have a new initiative in New York City. You call 3-1-1 – if we can bring a legal case against your landlord, we will give you a lawyer for free to do that. So Karine, we’re going to get down to the bottom of what’s happening in your building. And if we can help you defend your legal rights against that landlord, we’re going to do that. And we do that for free.

And second, we’ve been working with the State Attorney Eric Schneiderman on this. If the landlord has done something criminal, there is the potential of criminal charges against him. And so that’s something that as we look into your case – that’s always an option if the landlord is violating the law.

Lehrer: Karine, we’re going to take your phone number off the air or your contact information. And we’re going to make sure you and City officials do connect, as the Mayor just promised you. And we’ll follow up, okay?

Question: Okay, thank you very much.

Lehrer: Okay, hang on one second. We’ll get that information from you off the air right now.

And Resha in Astoria, as we continue to take calls from Queens today on our Ask the Mayor segment. Resha – you’re on WNYC with Mayor de Blasio.

Question: Hi, it’s a pleasure to speak with both of you.

Lehrer: Thank you.

Mayor: Thank you, Resha.

Question: Well, I am – I’ve been following a number of stories in the recent past, in which WNYC has spoken explicitly about segregation in public schools and how desegregation is the sole thing that lines up to increases in socioeconomic status for people of color. So I was wondering what Mayor de Blasio identifies as the biggest obstacles and what he views as actionable from his office right now, in order to address desegregation in New York City public schools.

Mayor: Well, Resha, I appreciate that question very, very much. The obstacle, obviously, is a history – goes back a long way in this country where people have separated in all sorts of ways. But that doesn’t stop us from making real change. We’re very proud of the fact that our affordable housing plan, which will reach half a million people, is also going to have the impact of creating diversity. Because that affordable housing plan is predicated on the idea that people can apply from the neighborhood where the affordable housing is – that’s where half of all the units go. The other half is open to anyone from anyone from all over the city. We think that’s going to be part of addressing the city that has to have diversity in every way – economic and otherwise.

But also, on the schools – we now have a series of schools that have undertaken very positive efforts to create more diversity.

Question: But only about 200 though, correct?

Mayor: Say again.

Question: I thought there were about – were there 200 schools who started to use ethnicity, or was it socioeconomic status, in order to enroll students?

Mayor: Different schools have tried different approaches. But one say we can say for sure is these are starting to work because we see it in the school population. We see in some of these schools that have experimented – they’ve had real success creating a more diverse student body. And everyone’s benefitting from that. And we certainly have seen that in our pre-K initiative as well. So that – what I’m trying to say here is – we now have models that we think work – that we know are legal and appropriate. And we’re going to be starting to expand on them. There will be more said about that in the coming weeks. But look – I think we finally have the tools we need to do this on a much more extensive level.

Lehrer: And Resha, you’ve mentioned that you heard some of our coverage here on that. And we’re going to be following up on this very specifically. Segregation in New York City schools – next week on the show with Council Member Ritchie Torres and our education reporter, Yasmeen Khan, who has been doing more reporting. So stay tuned for more on that.

Calls from Queens. David in Rosedale – you’re on WNYC with Mayor de Blasio. Hello.

Question: Good morning, Brian. And it’s an honor to speak with your Honor.

Mayor: Thank you.

Question: I just want to know how you put up on a daily basis – between crooked Governor Cuomo, who must be making his dear, great father, Mario, roll over in his grave daily; how you put up with the hypocritical Post, who slanders you, but ignored the destruction of tens of thousands of emails by the Bush administration, the corruption of the Bloomberg contract; and how the lying Lynch of the PBA gave Bloomberg a free ride without any real contract offer, as opposed to the pattern bargain that’s on the table that he refuses to accept. How do you put up with this – this garbage – on a daily basis?

Lehrer: It’s nice to get a friendly call once in a while, right?

Mayor: Ah-ha-ha. David, thank you very much for the call. You’re obviously a very informed citizen. Look – to my point of view, it doesn’t surprise me. For example, the approach of the New York Post is nothing new. And I’m not the only person to experience that. The bottom line here is we have to do our work. We have to fulfill our vision. You know I put forward when I ran for Mayor a very, very specific platform. I’m very proud of the fact that you can go through that platform and see a lot of things that have gotten already – pre-K, paid sick leave, the affordable housing plan, the reduction of stop-and-frisk and the reduction of crime at the same time. That’s what I’m going to focus on. I think the antidote to your core question, David – the antidote to the noise and the attacks and the hypocrisy is to do the work, do the work well, and bring it to the people. Both make sure it is affecting positively the everyday lives of people, but also go out to the people. And this – I want to thank you, Brian, because this is one of the ways that we can have a real dialogue in this city – this show. Obviously the town hall meetings, which I think have been very positive and productive. But I’m going to be out in communities all over the city more and more. Both talk about what we’re trying to get done for people and figuring out how we can do it better, but also listening to what we still have not achieved that needs to be done. That is a two-way street – figuring out what more the people of this city need. And so, that’s how I keep focused is keep the focus on the grassroots. Everything else takes care of itself.

Lehrer: As you know, I do also ask you about the investigations on this show. And there are real investigations underway. So let me follow-up on David’s call by asking you this – on your feud with the Governor – I think feud is a fair word – breaking even further into the open this week. He asked you to apologize for suggesting that his State Board of Elections official, Risa Sugarman, leaked a memo about your fundraising to the press. The State Inspector General has now concluded that it was the Republican spokesman for the Board, and the Republican spokesman, Mr. Conklin, admitted it. The Inspector General Report says when the Daily News Albany bureau chief, Ken Lovett – Lovett – asked Conklin for the document, he released it to Lovett without consulting anyone first, says the report. But I gather you don’t believe that exonerates the Governor. So my question is – are you saying the Inspector General is now lying about whether Conklin coordinated with anyone from Cuomo’s camp?

Mayor: No, not at all. Let me make this very simple. You said at the outset, Brian – the point about people of the city waiting with bated breaths to discuss this topic. This came up in the press conference I had yesterday, and I was asked the question about this overall dynamic. I said the people of New York City are not focused on this. They’re not focused on the relationship between elected officials. They’re focused on whether we’re bringing crime down. And I’m very proud of the fact that we just brought down crime a lot in the month of May – shootings and homicides down. Safest big city in America – they care about things like that. They care about jobs. They care about affordable housing. They care about improving schools. They do not care about whether elected officials see eye to eye.

But in answer to your question – I made very clear that the larger context here should be thoroughly examined. That’s all I’ve said. How does a reporter know to ask for that report who happens to be a reporter with a very special relationship? And then why was the report provided? Why was the report created in a way that only looked at one part of the equation, when as you know, many, many people were involved in the State Senate effort in 2014? And why did the person who wrote the report have a particular tie in terms of their employment history? That’s all I’ve said – look at those facts. Look at those facts because I still think there’s a lot more to know.

Lehrer: But the question of who leaked the memo is really a footnote to the fact that the Manhattan D.A., who it was written to, has opened a formal investigation of your fundraising based on the memo and subpoenaed people close to you. Doesn’t that mean that the memo raised serious questions, not just political attacks?

Mayor: Brian, I think we can say two things here. One, if issues have been raised, they should be fully examined and we’ve said from the beginning we’ll cooperate with every investigation. We’ve been working very productively with the Manhattan D.A., U. S. Attorney – providing any information they need. We look forward to these issues being resolved quickly. And we believe very, very fundamentally and we have a lot of evidence to back it up that everything was done legally and appropriately and done the same way that Democrats and Republicans have done for years in the state. So that’s the substance. On the process of why the specific document [inaudible] from Albany have been handled the way they have. I have said there is a double standard and I will repeat it again, there is a double standard. I have no problem with the way that the other investigation has been handled. We believe we can work very, very productively to resolve those issues.

Lehrer: Have they given you any sense of a timeline from the Manhattan D.A.’s Office or the U.S. Attorney’s Office, of when they will say whether they have found anything to prosecute?

Mayor: I can’t speak to details like that because I have not been in those discussions. But Brian, I will say, you can ask the question every single time and I will answer it every single time. But – investigations are part of life and public life in America today – they just are. People who have done nothing wrong still get investigated. I am very convinced we’ve done everything legally and appropriately. The truth will come out. We feel very good about the truth. You know those investigations will finish when they finish and we still have work to do right here and now. So, again I am happy to tell you we will cooperate in every way and we will be vindicated. But, on the other hand I will just say to you, I am not sure. These questions-- we have been going over the same material every time in every press conference, in every interview isn’t getting us anywhere.

Lehrer: Last thing along these lines, continuing to raise questions about favors for donors— the Daily News reported this week that you appointed two apparently bad actors to plum positions after they bundled thousands of dollars for you or your issues group. It’s about, Gina Argento whose company the City had ruled, “lacked good character, honesty, and integrity” after they were repeatedly caught moving construction debris illegally. But then she made the donations and then she was appointed to the Mayor’s Fund and the Democratic Committee panel and the Workforce Investment Board. And Harendra Singh, owner of the Water’s Edge restaurant in Queens, who a City audit found owed the City more than $1 million in rent and late fees in May of 2014 but the next month he was appointed to the Mayor’s Fund and the DNC and he was still on them even when the City sued him. So what were you thinking with those appointments as reported by the Daily News?

Mayor: I haven’t seen that article and I don’t know the details. Obviously, look there is a very, very extensive process and many, many boards and commissions that we fill. I don’t know how each individual was vetted. I do know when we find something that’s a concern, we act on it. So I am convinced that that process was handled appropriately. And what’s important to recognize is that things come to light and once things come to light we take action. But I think that way you connect the dots or the way the Daily News connects the dots, I am not sure that is exactly how it happened. And I am certainly not sure that’s the information people had at the time when they recommended their appointment.

Lehrer: Did you personally know about the issues that Singh’s and Argento’s companies had according to the City and appointed them anyway?

Mayor:  Again, I don’t get into the weeds of every appointment to every board. And second, a lot of what you just said there is news to me. And again, I haven’t seen the article.

Question: Chris in Woodside, you are on WNYC with Mayor de Blasio as we continue to take our callers from Queens today.

Question: Good morning Brian, your Honor. Thank you for taking my call.

Lehrer: Go ahead.

Question: I’m really worried about the RGB meetings this month.

Lehrer: That’s the rent, you’re a landlord and you’re worried about the rent stabilization rates here right?

Question: Yeah and I’m actually sorry your audience probably doesn’t know all of the different letters and stuff. I’m sorry. Yeah I manage an apartment in Woodside that my grandpa put up 62 years ago. And I don’t think it’s very progressive if the RGB freezes my ability to finance costly environmental improvements. I did the local I-87 audit. I don’t think the audience realizes that 70 percent of the City’s greenhouse gases are because of buildings and I’ve got a giant inefficient beast of a boiler heating my building. In order to replace that boiler – safely to remove all that miracle they call asbestos and line my chimney so that I could burn cleaner and more efficient gas, I’m look at a potential cost of $450,000. And that’s really not cheap –

Lehrer: So, you don’t –

Question: And I’m not even going to talk about LED replacement –

Lehrer: So you don’t want a zero rent increase like last year for the rent stabilized tenants – is your point, right?

Question: Right, I even see that proposed on there as a rent-roll back. I mean, we’re really not the bad guys. I’m not out there blatantly violating the Fair Housing Act like the GOP presidential nominee.

Lehrer: [Laughter] Mr. Mayor, talk to landlord, Chris, in Woodside.

Mayor: [Laughter] Chris, you argue your point well, and I appreciate your humor as well. Look, I do get the concern. Let me put this in context. First of all, I do appreciate any family that’s owned a building and provided housing to hardworking people and kept the building up well over generations. I commend you for that. And we do in fact have a number of ways we can help a landlord who wants to make clean-energy improvements or energy-efficiency improvements, so if you’ll please give your information to the folks from WNYC, we’ll follow-up on that specifically to see ways we can help you with that.

But I want to separate that concern from the core point. I’m very proud of the work of our Rent Guidelines Board because for the first time in almost a half-century, our Rent Guidelines Board actually asked the right question very, very objectively. They said, ‘Let’s see all of the costs involved, all of the realities, and think from a balanced perspective.’ Because, bluntly, I think in the past, a lot of times tenants were not considered. A lot of times decisions were made about the rents that tenants should pay that were not fair to tenants. We care about fairness to everyone but I – there’s a pattern in the past that the approach was not fair and balanced towards tenants. So, we looked at the facts, and you and everyone knows what’s happened in the last couple of years – the cost of energy, one of the bigger costs that landlords have to bear, went down intensely. This is, you know, global news. The cost of oil and gas went down and down and down.

When we did all the numbers, when we looked at everything, we said last year there was not a basis for a rent increase when landlord costs were in fact going down. The Rent Guidelines Board will examine all of those facts again, and make a decision this year as well.

But look, people have been struggling in this city to make ends meet, and rent is, by far, the number one expense in so many people’s lives. And we cannot charge – there’s over a million households who are rent-stabilized – we cannot charge people more if landlords aren’t having to pay a greater cost. And we have to protect the interest of New Yorkers who, again, they’re struggling, and if the Rent Guidelines Board could bring them a little more fairness in their life, so be it.

Lehrer: Chris, we will take your info off the air, and let you follow-up directly with the Mayor’s Office. And we’ll do one more and then we’re out of time. I know you’re going right onto a television interview, right after this. And so, Joseph in Jamaica is going to get us our last Queens call, and our last question for Ask the Mayor for today.

Hi, Joseph. Joseph you there? Joseph, hung up.

Mayor: Joseph hung up on us.

Lehrer: Let’s see –

Mayor: Brian, was it something you said?

[Laughter]

Lehrer: I think so. I must have insulted Joseph inadvertently.

Mayor: We’ll take someone else, if you’ve got someone else.

Lehrer: We will take [inaudible] in Jackson Heights. [Inaudible] you’re on with the Mayor.

Question: Hi, thanks for taking my call. My question has to do with green space which is at a premium all over the city, but especially in Jackson Heights. The big topic in Jackson Heights with all the co-ops and all the homeowners, have to do with rooftop gardens which have – obviously have many documented benefits from lowering CO2 to just raising the quality-of-life and giving people more space.

What can the City do to help homeowners and co-op buildings to get more rooftop garden space? You know, just in terms of incentives, lower taxes – just helping us to afford something really important in a place like Jackson Heights where there’s almost no parks. And the park that we do have is like a parking lot, it’s just all concrete. And you know, and just helping in terms of [inaudible] or whatever they need to helping with because I think it’s a really, really important –

Lehrer: Alright.

Question: Step towards the future to get these rooftop gardens all over New York City.

Lehrer: Alright thank you. And Mr. Mayor, I’ll help you stay on time. We have a minute-and-a-half.

Mayor: That’s fine, I’ll be very quick. First of all, I really appreciate that suggestion. You know, we’ve been acting on a number of related issues like fixing up a lot of the parks in neighborhoods that haven’t gotten a lot of attention, and continuing something that Mayor Bloomberg started, to his great credit, the Million Trees. That’s continuing. Continuing the effort to create more play-spaces and open-spaces like opening up school yards after hours and things like that. That’s all continuing but I think you make a really great point. Rooftops offer a real opportunity but I don’t know of a City initiative at this point but now you’ve given me something to examine. We’d have to think about safety, obviously, in terms of rooftops but I think you make a good point. There’s a lot of rooftops that could be a part of a solution, and also even beyond the question of recreation just the question of just doing what’s environmentally smart – you know looking at ways of that we could encourage that. So, this is one I will get an answer, Brian, and I’ll come back on a future show with it.

Lehrer: And, Mr. Mayor, thank you very much. Talk to you next week.

Mayor: Thanks very much, Brian. Take care.