Transcript: Mayor de Blasio Holds Media Availability

August 11, 2020

Mayor Bill de Blasio: Good morning, everybody. Well, let's talk about something really important today. Let's talk about New York City's comeback. Let's talk about how we are going to re-devote ourselves to making this a city that works for everyone. We have a lot of work to do, but the focus has to be on creating not just a strong city, a resilient city, but also a city that truly focuses on working people. And we're going to be doing that now. One of the things we're going to talk about today is protecting tenants, making sure people can keep a roof over their head. But we have a lot of work ahead to make sure we build an equitable economy, a bigger vision of an economy that is sustainable and fair and available to all. We want an economy that everyone gets to participate in. So, we've got a lot to talk about today, and going forward, but first we have a really important reminder – the heat. The heat is still with us. It's with us today. It's with us tomorrow – heat advisory in effect. So, look, every time I talk to you about these kind of weather situations, what I'm saying to you is take it seriously. Do not ignore it. Do not underestimate it. Particularly if you're at all vulnerable, be careful. This is serious, serious heat – heat index values up to 97 degrees. And that will be today and through tomorrow night. So, we have our City cooling centers open across the five boroughs and they are safe places to be because they're cool, but they're also safe because we're practicing social distancing and having the face coverings – everything. So, it's a good place to be. If you need help, if you need to know where, go to nyc.gov/chillout or call 3-1-1. That is available for free for anyone who needs a cool location. And look, New Yorkers always look out for each other. There's no one more compassionate than a New Yorker, and, in a crisis, especially, that's true. So, look out for your neighbors. Look out for seniors. Look out for anyone who doesn't have air conditioning, see if they need any help. And anyone who needs a place to go, we have for them.

Now, let's go back to the things we're challenged by now and what it means also as we go forward. So, if this was just the coronavirus crisis, if it was just a health crisis, that would be one thing, but we all know it's so much more. And the economic crisis has had such a painful impact on so many New Yorkers. So many people without a livelihood. So many people can't afford the basics anymore. So many people who don't know how they're going to keep a roof over their head. We need to be there for them. And there's so much more we need to see done in Washington and Albany to help tenants. But, right now, we want to do everything we can in the city. So, we're launching the first ever tenant protection portal. Now, this is one stop shopping. This is a place where you can go for free and get all the help you need to protect yourself. You can get a lot of information. You can get access to free legal services. You can get to a real human being who will talk through your options, your rights, the different ways that we can help you. I don't want to see anyone lose their apartment because they can't afford the rent, because they just don't have a livelihood anymore. So, I want to say to anyone, if you need help, this is the place to go to get that help. You can go online or any time you can call 3-1-1 and simply say tenant helpline. But the point is, there are real people who work for the City of New York whose job is to protect tenants, to talk to tenants, to help you find every tool, every resource to protect yourself and your family. And we are here for you, again, always for free.

Now, we could be in so much better shape if the federal government would include rental assistance in the stimulus, stimulus talks had been bogged down, but what we know is there's still a chance for the federal government to do the right thing. And what they should do is include rental assistance. We need the State government to do the right thing. When the Legislature comes back, we need them to pass a bill that allows tenants to have a payment plan so if you can't pay the rent now because you just don't have any more income, stay in your apartment and get that opportunity, going forward, when you can. That's the kind of help from Washington and Albany that would keep people in their homes right now and that's what we’re fighting for.

Now, we also – as we deal with this economic crisis, we're constantly thinking about the heart and soul of our neighborhoods, and that's our small businesses. So many small businesses have been through so much. And look, to create a small business takes hard work over years and years. To sustain it isn't easy, but what we all know is the gratitude we feel for those mom and pop stores in our neighborhood that really help define the character of our neighborhoods. We have to help them to keep going. And so, we're going to bring back an approach that worked in the past, and we're going to make it work again for small business owners who need help. And I'm talking about the commercial lease assistance program. We're going to renew that program – $1.5 million of funding restored to help small businesses, providing them free legal support. And I emphasize – free legal support to help them address issues with their landlords, to help them find a way through. This is an initiative that worked in the past, over 900 cases were resolved. And what it meant was, overwhelmingly, small business owners of color and women-owned small businesses, immigrant-owned small businesses benefited. Now, this was something that had worked in the past, in a very tough budget situation had been put on hold, but I want to give credit to an unsung hero for banging the drum and raising the issue and saying, wait a minute, we’ve got to bring this back because small businesses need it. And I'm talking about Assembly Member Charles Fall of Staten Island, who reached out to me and my team numerous times and said, guys, there's something we got to do here, there's something that got left out that needs to come back. So, when our colleagues in the media raised something we didn't see and it gets fixed, I like to give them credit, but equally with our elected officials. So, to talk to us about why this is such an important program and with great gratitude, I introduce Assembly Member Charles Fall of Staten Island.

[…]

Thank you, Assembly Member. And thank you for being eagle-eyed about the fact that this was something that needed to be acted on. Really appreciate you looking out for the small businesses in Staten Island and everywhere across the five boroughs. And now, to tell you how it works – the man who, with his team, has done so much to help small businesses over these last few months and help them to fight back and hang on. The Commissioner for Small Business Services, Jonnel Doris.

Commissioner Jonnel Doris, Small Business Services: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. And thank you, Assemblyman, for your commitment to our small businesses. Look, what we're hearing every single day from our small businesses, you know, the challenges that they're having with rent right now. And I think that's a critical component of running a small business – about your overhead. How do you manage that? And this is program is one of the programs that are critical to keeping our small businesses running, making sure that they have the resources that they need, but also have the support. And I think that's what SBS is here to do, make sure that we support our small businesses. So, Mr. Mayor, thank you so much, again, for restoring this particular program. We will continue to do what we've done in the past with the commercial lease assistance program that is helping our small businesses with lease renewals, lease reviews, tenant and landlord harassment issues, lease amendments assignments, etcetera. We know that foreign-born New Yorkers particularly make up more than 50 percent of the small businesses. And this program really focused in on those small business owners. And also, we provide services due to that in Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Bengali, Haitian Creole, Korean, Arabic, Urdu, French and Polish. We make sure that we are speaking the language of our small businesses and getting them the assistance that they need.

So, we're thrilled to continue this program and to make sure that we get to as many small businesses possible across the city. And listen, before I end – you know, I call them the Santana Sisters – they own My Wellness Solutions both in Harlem and the South Bronx. And they've had some challenges when it comes to their particular establishments, and we were able to step in – a business that’s been in business for 10 years. We were able to step in to make sure that they continue even during this pandemic, even before the pandemic, but even now, more importantly, that they continue to serve their community. So, we're able to help them, reclaiming their security deposit when they move to another location, also help them, you know, with maintenance issues that they're having with their landlord. And most importantly responding to real estate tax demand that they were having, the challenges that they were having, providing the legal support that they needed with their landlord. So, sir, you know, this business was saved. This business was not only saved, but this business is thriving right now. We are very excited that we have this program back up and running and we're able to provide these services to our small businesses.

So, if you're out there, you're a small business owner, and you need support, please make sure you reach out to us at nyc.gov/business and our hotline, which, by the way, has received over 28,000 calls and we've helped those businesses along the way in a series of issues as it pertains to reopen, financial assistance, and also our commercial lease assistance program – 888-SBS-4NYC. Again, 888-SBS-4NYC. Thank you so much.

Mayor: Thank you, Commissioner. And look, it is all about saving jobs. It's all about saving people's livelihood. And we've got to build not only a way back right now, but a long-term future for this city that is sustainable. And we're all in this, having to work together to find a way. So, I'm happy to talk about something that's being announced today that is definitely a step in the right direction. We have 30 of the largest employers in the New York City area have come together to create the New York jobs council. And the CEOs of this firm have taken a pledge to join together, to create 100,000 jobs for low-income New Yorkers. And this is something that will build up over time, but it's a wonderful pledge, because it says let's focus on coming back. Let's focus on the folks who need opportunity the most. There'll also be a focus on CUNY students, CUNY students getting apprenticeships and ultimately jobs. And that commitment is $25,000. So, look, this is what we want to see, the private sector stepping in, showing that they're going to play their part; the public sector doing everything we can here in New York City. Now, let's get the federal government in the game with that stimulus and we can keep building and building. That's what we need to fight for. Because, again, New York City, we have everything here, and we have the ability to come back, and we have the ability to come back strong, and, in fact, stronger, but we need everyone to be a part of it. So, I want to thank all the companies, all the CEOs who are part of this job's council for their commitment.

Now, let's talk about the indicators today. Number one, daily number of people admitted to hospitals for suspected COVID-19, threshold, 200 patients – today's number, 61. Number two, daily number of people in Health + Hospitals ICUs, threshold 375 – and today's report, 297. And finally, number three, percentage of people testing positive citywide for COVID-19, threshold 15 percent – and today's report, two percent. That's the number we've been at the most over the last two months. That is a good number. Keep doing what you're doing, New York City. Now, let’s do a few words in Spanish.

[Mayor de Blasio speaks in Spanish]

With that, let’s turn to our colleagues in the media. Please let me know the name and outlet of each journalist.

Moderator: We'll now begin our Q&A. As a reminder, we're joined today by Commissioner Doris and the Deputy Director of the Mayor's Office to Protect Tenants, Ricardo Martinez Compose. First question today goes to Marcia from CBS.

Question: Mr. Mayor, I'd like to bring you a problem that involves Queens homeowner in Jamaica, Queens. His name is Juan [inaudible] – a City tree fell on his house and smashed through the roof of his building during the storm. He's been having difficulty getting 3-1-1 to even take his call, but they finally said we can't get there for 23 days. Now, there's a big hole in his roof. He can't fix it himself because it's a City tree and the insurance wouldn't cover it if he did. And there's a thunderstorm this weekend and it could threaten even more damage to his house. Can you help this man? We've actually sent a picture of the damage to your office already.

Mayor: Thank you, Marcia. And Marcia, I want to thank you for this because exactly what I appreciate when you and your colleagues in the media raise what's going on for real New Yorker needs help, and then it's our job to get into action and fix it. First let me state the obvious, no one should wait 23 days. We did get hit real hard by the storm – really, really hard. The biggest wind since Hurricane Sandy, in fact, lots of trees down, but we can't leave people vulnerable. So we're going to get to work on this immediately. We'll have an update for you later on today. But this is a kind of thing where when a New Yorker is in trouble, we have to move quickly to help them, and we will.

Question: So Mr. Mayor, my second question is also trying to help people. There's a bus stop in Harlem at Frederick Douglas Boulevard between 147th and 148th streets. It's the M10 bus, but the people who live in a neighborhood have to stand in the middle of the street to get the bus because a police precinct – they are parking their cars into the street, the bus can't stop. Can you do something about it so these people don't have to risk life and limb and stand in traffic to get a bus.

Mayor: Yeah, we'll get on that too. Thank you for raising that as well, Marcia. I don't know the exact situation there, but we'll coordinate with the NYPD and the MTA to figure out a way to keep people safe. Most important thing is that the community residents who need to get a bus, it has to be done safely and we'll make the adjustments so that we can do that.

Moderator: Some quick housekeeping, we're also joined today by Senior Advisor Jay Varma. The next question goes to Andrew Siff from NBC.

Question: Mayor, good morning, and hello to everyone on the call. Mayor my question is about schools. I want you to drill on this. Yesterday, you said 700,000 families plan on attending blended learning, but in reality, only 131,000 families proactively opted for blended. The rest of that number is your office assuming that those folks would be in blended learning, can you clarify that discrepancy? It seems like right now, among those who responded to the survey, those who opted for entirely remote learning, vastly outnumber, those who selected blended.

Mayor: Andrew. I understand how you could get to that conclusion, but I just will tell you, I think that's absolutely the wrong way to think about it, and I'm saying this, not just as Mayor, but as someone who was a public school parent for many years – if you're offered an opportunity to opt out, parents, get the word in so many ways. I assure you, this is the most important thing in their lives. Their kids they're offered the opportunity to opt out. They don't take it. That's a conscious act for the overwhelming majority of parents has been talked about a lot, for months and months, and we have a survey done before that, that tracked almost exactly what the numbers we got from this opportunity that we offered parents. Everything we're seeing continues to track that about three quarters of our parents want their kids back in school. So we're going to keep moving because we have two sets of information that confirm that and it's our obligation to make sure that we give those kids a great experience, even with the challenges and a safe experience, but no, no, no, folks – parents, if they wanted to make clear they didn't want to be a part of this, they would have done it. I assure you.

Question: The Governor's reaction to your school's plan so far. Yesterday, he described it as skeletal, and he also said the DOE is required to have five sessions with parents after the plan is out, and he indicated that the plan may A, change significantly and B, not happened at all. I wonder what your response to that is.

Mayor: I appreciate the question. I haven't seen his exact comments or what his education officials are saying. I can tell you that we are constantly in contact with parents and we will be throughout there's a whole month ago until school begins, and if there are specific adjustments or improvements, we'll make them, that's not a problem. We're constantly adding health and safety features to this plan. So, you know, we're full speed ahead. The state has said “go” to school districts all over the state and we have the most elaborate, sophisticated safety approach anywhere. We're the biggest school system in the country. We have layered upon safety measure after safety measure, and we'll keep building.

Moderator: The next is Henry from Bloomberg.

Question: Hello, Mr. Mayor. Andrew addressed part of this question. I want to understand why you asked parents whether they were going to opt out instead of asking parents, are you choosing to opt in because logistically and logically, it would make sense to have a clear idea of who was choosing to opt in rather than asking people who can opt out at any time, whether they choose to opt out.

Mayor: Respect to the question, Henry, I just disagree with the logic. Again, I was a public school parent. I think it was absolutely sensible to do it this way. The historic consistent obligation of the government is to provide free public education to kids and parents have been yearning for it. Kids have been yearning for it. We knew this before we gave a survey. Then we gave a survey and got three-quarters of 400,000 responses, which is an astounding level – three-quarters said they wanted their kids back. Everything that we've seen suggests that's accurate. Then we say, okay, we want to formalize those who don't want to come back in the first instance so we can plan, and we got a number that hits almost exactly the one we expected. I think it's quite consistent. I think there is a misunderstanding about how deeply parents get that their kids need to be an in-person learning for every reason, the support they get from educators, the ability to keep moving their education forward in a way you can't do remotely, the physical, mental health care available in schools, the food, the social support, the mentoring. There's just so many reasons. Parents understand that. Go ahead.

Question: Well, I don't have the time or opportunity to really address all of the assumptions in your answer, that are just purely assumptions. I need to ask you another question.

Mayor: Let me interrupt you just one point Henry, one point. I appreciate, and everyone has the right to their opinion, but the folks who have been doing this work for so long, they're the educators who put together this approach have devoted their lives to kids. Their profession is education. I want to be careful that you don't hear my answer something that would ever be called assumption. This is based on the work of our educators and their work with parents. So I just, we can, we can debate another time, but I want you to know that no, no, no, this is based on the work of professionals who have devoted their lives to kids.

Question: And respectfully the fact that as you've often said, you're a parent of public school children, does not necessarily qualify you to be clear on how many students are going to show up in September based on the data that you have so far. Let me ask you a second question that I need to ask you for my news organization, which is why was Goldman Sachs cut as an underwriter of City municipal bonds?

Mayor: I don't know the answer to that, but I'm happy to get you an answer. Finishing the previous point. Again, a survey that 400,000 people respond to that is social science. That is not assumption. So we'll respectfully disagree, but I want you to remember that part of the equation.

Moderator: The next is Erin from Politico.

Question: Related question. Do you expect that the number that you gave out yesterday to 736,000, do you expect that that is going to be the in-person enrollment or given the parents are given the opportunity to switch to remote at any time, do you expect that number to fall?

Mayor: So it's a great question, Erin. I think what I would say I feel and the educators feel is that parents have been since March thinking about what they wanted to see in September and what they wanted for their kids, and then watching of course, every step of the way. Again, I believe by the beginning of August, parents were pretty clear about what they wanted. I certainly can say, again, this is parental experience that does matter because I've spoken to so many parents over the years. This is not the kind of thing people don't pay attention to. This is central to their lives. So I think you guys see a very similar number to this in a month when we start up. Now, the big X factor, Erin will be the health situation. If the health situation is what it is roughly now, I think you're going to see a very similar number. If the health situation gets appreciably worse, we've said that we go above three percent, we're shutting down in-person learning. If the health situation gets better, I think you're going to see people now wanting to go the other way, and folks who opted out, looking for the first opportunity now to opt in with their kids. Go ahead.

Question: And then, you know, then the next step being childcare, when people get their schedules next week, finding out what days they do and don't have in-person education, can you provide any more details at this point as to who's going to be eligible for these childcare seats, when they're going to be available, whether people are going to have to pay for them, any other details?

Mayor: Yeah, so great question. One, they all will be free across the board. So I want to emphasize the childcare that we will provide for at least a 100,000 New York families will be free. Second, it will start consistently with the beginning of school. Third, there will be an application process and we're going to announce that in the next few days, hopefully, very soon, and look, we want to obviously make sure that the parents who need it the most get it. There are parents who don't have a choice, particularly if they are going to work or going back to work, that others who that may have more flexibility because either they're unemployed, God forbid, or they're working from home. We want to make sure the folks who really don't have choices, get the first opportunity.

Moderator: The next is Nolan from the Post.

Question: Hey can everybody hear me?

Mayor: Yeah, Nolan. How are you doing?

Question: I'm all right, Mr. Mayor, how are you?

Mayor: Good.

Question: I want to draw your attention to a string of stories that have been in the Post in recent weeks that have chronicled, the dramatic decline in arrests by the Police Department even as shootings of soared. We did a story in the Monday paper chronicling, how the number of traffic tickets issued by cops has dropped significantly, even as a remained stable with the speeding cameras, and a couple of days ago, our photographer caught a fight break out in Harlem and saw three dozen officers sitting nearby and not doing anything about it. How should we read these events if not evidence of a slowdown by the Police Department?

Mayor: Well, I respect the question, but I think some of this information is very selective. There's no question in my mind that after everything, the perfect storm everyone went through in this city after so many cops were out sick, after all the dislocations, the criminal justice system not working, everything that you are now seeing a consistent increase in the number of arrests, particularly gun arrests, more and more activity to address where we're having problems in some communities with violence. I don't doubt for a moment things are swinging back the other way very quickly.

Question: Just to follow up. What, if any impact would the shutdown of the court system have on the dramatic decline in speeding tickets that have been issued, and we're talking about levels that are 75 percent where they were the year before and levels that are actually right now lower than they were at points during the pandemic?

Mayor: Yeah, again, everything's interconnected. A perfect storm is a perfect storm. We have had so much dislocation in the NYPD and every city agency we've had so much shifting around. We had to do as a result. A huge number of changes have been made in the last weeks, even redeploying officers to other duties. Obviously we didn't have the April recruit class. We didn't have the June class. There's a lot of adjustments to that to be made. But what is clear is the adjustments have been made and are putting the energy, putting the officers where the need is greatest, which is fighting the gun violence and more and more of course, doing that with community members and community organizations. So we went through a very, very tough time, and the question is always not how many times you're knocked down, but how many times you get back up and this whole city's getting back up. No question my mind the NYPD will turn the corner on these problems as they have many times before.

Moderator: The next is Gwynne from WNYC.

Question: Hi, Mr. Mayor, can you hear me?

Mayor: Yeah, Gwynne, how are you doing?

Question: I'm doing good. Thanks so much for taking my question. On Friday, the NYPD spent several hours trying to arrest a Black Lives Matter activist at his home in Hell's Kitchen. They sent dogs. They climbed into a neighbor's building, shut down the street, there were helicopters overhead. They did not have an arrest warrant. The alleged offense was shouting in a police officer's ear with a bull horn two months earlier. Now you praised Commissioner Shea for calling off this raid, but can you explain to New Yorkers why Commissioner Shea thought was an appropriate use of department resources in the first place, particularly as you just mentioned, a spike in gun violence, where communities with gun violence should be getting those police resources?

Mayor: Yeah, Gwynne, I appreciate that question a lot, because this was not the right way to do things and the Commissioner feels that just as strongly as I did. I spoke to him about this several times. This was something that Commissioner doesn't get involved in each specific decision to pursue someone with an open warrant. I assure you he's got a massive operation to run, but when he found out what was going on, he called off the operation. It was not the right thing to do. Look again, if anyone assaults an officer, I don't want to underestimate that what was done with that bullhorn did cause damage to that officer, that officer apparently did need to go to the hospital for treatment, but anything that constitutes an assault on an officer, there will be consequences, period. But that's a very different matter than how you go about and when you go about effectuating the arrest. This is something that's going to be handled very differently going forward and we've talked about specific changes to make sure this kind of thing doesn't happen again. But the Commissioner did exactly the right thing, he saw something that did not make sense, and he stepped in and called it off. Go ahead.

Question: Just to follow up on that. So then who did make that call and is there any kind of disciplinary action involved in that kind of decision making? And just to follow up further, you know, this is not the first arrest of a Black Lives Matter activists. I'm talking about the 18-year-old transgender woman who was shoved into an unmarked car. Are you concerned about the message that it sends New Yorkers that the NYPD is targeting activists like this for low level offenses?

Mayor: Well, I would say a couple of things. I am concerned and I think we have to make clear that we're never, ever this city, this police department, is never going to interfere with people's rights to protest. It is a fundamental right and in fact, New York City over the years has done a damn good job in protecting that right. We got to show people that that is sacrosanct and these kinds of things often send the wrong message and we have to be smart enough to not let that happen. Now, the underlying offenses, they're still offenses, in one case vandalizing city property and breaking city property, and the other case and assault on the officer, there has to be a consequence in both cases, but it's how you do it, when you do it, and being mindful of the message it sends in a moment where people are so deeply concerned about protecting our democratic rights. So those two things should not have happened the way they did. There should have eventually been in each case follow through by the justice system and if someone did an offense, there has to be consequences, but the specific case the other day on Friday, Gwynne, that as far as I understand was decided at a much lower level, down to the level of, for example, a sergeant or lieutenant. That's the kind of thing that needs to be addressed structurally. I know the Commissioner has put additional measures in place to make sure that kind of thing gets looked at by higher level leadership.

Moderator: We have time for two more today. Next is Yoav from The City.

Question: Hi, Mr. Mayor. I had a question about the testing of students for COVID once the school year starts, it looks like they're going to have the option of using the same facilities that teachers have and the city is encouraging any sick student to get tested. So I'm wondering particularly about families whose primary language is not English. The process is a little bit complicated for – especially for securing results in one's native language. So I'm just wondering how the city – how will the city work with Test and Trace to ensure that every limited English proficiency parent receives access to instructions and testing results in their primary language?

Mayor: That’s a great question, Yoav. First of all, Test and Trace, the folks over 3,000 members of Test and Trace have been hired largely from the communities most deeply affected by the COVID crisis, including immigrant communities, a lot of different languages spoken. Second, they brought in, you know, nonprofit organizations that represent those communities to help. So there's no question there's a lot of resources available to help someone navigate the process. We're going to have Test and Trace very deeply involved in the schools, especially at the beginning of the school year, for exactly that kind of follow through. But remember, there's going to be another message in all languages we send out to public school parents that if a child is sick, keep them home, and that's going to be a strong, consistent message. And if a child is sick and has not yet gotten test results, keep them home until you can confirm it's negative, you're treating it like that 14 day at home period because we have to work from an abundance of caution.

Question: Okay. Thanks for that. On another issue I wanted to ask about the allegations of excessive use of force against dozens of officers during the protest in late May, early June. The New York Times published something like 60 videos showing alleged - well use of force that that was alleged to be excessive. Initially when you talked about a faster disciplinary process, there were a handful or perhaps fewer cases that you announced decisions on, but there's been no further such announcements and I'm just wondering are – should the public expect that there will be more discipline in some of those cases and also are those decisions going to be announced publicly?

Mayor: Yeah, we had a lot going on in the middle of trying to deal with the very, very real challenges we're having in a number of communities with violence in the middle of trying to start a whole new system around transparency, because thank God, the 50-a law is gone. A lot has moved at once, but here's what I can tell you great assurance. We already know a certain number of cases where there are modifications or suspensions of officers. We know others where the decision was not to modify or suspend. We know there's going to be cases where there will be disciplinary trials. Those trials are about to start soon as everything is coming back online. I want to make sure that all those issues that you refer to, all those videos you refer to, that we actually can give people an update video by video of what happened. So that's the expectation I have of the NYPD, to come forward quickly and I will make sure this order is given and literally list everything that was in that article and then the disposition of each. Again, where there's a decision that there's not a need to modify or suspend an officer or decision where there's not a need for further disciplinary process, that's – I want that out there, but when there's a decision that there is, I want that out there too.

Moderator: Last question for today goes to Jillian from WBAI.

Question: Hi, Mr. Mayor, how are you?

Mayor: Good, Jillian, How you doing?

Question: I'm well. Before I ask my first question, I want to preface it with something that your Press Office has repeatedly told me over time that they do not call on reporters over consecutive days, but clearly that is what is happening. Having said that, it's actually good that I didn't get called yesterday because I think to be the only person who wants to ask about small businesses and what a day to do it. So –

Mayor: [Inaudible] Jillian, Jillian, just to say to you, every day is different depending on which reporters call, if there's not enough reporters calling in that sometimes affects things. If there's a lot, obviously we try and spread it out over the course of the week, but go ahead.

Question: Okay, well, so given the announcement about this refunding of this program for small businesses and legal services, legal support, rent is one thing, but leases are quite different. And while legal support is helpful, it's kind of a Band-Aid because you're not really going to the issue of creating a level playing field for small businesses. There is no mention of fair lease terms. There was no mention of details like who's going to be covered. Is it only first floor businesses? There are just so many questions and there's no discussion about the arbitration issue. And by the way, I recently saw footage of a presser that you were at in 2009 supporting the arbitration bill. So I'm wondering, you know, are we doing another Band-Aid still?

Mayor: I would say a couple of things very quickly. One, the big solution with the commercial side like the residential side is rental assistance from a stimulus. That's the one place where the resources would exist to do it right. And that would be going to the root cause. But in the absence of that, providing the legal services, and I can certainly say Small Business Services, when you call them, the idea is for them to resolve the small businesses problem no matter what it takes, with whatever tool we got. So this is one piece of many, many things that small business services can do to try and help people. But to the arbitration bills, I said to you I think a week ago, your question was a good one. The bill as written, I don't think works. I think there's another approach that could work with arbitration and mediation, and that is being worked up right now. And if we can get that right, we will hope to be announcing that soon. Go ahead.

Question: Okay. Well, we're not talking about commercial rent control. We're talking about arbitration. That's what I was saying that I saw footage of you for, but I want to move on because I have a different question. On Friday it was reported that the Governor's communications director would be taking a job with Facebook strategic responsive team. I'm sure you grasp the optics of this, which aren't really very good, and at the least, and also, you know, maybe the potential for the revolving door at work. When are we going to learn new details about this lease? What incentives, if any, what tax breaks and what agencies were involved in this?

Mayor: Yeah, it’s a good question and what I've heard initially is that there were not certainly any tailored incentives. I'm not sure there were any incentives invoked at all, actually. Certainly the city side from everything I've heard had no incentives on the table at all, but let's get you an update date on that. Look I have – I've been very public about it – I have a huge critique of some of the things that Facebook has done, and I have a big concern in general about companies that have such a big impact on our public discourse and our privacy, and I think a lot has to change. But that said, we're also trying to bring back New York City's economy, bring back jobs from New Yorkers, and the fact that Facebook made the decision to have such a strong presence here is a vote of confidence in the future of New York City. We'll confirm it to you in detail today, Jillian, but my understanding is no incentives were involved.

So, everyone, as we conclude, look, I think it's really important to think about it this way, when it comes to New York City, it comes to the people of the city have gone through so much. And when it comes to bringing back our city, here's what we will not allow, we will not allow business as usual. We will not allow the recreation of the same inequalities that we had before this crisis began and that came out so desperately, so painfully during this crisis. We saw sharp, horrendous disparity does not have to be that way. So what we know is New York City has to come back. New York City is a beacon to the world. New York City stands for a kind of egalitarianism, a sense of everyone has value, everyone has opportunity. This idea is more important than ever, but we got to make it real for our people. We got to make sure that everyone has that opportunity and that starts with the smallest mom and pop stores. That's why we're so focused on making sure they survive this crisis. In the end, the way to come back is to be sustainable, and a lot of people hear that word, they think about climate change, they think about the environment and that's true as well, but I mean sustainable in terms of fairness, decency, humanity. An economy that includes everyone is sustainable. An economy that leaves out so many is not, here in New York City. We're going to build back the right way. Thank you so much.