Major Moments From the Final Democratic Mayoral Debate |
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 | | WNBC-TV and NYC Campaign Finance Board |
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Five days of campaigning left. |
With Tuesday's primary fast approaching, Democratic candidates for mayor of New York City sparred over matters of public safety, schooling and homelessness last night as they shared their closing arguments in the final debate before the vote closes. |
The early voting period lasts through Sunday, and the ranked-choice system has injected a large degree of unpredictability into the race. Still, Eric Adams, the Brooklyn borough president, remains a consistent front-runner in the sparse available polling. |
Here are a few of the standout moments: |
Attacks flew over an endorsement |
This week, Andrew Yang, a former presidential candidate, received the endorsement of the Captains Endowment Association, the union that represents police captains. When asked at the debate to explain why he was the candidate best equipped to tackle a rise in shootings, Mr. Yang pointed to the endorsement. |
"The people you should ask about this are Eric's former colleagues in the police captains' union," Mr. Yang said. |
Mr. Adams tried to dismiss the endorsement, suggesting that he had not even asked for it. Mr. Yang accused him of lying. |
The discussion about homelessness became heated |
Mr. Yang sounded alarms around matters of mental health and homelessness, saying that the issues were impeding the city's recovery and that homeless people needed to be introduced to a "better environment." He said he would rebuild "the stock of psych beds in our city." |
Scott M. Stringer, the city comptroller, shot back: "That is the greatest non-answer I've ever heard," he said, discussing a need to create tens of thousands of units of "truly affordable housing." |
'The worst idea you've heard from another candidate?' |
The question encouraged contenders to sling a little mud, and Mr. Yang and Mr. Adams again targeted each other. Kathryn Garcia, the former sanitation commissioner, ripped the "defund the police" movement. Maya Wiley challenged Mr. Adams on policing. |
"The worst idea I've ever heard is bringing back stop and frisk and the anti-crime unit from Eric Adams," said Ms. Wiley, a civil rights lawyer. "Which, one, is racist; two, is unconstitutional; and, three, didn't stop any crime; and, four, it will not happen in a Maya Wiley administration." |
Mr. Adams responded that, if he was elected, the abuses of stop and frisk would not return. |
How one after-school program in Brooklyn transformed into a neighborhood support system during the pandemic. [Chalkbeat New York] |
The mayor announced that a parade next month would be held in recognition of essential workers during the pandemic. But one group was disappointed not to be mentioned. [Gothamist] |
The annual Queens World Film Festival is returning to the borough next week. Here are more details on what it will look like. [QNS] |
And finally: Renaming 16 parks for Black history |
A Black feminist writer from Harlem. The first Black woman to have a play produced on Broadway. An actress and singer who lived in Manhattan and broke ground for Black performers. |
New York City officials announced on Wednesday that 16 parks across the five boroughs would be named for those figures and other Black leaders who made significant contributions in areas from education and entertainment to civil rights and community relations. |
"Our goal is to represent the culture and diversity of New York City," the city's parks commissioner, Mitchell J. Silver, said at a news conference at Mullaly Park in the Bronx. The roughly 15-acre park in the Concourse neighborhood of the borough was a focus of local activism as protests arose to push for officials to change its title, citing concerns about the record of its namesake, who published attacks on the Emancipation Proclamation. |
"For years, the community has expressed discontent and a desire to rename this beloved green space," Mr. Silver said. A new name that honors the Rev. Wendell Foster, the first Black elected city official in the Bronx, will be adopted in September 2022, he said. |
As for park spaces, those that will take on new names include the Prospect Park Bandshell in Brooklyn (changing to Lena Horne Bandshell); Hell's Kitchen Park in Manhattan (to become Lorraine Hansberry Park); and St. Albans Oval in Queens (to be renamed Musicians Oval in honor of influential Black jazz musicians). |
It's Thursday — get outside. |
Metropolitan Diary: Waiting for Denzel |
My mother loves Denzel Washington. So it was only natural that we would go see him in the "The Iceman Cometh" when she visited a few years ago. |
My legs were stiff and my mouth was dry after the four-hour production ended, and I was ready to go home. But my mother loves Denzel Washington. So we waited outside the stage door for the cast to emerge. |
My mother was easily the oldest person there, but she was grinning like a teenager about to meet her hero. |
"Do you have a pen?" she asked me nervously. |
"These actors always carry pens," I said with confidence. "Don't worry." |
Soon, though, I was frantically asking everyone around us for a pen while my mother continued to wait for the star to emerge. |
When I got back to where she was standing, I overheard her chatting with other members of the cast. |
Denzel Washington never came out that night, but my mother still proudly tells everyone back home how she invited half the cast of a Broadway show to visit her in Colorado. |
I'm glad I didn't have a pen. |
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