NYC NOW - May 14, 2024: Evening Roundup

Episode Date: May 14, 2024

The fight to keep New York state's Equal Rights Amendment on the November ballot is heading back to court. Plus, New York state senators passed a resolution to honor baseball Hall of Famer and a noted Yankee killer, David Ortiz. And finally, WNYC’s David Furst and Elizabeth Kim discuss the 2025 mayor’s race in New York City and who’s likely to face off against Mayor Eric Adams in the Democratic primary.

Welcome to NYC Now. Your source for local news in and around New York City. From WNYC, I'm Jenae Pierre. The fight to keep New York State's Equal Rights Amendment on the November ballot is heading back to court. State Attorney General Letitia James' office filed a notice with the appellate courts on Tuesday. The appeal notice comes after a federal judge last week tossed the proposed constitutional amendment from the ballot on procedural grounds. If voters approved the measure, it would enshrine abortion protection. in the state constitution.

It would also protect against discrimination based on ethnicity, disability, or gender identity, among other things. Republicans sued to knock the measure off the ballot, arguing Democrats in Albany didn't follow the proper process when they first passed it. Democrats are hoping to get it back in front of voters for the November elections. State senators passed dozens of resolutions each month, honoring all sorts of New Yorkers. But they recently honored some of the Senate. someone who, to many New Yorkers, is an old foe.

WMYC's John Campbell has more. I tell you what, man, I'm very familiar with the Bronx. That's David Ortiz, better known as Big Poppy. Boston Red Sox legend, baseball Hall of Famer, and a noted Yankee killer. The New York State Senate celebrated him with a resolution for his charity work and the 20th anniversary of the Red Sox 2004 World Championship. You know, the year the Red Sox came. back to beat the Yankees and the ALCS.

Coming from behind and just whooping everybody, that was sorry that I had to break that down for you right here, right? You remember that. Senator Luis Sepulveda sponsored the resolution. He hails from the Bronx. Next year, New Yorkers across the five boroughs will vote in a mayoral election. No one's officially joined the race against Mayor Eric Adams, but that could soon change.

Stick around for that conversation after. the break. But Y, C, I see, I see, Y, C. New York City's mayoral race doesn't kick in until next year. As of right now,

Mayor Eric Adams is running unopposed in a Democratic primary. But the list of people who might be ready to challenge him continues to grow. My colleague, David First, talked with WMYC's Elizabeth Kim, to discuss how the race

is already starting to take shape. So Brooklyn State Senator Zelner Mirey says he is exploring a run for mayor, and tell us about him. Myri is a Democrat who is elected to the state legislature in 2018. He's part of a wave of young progressives who help their party gain control of the Senate for the first time in a decade. He's a lawyer who identifies as Afro-Latino, which is important to note in a race against an incumbent black mayor whose strength is his black and Latino base.

And interestingly enough, he represents a district in state. Central Brooklyn that was the same one that Eric Adams represented until 2013. Interesting, yeah. Yeah, it includes East Flatbush, Crown Heights, Park Slope, Prospect Heights. Just to give listeners an idea that Brooklyn Museum is in this district and so is Prospect Park. Myri's legislative priorities over the years have been affordable housing, gun control, and criminal justice reform. Also, it's important to note he's relatively young for a lawmakers.

just 37. Does any of this mean he's actually running? Forming an exploratory committee basically means you're testing the waters. It's a chance for a potential candidate to show that they're serious and they can start collecting donations, which is really important in an election like this one where the incumbent has a large war chest. Adams already has over $2 million. So it's not set in stone. that Myrie is running, but you can consider this kind of a soft launch.

Okay, a soft launch. And Myrie is not the only one who's perhaps throwing their hat in the ring, right? He's not. Scott Stringer, the former city controller, announced that he was forming an exploratory committee in January. Stringer, as you might remember, was early on considered one of the main contenders in the 2021 mayoral primary. He's a white progressive Democrat who's been a longtime fixture in New York City politics, and he has strong name recognition. But his campaign in 2021 imploded after a sexual assault allegation from a former intern who worked with him decades ago. Stringer denied any wrongdoing, and he's now suing the former intern. Her name is Gene Kim for defamation. But during the primary, there was another woman who said Stringer sexually harassed her when she worked.

at a bar that he co-owned in the 1990s, Stringer said that he couldn't remember that woman, her name was Teresa Logan, but at the same time, he apologized for doing anything that made her feel uncomfortable. Okay, so there's some baggage there. That's right. But he does have supporters on the Upper West Side in particular. That's the neighborhood he represented in the state assembly. And he knows how to run a campaign. But also, without being in any elected office.

office, he has nothing to lose. So he can potentially be a real thorn in the mayor's side. Well, how has the mayor responded to the idea of facing a primary challenge? He's done what any typical incumbent mayor would do. He's personally ignored it and not addressed any of these potential challengers by name. I'm above all this. Correct. But his campaign has put out supportive statements about him from surrogates. These are like union leaders and state law lawmakers, and basically what they say is that the mayor represents the working class interests of New Yorkers. And Liz, while these three potential candidates, including the mayor, are all Democrats,

they are cut from different political cloth, right? Yes. They do have some similarities. Adams and Mirey both rose up through Brooklyn politics. They are both the product of working class families. Adams' mother was a housekeeper and union member. Myrie's mother is an immigrant from Costa Rica who raised him in a rent-stabilized apartment that's featured in an ad campaign. Adams and Stringer are part of this older generation of Democrats who've carved out similar political paths.

They both served in the state legislature. They both held the job of being borough president, Adams for Brooklyn and Stringer for Manhattan. And we should also note that all three men are native New Yorkers, something not to take for granted when you think of prior mayors, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Mayor Michael Bloomberg. But when it comes to their politics, Adams is a moderate Democrat. He's made public safety his priority. Stringer and Mirey are more closely aligned as progressives. But in this moment, it's interesting to note that they're not talking up that difference so much. I asked Mirey about how he defines himself politically and he downplayed the importance of political labels.

He told me, what do every day New Yorkers care about? They care about clean streets, safe subways, and good schools and opportunities. He told me it's not a conservative, progressive, or moderate thing. It's a who can deliver and make the city affordable and livable thing. They may play up those differences more and more as we move through the year. Right. Now, what does all of this early activity tell us about the electorate in New York? York City. It says that despite the steady growth in jobs, New Yorkers still have a lot of anxiety

and questions about the city's future and recovery from the pandemic. And according to polls, they have concerns about Adams' managerial competency, for example, his handling of the migrant crisis and budget cuts. And there are also concerns about his honesty and trustworthiness given the multiple investigations into his fundraising. Myrie's comments suggests he doesn't think this will be an ideological race, that it's more about answering the practical and basic needs of New Yorkers, right? Affordable housing, subways, good schools. That's a familiar theme in every New York City election.

Absolutely right, yes. So I want to say that a lot can change between now and next June when the primary is. There can be new issues, new. policy debates that can shape this race. Right now, for example, Myrie is choosing to talk about universal after school. Given the mayor's cuts to pre-K, it will be interesting to see if this becomes a policy that voters gravitate toward. That's WMYC's Elizabeth Kim talking with my colleague, David First. Thanks for listening to NYC now from WMYC. Catch us every weekday, three times a day.

I'm Jene Pierre. We'll be. back tomorrow.