David Yassky

Political Party:
Democratic Party

http://www.davidyassky.com

Candidate Submitted Biography:

In his seven years on the New York City Council, Council Member David Yassky has been a leading voice for reform, accountability and innovation. The New York Times recently praised David for his “stellar record on the Council, leading groundbreaking work on gun control, affordable housing, the environment and jobs creation.”

As Chair of the Council’s Small Business Committee, David has been a force for job creation and economic development. His legislative accomplishments include the Film Industry Job Creation Act, which is credited with bringing thousands of jobs to New York’s film and television studios. He also pushed through a small business tax cut, formulated a plan to make Downtown Brooklyn the City’s third major business district, created an Industrial Jobs Retention program to fund dedicated, low-cost space for manufacturing firms, and helped expand the cruise ship industry in New York.

David has also used his seat on the Council to fight for accountability and fiscal responsibility. He passed the False Claims Act to help root out corruption by rewarding whistleblowers who report the misuse of taxpayer dollars, exposed millions of dollars of waste at the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, and put forward an aggressive plan to end the abuse of earmarks in the budget process. His willingness to get tough on waste, inefficiency and fraud led Errol Louis of the New York Daily News to call David a “budget hawk,” who “understands how serious government waste has become.”

David’s environmental record is unmatched on the Council because he understands that long-term growth can only exist in conjunction with environmental sustainability. His numerous accomplishments include his innovative program for clean-fuel taxicabs that got hybrid cabs on the road, which led Mayor Michael Bloomberg to say that David is leading the environmental fight in New York City. He sued Exxon-Mobil to force a cleanup of the Greenpoint oil spill, and issued a report on illegal dumping in New York waterways, which led to the prosecution of one of the City’s worst polluters. He also drafted the Waterfront Planning Act, which the New York City League of Conservation Voters called “the most important piece of waterfront legislation adopted by the City in recent years.”

David has been an outspoken advocate for education reform and recently co-chaired the Council’s task force on school governance. His advocacy in the area of affordable housing includes creating thousands of moderately priced apartments through his Affordable Housing Zoning Initiative.

Before his election to the Council, Yassky had a distinguished career as a public servant, lawyer and educator. As Chief Counsel to the House Subcommittee on Crime under Chuck Schumer, he helped enact the Brady Law, the Assault Weapons Ban, the Violence Against Women Act, the 100,000 Cops on the Beat Law, and more than a dozen other significant anti-crime statutes. At the time, he was the youngest Committee or Subcommittee Chief Counsel in the House of Representatives.

After serving under Representative Schumer, David joined the private sector, practicing corporate law and working with major financial institutions on complex regulatory and legal issues. He also served as a budget analyst for New York City’s Office of Management and Budget, where he developed a comprehensive understanding of the city’s intricate budgeting process and deep knowledge of how the City spends taxpayers’ money.

David earned his B.A. at Princeton University, and his J.D. at Yale Law School. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Diana, and their daughters Susan and Margaret.

Comptroller Survey: David Yassky

Question 1:
As Comptroller, how would you help to improve mobility in New York City?

The best way to judge what someone will do in the future is to look at what they’ve done in the past. As a City Council Member, I have worked tirelessly to pass legislation that makes our city more mobile. I sponsored the “Bikes in Buildings Bill,” and it was in my district that the NYDOT, for the first time in history, replaced car parking spots with bike racks. I was also a major proponent of congestion pricing.

I would set the Comptroller’s Office to identify ways to improve the City’s mobility, and:
- Set up in-depth assessments of the economic impact congestion has. This will provide a solid platform from which to advocate change.

-Transform the audit staff into the Division of Accountability and Results charged with identifying the 10% of each agency’s budget that is least productive. I will request a plan from each agency as to how they are encouraging mass transit, bicycling, and walking to work.
-I will task this Division to borrow best practices from the private sector and identify wasted office space—combining offices where it makes sense to reduce overall commuting time. I will use telecommunication technology to reduce commuting, perhaps letting certain City workers work from home.


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Question 2:
The Partnership for New York City estimates that traffic congestion is to blame for $13 billion a year in losses to the New York Metropolitan Region’s economy. What relationship do you see between the regional economy and traffic congestion? Which, if any, policies do you support to mitigate traffic congestion in New York City?

There is a direct impact that congestion has on the regional economy. We will not be able to remain one of the financial centers of the world if it takes 20 minutes to travel five blocks in midtown. I support reenacting the Commuter Tax and using the funds collected to invest directly in our mass transit infrastructure to encourage the use of our subways and buses and cut down on unnecessary vehicle congestion.

I support Comptroller Thompson’s proposal to restructure vehicle registration fees. By charging heavier, less fuel efficient vehicles more, we can incentivize more fuel efficient vehicles and raise revenue. The $400-500 million a year that congestion pricing could generate would pay for very significant expansions in our mass transit system.

I will invest the pension funds in green technology companies that can help the environment while giving us a substantial return on investment.


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Question 3:
The current comptroller has done several reports documenting inequities in City and State MTA funding, resulting in the agency being shortchanged hundreds of millions of dollars. Would you continue to do periodic reports on MTA finances? Would you take any actions to address these inequities?

Comptroller Thompson has done an admirable job focusing attention on the fiscal situation in the MTA. I will continue this charge and furthermore, I plan to transform the office of Comptroller into one that actively speaks the truth about our City’s financial situation and holds policy makers – at every level of government – accountable. Beyond merely providing statistical reports or analysis, I will seek to be an independent voice for taxpayers. It is inexcusable for critical funds to be misallocated or short-changed and I will call on Albany and Washington DC as well as the City leaders to rectify these problems.

In addition to this, I would advocate and support policies like congestion pricing and other such potential revenue streams as mentioned above.

Finally, conducting a thorough examination of the fiscal management of MTA is crucial and the newly created Division of Accountability and Results will set this forth as a priority. By eliminating harmful spending practices and re-evaluating the entire financial structure, we should be able to make drastic improvements that could avoid service cuts and fare increases. The Comptroller’s responsibilities to apply auditing oversight are paramount to this effort.


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Question 4:
Currently, New York City provides many free, on-street parking permits to its employees. As Comptroller, would you document the costs of this strategy (direct or indirect) and/or investigate various incentive programs that would encourage more City employees to take transit, bike or walk to work?

I will certainly set out to assess the impact City employee commuting has on parking and traffic. Each agency has particular challenges, responsibilities, and operational parameters (i.e. are they centrally located, or need to be spread throughout the City) that will require a plan tailored for each appropriately. That’s why, as mentioned, I will task the Division of Accountability and Results to work closely with each agency as a resource to develop plans to encourage their employees to take transit, bike or work.

And also as mentioned, I will certainly explore best practices from the private sector and identify wasted office space—combining offices where it makes sense and reducing overall City office space. Reducing employees’ overall commuting time will certainly be a factor in this. Additionally, use of telecommunication technology must be taken advantage of to provide ways to reduce commuting, perhaps letting certain City workers (as in call centers or customer service roles) to work from home, giving them multiple benefits including the elimination of commute time.

As part of my directive to identify 10% of waste in each agency, I will advocate for reformed (i.e. restricted) parking permits unless it is absolutely necessary from an operational standpoint.


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Question 5:
The MTA's $6 billion preliminary budget for 2010 will be issued in late July and approved in December. Have you reviewed this budget and, if so, do you see additional ways for the MTA to save money or any inappropriate cutbacks?

Yes, and I believe long-term changes must be made to allow the MTA to rebuild our aging infrastructure in a way that is sustainable for the 21st and beyond.

I will fight for a vigilant audit of the Authority’s capital assets. On the Council, I have advocated for the selling-off of excess properties such as the one at 370 Jay Street in my district in order to fill budget shortfalls. This is critical in assessing the true value of the Authority’s properties and will allow for a more accurate understanding of the its fiscal health.

Expenses:
I would maintain a strict focus on the financial state of the MTA to prevent a fractured, politicized, or otherwise undisciplined regime change that might result in the disruption of expenditure cuts, as it undergoes transition in executive management.

I would invest City funds in green technology to incentivize increased innovation and competition that would greatly enhance the MTA’s ability to incorporate them, saving huge costs in the long-term. Meanwhile, these high growth industry investments would provide returns for City funds.

Revenue:
A few hundred million dollars are needed annual to cover the gap in coming years. With annual revenue estimates of $450 million, congestion pricing can directly counter this.


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Submitted by DavidYassky on Fri, 08/07/2009 - 11:23.
Submitted by DavidYassky on Wed, 07/22/2009 - 15:53.