Bill de Blasio

De Blasio Headshot.JPG
Political Parties:
Democratic Party
Working Families Party

http://www.billdeblasio.com

Candidate Submitted Biography:

Bill de Blasio is running for Public Advocate to stand up for New Yorkers who are being ignored by City Hall. In these tough economic times, we need someone in City Hall who is fighting for people living in poverty, protecting our children, helping the homeless, and standing up for working families who have been overlooked by their government. These are the communities Bill has fought for in the City Council, and who he will serve as Public Advocate.

Bill de Blasio has served as a member of the New York City Council since 2002, where he is Chair of the Council's General Welfare Committee. Dedicating his life to public service, Bill worked as a close aide to Mayor David Dinkins and served President Bill Clinton working at H.U.D. for then Secretary Andrew Cuomo on affordable housing issues. De Blasio also ran Hillary Clinton's successful campaign for U.S. Senate in 2000, and served on his local New York City School Board before being elected to the City Council in 2001. Bill and his wife Chirlane live in Brooklyn with their two children Chiara and Dante; both children attend public school.

Public Advocate Survey: Bill de Blasio

Question 1:
The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's website reports: "In New York City, obesity is epidemic: more than half of adult New Yorkers are overweight (34%) or obese (22%). Data show that obesity begins early in life: nearly half of all elementary school children and Head Start children are not a healthy weight. In New York City, 1 in 5 kindergarten students, and 1 in 4 Head Start children, is obese." Do you believe that increasing walking and biking in New York City would improve public health? If yes, what types of programs and policies would you pursue?

Getting our children outdoors and active is a key component of improving public health and ensuring a brighter future for the next generation of New Yorkers. I am a proud co-sponsor of Intro 38, legislation passed last month by the City Council, which will require buildings to provide access and storage for bicycles. Together with the Bicycle Parking Bill, legislation also passed by the Council that requires parking garages to provide bicycle parking, we are taking small but important steps in the right direction of promoting basic, daily exercise for New Yorkers of all ages. As Public Advocate, I will explore additional legislative solutions for increasing walking and biking, and will use my appointment on the City Planning Commission to address neighborhood needs - like the lack of adequate green space, grocery stores and fresh produce in low-income neighborhoods – that may contribute to childhood obesity.


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Question 2:
What is your vision for New York City's transportation network? What needs do you see and what steps will you take as the Public Advocate to help ensure that New Yorkers have access to affordable, convenient and healthy modes of transportation?

New York City’s comprehensive and affordable mass transit is the lifeblood of this city, and also what makes us one of the greenest cities in the nation. We cannot let fares increase and service decrease. I am open to Speaker Silver’s proposal for tolls on the East and Harlem River bridges – the proposal was both fair and reasonable as the tolls would be fixed to the rate of a subway fare and the funds used to preserve bus lines and subway lines facing cut backs. I also support other funding measures, such as a payroll tax and car registration fees. In addition I recently called on newly nominated MTA Chairman Jim Walder to pledge to institute a Subway Riders’ Bill of Rights to ensure that New Yorkers have access to clean, affordable, on-time public transit throughout the five boroughs. Ensuring trains and platforms are clean and secure, and basic information services are provided in formats that all transit users can understand must become top priorities for the MTA. As Public Advocate, I will work with fellow elected officials, transportation advocates, and good government groups to ensure that the MTA is being responsive to riders’ needs, and held accountable when it is not, so that people across our City have access to affordable, convenient, and clean public transportation.


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Question 3:
New York City's senior citizens make up a disproportionate number of the city's pedestrian injuries and deaths. What would your office do to protect senior pedestrians on our streets?

Traffic safety is a problem that all New Yorkers face, in particular our City’s seniors and children. In the Council, I introduced legislation (Int 0863-2008) calling on the Department of Transportation to conduct traffic studies for any school with students at or below the eighth grade level to determine what dangers our children are facing and what traffic calming measures we can implement to can best protect them from traffic-related injuries and fatalities. I am currently drafting legislation to call on the Department of Transportation to conduct a similar study and implement appropriate traffic calming and safety measures around our City’s senior centers.


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Question 4:
What relationship do you see between vehicular congestion on New York City's streets, highways and bridges and the quality of life for its residents? As Public Advocate, are there policies that you would pursue to reduce congestion?

The high level of traffic congestion on our City’s streets, highways, and bridges clearly poses a detriment to the health and quality of life of all New Yorkers. I am open to many proposals, including a payroll tax, a toll on the East and Harlem River bridges set through legislation at the same amount as the subway fare, or increases in car registration fees to generate revenue for mass transit and incentivize fuel efficient vehicles. We must also increase park and ride access for commuters who live far from transit, and encourage alternative transportation options including bicycling. I am also a vocal supporter of Congressman Nadler's plan to reconnect New York City to the nation's rail freight system through the construction of a rail freight tunnel under New York Harbor. The Cross Harbor Tunnel would provide a method for efficiently transporting freight in and out of the City, and would significantly ease our dependency on the trucks that clog our roads and pollute our air.


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Question 5:
In an effort to increase the safety, enjoyment and health of New Yorkers walking, running, skating or riding a bike in Central and Prospect Parks, car traffic has been gradually restricted on the loop drives within these parks. What do you think of these changes? Do you have an opinion on the idea of completely closing these loop drives (not crosstown transverses) to cars and reserving them strictly for recreational users? What effect do you think such an action would have on the people in surrounding neighborhoods?

My City Council district represents a number of neighborhoods that surround Prospect Park. I have called on the City to study the feasibility of making Prospect Park car-free with a three-month car-free trial. Because Prospect Park is such a popular destination for Brooklynites, it is very busy. From morning till night, the loop drive is packed with people walking, running, and riding bikes. When cars are permitted to drive through the park, people are often put in danger. While the benefits of prohibiting cars from the park are many, I also recognize that closing Prospect Park to traffic will impact the surrounding community and, therefore, any exploration of this policy change must include area residents from the beginning. Conducting a three-month study and trial closure to fully analyze the resulting effects on traffic and related quality of life issues would allow the City and the community to understand the full impact of a full closure.


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Question 6:
According to the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, in 2007 speeding was a contributing factor in over 3,000 motor vehicle crashes in New York City. Furthermore, the same data showed that the top human contributing factor to the 264 fatal crashes in New York City during 2007 was also speeding. Given these figures, what measures, if any, do you support to redress this problem?

Speeding is clearly a danger to many New Yorkers – from those riding in cars to pedestrians walking on our City’s streets. We need to identify patterns and high need areas, and implement specific measures to prevent the deadly outcomes of this problem. In the Council, I introduced legislation (Int 0863-2008) calling on the Department of Transportation to conduct traffic studies for any school with students at or below the eighth grade level to determine what dangers our children are facing and how we can best protect them from traffic-related injuries and fatalities. I am drafting similar legislation for senior centers. This type of targeted approach is one way we can begin to address this critical issue.


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Submitted by BilldeBlasio on Sun, 08/09/2009 - 13:15.
Submitted by BilldeBlasio on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 12:41.