Krystal Kyle & Friends

This week’s episode of Krystal Kyle & Friends will turn toward the mayoral race in New York City as we interview Andrew Yang, former 2020 presidential candidate and businessman who is now running for the mayoralty.

At least, we hope we get to interview Andrew! He’s come down with coronavirus but tells us he’s on the mend, and is hopeful he’ll be able to join us remotely this Friday. Get well soon Andrew!

For Friday access to our video conversation, click the Subscribe button below. Otherwise, audio of our conversation with Andrew will be available through Substack, as well as Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other major streaming platforms on Saturday.

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During his bid for the presidency in 2020, Yang placed the “Freedom Dividend,” his plan for a universal basic income, at the center of his platform. Now, he’s bringing a basic income plan to his run for mayor, under which 500,000 of the most low-income New Yorkers will receive an average of $2000 per year. Yang’s proposals touch upon housing affordability, where he argues that “Community Land Trusts (CLTs) can be proactively supported” by City Hall, and policing, where he seeks to address the brutality of the NYPD by instating a civilian Commissioner. Other elements of the campaign have received criticism from the left, including Yang’s promise that his administration would “push back against the BDS movement.” On Friday, we’ll speak to Andrew Yang not only about the policies that are driving his mayoral campaign, but also about his ongoing advocacy for universal basic income and his vision to serve as an anti-poverty leader. We hope you’ll join us for the conversation.

Below are excerpted remarks from Andrew Yang’s mayoral announcement, which took place on January 14, 2021. Watch the announcement in full here.

On his past work in New York and his path to the mayoral run

I worked with friends and colleagues to create startups right here in New York. I was fortunate enough to build and lead one of the top education companies in the country. That is the kind of thing that New York City makes possible. I founded the nonprofit Venture for America, which sought to help other communities achieve some of the economic dynamism that New York has enjoyed these past years. And most recently, I launched a presidential campaign that not too many people were calling for before it happened, but turned into a movement, with millions of Americans rallying around universal basic income and a new economy that works for us, the people. 

That campaign, too, was made possible by the support I received right here in New York. So it is here in New York City that my passion for uplifting people, for wanting to move this country forward, got started. Now that we are facing this historic crisis, I am aiming to unleash and channel that energy for a human-centered economy right here in New York, my home. 

Why he’s running

I'm running for mayor for a very simple reason. I see a crisis and believe that I can help. Over twenty-five thousand New Yorkers and counting have died from COVID. Five hundred thousand at least have been infected. Elmhurst and Brooklyn Hospital were early national symbols of how serious this pandemic was going to be for millions around the country. One million New Yorkers are out of work, with the city unemployment rate double the national average. Whole sectors of the economy shut down: hotels, restaurants, bars, clubs, Broadway, museums, galleries all closed. 

The fears for our future that caused me to run for president have accelerated since this pandemic started. And these numbers don't even reflect how much worse black and brown New Yorkers have been hit by this virus and its economic impact. The inhumane economy that we have all been struggling to survive in has become more punishing during the pandemic. The problems of poverty and economic insecurity that we have faced for decades have now been strengthened and magnified. And New York City has become the front line for our nation's struggles. 

On anti-poverty policies

We need to make New York the COVID comeback city, but also the anti-poverty city. We will launch the largest basic income program in the history of the country. We will lift hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers out of extreme poverty, putting cash relief directly into the hands of the families who desperately need help right now. Cash relief is the difference between a family eating and a family going hungry. It's the difference between being homeless and having a roof over your head.

While cash relief is needed, an anti-poverty leader can't stop there. As mayor, we will have a COVID recovery plan that helps working people and not the stock market. We're going to reopen fifteen thousand businesses in NYC during my first year. As someone who ran a small business right here in New York, I know what it takes to get people back to work and businesses to reopen. 

We'll also launch a people’s bank that makes financing and banking available to working people and small businesses across our five boroughs, so they don't have to turn to check-cashers or moneylenders who charge extortionate rates. We are the world's financial capital. Does it make sense to anyone here that twelve percent of New Yorkers are unbanked or underbanked? That makes no sense, and we can change it. 

On police brutality and criminal justice reform

Our city is facing challenges on multiple fronts. One of those challenges is reforming the criminal justice system while also bringing down crime. We cannot let another Eric Garner die at the hands of law enforcement. We can't let another Kalief Browder or Layleen Polanco needlessly languish and die in jail. We can't let New Yorkers be afraid to go in this very park because of the tragic killing of Tessa Majors, steps from where we are right now.

Violent crime is on the rise in our city, and we need a mayor that works with our police department to keep our streets and children safe. Accountability of the NYPD means at least two things: holding the NYPD accountable when the rate of crime solved does not keep up with the rise of violent crime, and holding them accountable when they fail to respect our civil rights, the people they are sworn to serve and protect.