The next mayor of New York City has an almost impossible job.
For the city that never sleeps, we’re just beginning to wake from a long, nightmarish slumber. The list of challenges ahead seems almost endless: Our unemployment rate is more than double the national average. Whole blocks of retail stores are vacant and midtown office towers remain eerily quiet. The demand for human services continues to grow and the nonprofit sector is stretched to its limit. Racial inequities have been laid ever more painfully bare. Violent crime is also sharply on the rise, including hate crimes directed against Asian-Americans and Jews. Emblematic of the state of our city: Broadway’s lights have been dark for over a year.
Our next mayor will be called on not simply to bring our city back to where it was before, but to somewhere better. How exactly to do this was one of the questions we asked seven leading Democratic mayoral candidates in a two-hour UJA-Federation mayoral forum on Tuesday evening, with more than 1,000 people tuned in. (Invited candidates were chosen based on funding and polling data, and we also plan to host an event with the Republican mayoral candidates.)
I had the privilege of moderating Tuesday’s forum together with Merryl Tisch, a longtime New York leader, who among many other roles sits on UJA’s Executive Committee. The forum was also co-hosted by nearly 50 of our network nonprofit partners.
UJA and our network have an enormous stake in city government. New York City outsources all human services to the nonprofit sector, with UJA’s partners among the very largest social service providers in the city — feeding the hungry, caring for the elderly and at-risk children, helping people with disabilities live full lives, and so much more. Over the years, government has funded less and less to support the direct cost of these essential services, let alone the indirect costs (the “turning on the lights” money).* And so philanthropies like UJA are increasingly called on to bridge the ever-widening cost gap to ensure the delivery of these vital human and social services to the most vulnerable New Yorkers.
In addition, New York City has erected many operational barriers — including byzantine procurement practices, the late registration of contracts and late payments — severely hampering our agencies’ ability to do their work. For all these reasons, UJA has long actively advocated with city government on behalf of our network. And the mayoral forum provided us with an important opportunity to ask the candidates directly how they would address these issues.
Other questions touched on business revitalization, hate crimes and security, and where candidates stand on attempts to delegitimize Israel. Also, just as the forum was beginning, the Derek Chauvin trial verdict was announced, allowing some candidates to share in real time their reaction to the news and their thoughts on racial justice.
For those who missed the forum, you can see a recording of the event here. We also asked the candidates to respond to a more thorough questionnaire covering issues important to our community. Additionally, the June 22 mayoral primary will be the first citywide election to use ranked choice voting, which allows voters to choose up to five candidates based on order of preference. It's important to take the time now to learn how this new system works.
We know that what makes the Big Apple stand out is more than just our skyscrapers, restaurants, museums, and theater. It’s how we take care of one another, a city of eight million. Right now, our city needs all of us — nonprofits, businesses large and small, and government — working in tandem. And whoever your preferred candidate — or, this year, candidates — let’s commit to making our voices heard as we come together to rebuild a better and brighter New York.
Shabbat shalom
*I’m delighted to report that just today, in response to our advocacy efforts, the Mayor and City Council agreed to increase funding of indirect costs — a significant achievement for the nonprofit community.