Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

Robert Gangi

Robert Gangi

  • Cynthia Nixon Should Avoid De Blasio’s Sham Progressivism

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    Mayor de Blasio (photo: Benjamin Kanter/Mayor's Office))


    It is impressive that Mayor de Blasio has succeeded in wrapping himself in the progressive mantle despite the reality of his record. While his rhetoric stakes claim to that mantle, his record fails to merit the honor. As the old saying goes, actions speak louder than words -- or should, at least.

    Perhaps it is additionally important now to scrutinize that record since it is commonly understood that Governor Andrew Cuomo's well-publicized challenger from the left, Cynthia Nixon, will campaign very much in

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  • Five Democrats Will Be On The Mayoral Ballot, But Only Two Will Debate

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    Mayoral candidate Robert Gangi (photo:@GangiForMayor)


    The first official debate in the Democratic mayoral primary is set for Wednesday, August 23, where Mayor Bill de Blasio will face former City Council Member Sal Albanese. But three more Democrats, all of whom will be on the September 12 ballot, failed to qualify for the debate and are crying foul that the Campaign Finance Board’s eligibility criteria are excluding them from

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  • Democratic Challengers Fire Away at De Blasio. Is Anybody Listening?

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    Mayoral candidate Sal Albanese (photo: @SalAlbaneseNYC)


    Mayor Bill de Blasio won the mayoralty in 2013 on a progressive platform deriding the “Tale of Two Cities” that had developed in New York. He identified an unsustainable level of income inequality and biased police department, and promised an activist government focused on creating more opportunity for all. In some respects, de Blasio has followed through. But the mayor has also dealt with criticism from various corners on what have been deemed the failures of his administration.

    As de Blasio

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  • We Need a New Urban Agenda

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    (photo: Edwin J. Torres/Mayor's Office)


    Make no mistake, our great city has a racial caste system that continues to plague us. It is time that we craft and execute a comprehensive and coherent progressive urban agenda.

    I have not been able to find such an agenda from any leader or institution, not from Barack Obama or even Bernie Sanders. It's as if an urban agenda, since the long ago days of JFK and LBJ and our nation's anti-poverty programs and civil rights movement, has gone out of political fashion.

    In the current vacuum, my team and

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  • With Subways in Crisis, It’s Showtime for Mayoral Candidates

    Cuomo subway train

    (photo: The Governor's Office)


    Standing near a City Hall subway stop, Staten Island Assembly member and GOP mayoral candidate Nicole Malliotakis railed against Mayor Bill de Blasio’s handling of the city’s transit system and its state-controlled operator, the Metropolitan Transit Authority.

    At a podium set up just outside a 4 and 5 train entrance -- the same station that the mayor and his family emerged from for his inauguration on January 1, 2014 -- Malliotakis said last Friday that de Blasio has been ineffective and pledged that if she is elected

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  • Max & Murphy Podcast: Democratic Mayoral Candidate Bob Gangi

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    Ben Max, left, of Gotham Gazette, and Jarrett Murphy, right, of City Limits


    Max & Murphy is a podcast focused on New York City politics and policy hosted by Ben Max of Gotham Gazette and Jarrett Murphy of City Limits. Past episodes of the podcast can be found here and can be dowloaded from iTunes and other podcast networks. The podcast began with a focus on housing in early 2016, but has expanded into other areas, now

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  • The Issues Likely to Dominate The 2017 Mayoral Race

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    (photo: Ed Reed/Mayor's Office)


    Candidates running for mayor have begun to gather signatures to get on the ballot, bringing election season into full swing. Mayor Bill de Blasio is in a relatively comfortable position and polls show that he is likely to sail to reelection, but it is still relatively early, with September primary and November general elections on the horizon. Anything can happen in a political campaign.

    As the mayor prepares to spend the next six months asking New Yorkers to give him another four years, he will also have to

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  • The May Mayoral Money Race

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    Mayor de Blasio (photo: Ed Reed/Mayor's Office)


    Candidates in the running for Mayor in this year’s municipal elections filed their latest fundraising and expenditure reports with the New York City Campaign Finance Board on Monday. Mayor Bill de Blasio, the Democratic incumbent, leads the pack with more than $2.5 million in his campaign account, while those seeking to unseat him -- Democrats, Republicans, and others alike -- lag behind in terms of cash-on-hand. Those other candidates have shown varied levels of success in fundraising, and have

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  • Closing Rikers: Good Politics, Bad Policy

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    Mayor de Blasio on Rikers Island (photo: Mayor's Office)


    Mayor de Blasio's announcement that the city intends to close Rikers Island jails in 10 years has met a mainly celebratory response, even from seasoned criminal justice reformers. We advise that they, after years of good work in exposing the debilitating and sometimes brutal conditions in the Rikers jails, take a deep breath and apply a critical eye.

    The mayor's broad plan seems at least in part based on the recommendations of a blue-ribbon commission chaired by former

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