2009 Public Advocate QuestionnaireCandidate Name:Office Sought:Contact phone number:Contact email address:The Office of the Public Advocate

The office of the Public Advocate is a relatively new position in New York Citygovernment, and there have only been 2 individuals to hold this office. Would you usethe office differently than its previous occupants, and if so, how?

Communication to New York City Residents

In a city of 8 million people, it can be challenging to communicate important informationto New Yorkers that affects their lives and communities, such as public hearingsinvolving local land use issues or programmatic issues involving children’s schools.Please explain how you would use the Office of the Public Advocate to ensure that cityresidents have timely and comprehensive access to information that affects them?

Responsible Investing & Retirement Security

The Public Advocate has a seat on the Board of the New York City Employees’ Retirement System (NYCERS), which invests billions of dollars in corporate America.Do you pledge to support policies which:

Challenge management at companies that engage in discriminatory, anti-union,anti-human rights or anti-environmental practices.

Discourage investment in "predatory equity" funds that purchase rent-stabilizedhousing with the intent to evict tenants in order to increase rents, and mandate thatcurrent stakeholders get right of first refusal on purchases.C.Promote "economically targeted investments” that accomplish the followinggoals:

Investments in firms that work with labor unions to preserve and creategood jobs.

The creation of jobs targeted to low-income people.

3.The investment of funds in initiatives that promote retrofitting of buildingsfor energy efficiency (like the Working Families proposed GreenJobs/Green Homes NY Residential Retrofit Investment Fund).

The investment of funds in the development of affordable housing.

Push for transparent disclosure of employee wage, salary, and benefitsinformation for all companies that receive investment, from the mailroom to theCEOs.E.What other ideas do you have to address this issue?

Land Use

The Public Advocate appoints one representative to the City Planning Commission,which votes on land use and zoning actions under the NYC Uniform Land Use Review Procedure. Do you pledge to appoint someone who will:

A.Commit to consulting with Working Families and our affiliates on development

before

deals with the developers are struck.B.Support "mandatory inclusionary zoning" to require that all new housing projectsinclude a minimum percentage of affordable housing units – like more than 200cities across the county – with the expectation that half of all city built housingshould be affordable.C.Support "industrial employment district" zoning provisions that protectmanufacturing areas for industrial jobs by restricting incompatible uses, likehotels, superstores large-footprint office buildings and waste-transfer stations.D.Make the following conditions for receiving all city economic development benefits, including subsidies, use of city-owned land and city contracts: prevailingwages where already established by the State Department of Labor, living wageson all other permanent jobs created, and first-source hiring and job trainingrequirements.E.Will you appoint representatives to local community boards and the City PlanningCommission that support increased “mixed use” zones, which encourage a better mix of light industry, small stores and businesses, and residential development?F.What other ideas do you have to address this issue?

Balanced Economic Development

Over the last twenty years, New York City has experienced the decline of middle classindustries which has left the average New Yorker with a pay cut of nearly 8 percent. Theaverage annual earnings for sectors that have been shrinking (including manufacturing,whole-sale trade, and telecommunications) are more than twice as high as those sectorsthat have been growing (like retail, restaurants, and home health care). To ensure the promise that hard work pays off, New York must take steps to diversify its economy. As the presiding officer of the City Council, the Public Advocate has the power tointroduce and co-sponsor legislation. As the Public Advocate, do you pledge to support or take legislative action to:

Advance a "good jobs" agenda that ensures that companies receiving IndustrialDevelopment Agency (IDA) benefits meet the following conditions: maintain prevailing wages where already established by the State Department of Labor, payliving wages on all other permanent jobs created, maintain job trainingrequirements, practice first-source hiring from the surrounding community, andinclude accountability measures like local government oversight of IDAs.B.Support the "good food-good jobs" agenda of using appropriate City subsidiesand land use planning tools to encourage the development of supermarkets that provide quality food and living wage jobs in underserved low-incomeneighborhoods.C.Support efforts to improve commercial rent regulation for small businesses?Protecting small businesses from unchecked and unreasonable rent increases – particularly as overleveraged landlords seek to pass on costs – will savecommunity jobs. It is estimated that almost half of all New York’s 200,000 small businesses are owned by people of color or immigrants.D.Support passing a local ordinance guaranteeing a minimum number of paid sick days each year to New York’s workers, like San Francisco and Washington, D.C.Currently, the majority of working poor in New York – 65% of poor workers and45% of near poor – do not have a single day of paid sick time.E.Support petitioning the State Department of Labor to adopt and phase in a higher minimum wage for New York City, improving 1 million city jobs? New York City has the same minimum wage as the rest of New York State ($7.15 per hour),even though it has a much higher cost of living.F.What other ideas do you have to address this issue?