DSNY and what testing means
COURIER L 34 IFE, FEBRUARY 5-11, 2021
OPINION
For a political party, along
with promoting its values,
it’s essential to win
elections and implement policies
that are popular and allow
you to keep winning elections.
I am a member of the Democratic
Party. Historically, it’s
been believed that the government
can work to the benefi t
of people. But beliefs, actions,
and electoral results are different
things.
“Means testing” — in
nearly all forms — is a political
and policy loser. Excluding
people perpetuates an “us
against them” mentality. For
that reason, it is best that more
programs cover everyone instead
of excluding folks based
on arbitrary lines in the sand.
Yes, someone may do well and
some may take advantage of
the system, but nobody is left
behind and nobody is so resentful
that they storm the US
Capitol.
Naturally, it helps the politicians’
fortunes if people like
them, but few will get to know
an elected offi cial personally
or even fi nd time to reach out.
For example, it’s tough to fi nd
someone who likes Mayor Bill
de Blasio in his waning days in
offi ce. At the same time, would
anyone with a child entering
Pre-K trade their child’s guaranteed
spot in class — due to
the de Blasio administration’s
most signifi cant achievement
— for a mayor who does little
but is never late to a meeting?
This universality reinforces
why “means testing”
is a loser. Sure, some people
can afford such programs but
they don’t feel less important.
If UPre-K didn’t include everyone,
you’d fi nd mayoral candidates
looking to shortchange
the program. Instead, you’ll
fi nd candidates looking to
fully implement U3K.
This week, we have had
study in working toward a
common goal. With nearly
two feet of snow falling on
Monday and Tuesday, and as
I’m writing this on Wednesday,
we’ve nearly returned to
pre-pandemic normal. School
buildings are open, roads are
cleared, and we are again on
the move. Yes, there are exceptions
to this where streets are
still snowed in, but in a city
of over 8 million people, it’s
an incredible job and that job
is thanks to government action.
One can always nitpick
problems within Sanitation
Department (DSNY), but we
should start with at least maintaining
funding and avoiding
making any more cuts
The most effective public
policies and services are not
only more important than
the individual who may have
initially implemented them,
but they outlast them and you
may not even notice they’re
there — the way great referees
or umpires aren’t part of
a game’s story. You may not
think of DSNY often but you’d
sure as hell know if they were
gone, or if they only plowed
streets based on income levels,
just the way parents would
notice if UPK were gone or if
they were suddenly handed a
tuition bill.
Keep that in mind later
this year when de Blasio is
gone and we vote for a successor.
Pick wisely.
Mike Racioppo is the District
Manager of Community
Board 6. Follow him on
Twitter @RacioppoMike.
MIKE DROP
Mike Racioppo
5 takeaways from the Dem debate
This last weekend featured
the fi rst debates — as opposed
to forums — of the
2021 political calendar, and
they were hosted by the Brooklyn
Democratic Party. The next
day, Brooklyn Paper alumna
Dana Rubinstein wrote a news
analysis/recap of the mayoral
hour of debate in the New York
Times, which took the form of
an introduction and fi ve takeaways.
For instance, one takeaway
was that there’s not a clear
frontrunner, and another is
that Maya Wiley attacked Andrew
Yang for being like Donald
Trump. I thought her fi ve
takeaway listicle was a really
clever form, so I’ve stolen it.
Five takeaways from all
three hours of the Brooklyn
Dems debate:
1. This was very amateurishly
done. Errol Louis of NY1
is clearly a very good moderator
but everything else about
this livestream broadcast was
second-rate. There was a lot
of dead air. A candidate was
skipped, many candidates did
not unmute themselves, put
their cameras on too early or
stayed on screen many minutes
too late.
For instance, during the
mayoral debate, Ray McGuire’s
phone rang twice while Maya
Wiley forgot to unmute herself.
These candidates have
been doing tons of Zooms —
they should know better.
“You’re a pro, you’re a natural!”
Yang said to Party Boss
Rodneyse Bichotte at the end
in reference to her wooden delivery.
She delivered each debate’s
intro, costing the livestream
probably six to eight
minutes in total. Yang is like
Kermit the Frog in several
ways, including his sunny
friendliness and optimism.
2. Policing is a huge issue:
it came up in every hour of
debate. It barely came up in
the undercard borough president
debate but dominated the
comptroller debate especially,
because the push to “Defund
the NYPD” frames policing as
a budgetary issue. And questions
about the NYPD will continue
to matter in this mayor’s
race, since, in theory, the
mayor controls the department,
but we all know Bill de
Blasio has failed there.
3. The caliber of the mayoral
fi eld is notably higher
than the others, while the
borough president candidates
were clearly the weakest. So
it felt like each hour raised the
stakes.
A great way to tell how
good the candidates are is by
how specifi c they get. So the
highlight of the BP debate was
everyone talking about how
great and important community
boards were in land use
decisions, and later, Councilmember
Antonio Reynoso
pointed out that Councilmembers
Robert Cornegy and Mathieu
Eugene voted against the
local community board — and
much of Sunset Park — in the
case of Industry City.
4. Debates are important!
These three debates were
good lengths, but they were all
slightly too crowded. It would
be nice if we do more debates
and fewer forums. What does
that mean? The candidates
should be juxtaposed against
each other in real time. It’s
better to split them into two or
even three heats of three to fi ve
candidates, and to try to draw
out contrasts on their views.
5. The important part of the
debate is when the candidates
question each other. Those
15 minutes of mayoral debate
yielded four of Rubinstein’s
fi ve takeaways! So these debates
should take the form of
a clever moderator making
sure the conversation stays on
track and the candidates get
equal time, but otherwise sits
back and lets the candidates
question each other.
Nick Rizzo is a former Democratic
District Leader and a
political consultant who lives
in Greenpoint. Follow him on
Twitter @NickRizzo.
WORDS OF
RIZZDOM
Nick Rizzo
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