Mayor of the capital of the world: what did Bill De Blasio succeed in two years in the chair of the governor

De Blasio is the 109th mayor of New York and the first Democrat to serve in this position in twenty years. He was born in Manhattan and graduated from New York University and the School of International Affairs at Columbia University. He worked in the administration of President Bill Clinton, managed his wife's election campaign for nomination to the Senate and became active in the city council.

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He ran for mayor after working as a public advocate for several years, during which time he repeatedly criticized then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg for his education policies and created a list of the worst landlords in New York (NYC's Worst Landlords Watchlist).

He went to the elections with an absolutely liberal program, which included a whole list of social laws for the poor, immigrants and representatives of sexual minorities. He intended to implement them by raising taxes for wealthy residents whose income is more than 500 per year. The measure's liberal views are also reflected in his family - he is married to an African-American woman who considered herself a lesbian before their relationship. The couple's children were sent to public rather than private schools as a matter of principle.

1. New workplaces

248 thousand - this is how many residents got jobs over the past two years. According to the State Department of Labor, such a result has not been seen in the city in the last 50 years. The New York Times gives positive statistics:

- a record number of jobs - 4,2 million;

- a record number of working residents - 4 million;

- coverage of the working population is 58%.

2. Rent Freeze

During his election campaign, back in 2014, De Blasio promised to freeze the rise in rental prices in New York. So far, the intention has only been partially realized. Elena Makhnina, director of the Brighton Small Business Association, has lived in New York for 25 years and knows the mayor personally - she organized a meeting with him for the Russian community. She has a mixed opinion about the mayor, but on the issue of rent, Elena gives him his due.

“This is an initiative for which I applaud him. If previously people with an annual income of 23-26 thousand per year could fix their rent, now this limit has been increased, and families with an annual income of 50 thousand also have this opportunity. Finally, the city authorities admitted that even though people earn such a sum, they are still far from rich,” says Elena.

3. City infrastructure: bike lanes and protection from excessive taxi fares

“In my opinion, the infrastructure in the city has improved. The roads are being repaired and the snow has been removed in winter. To his credit, de Blasio is really committed to the city,” says sociologist Sam Kliger, founder of the Institute for the Study of New Migrants in New York.

24 kilometer new bike paths are going to build in the city until the end of this year. The municipality is ready to spend on innovation about $ 9 million, as the resource writes spoilednyc.com. Officials are confident that protected bike lanes will reduce the number of accidents on the roads.

At the same time, the problem with parking spaces has not been resolved, and the quality of roads still leaves much to be desired. Ukrainian Nazariy, who has been living in New York for the last two years and working as an Uber driver, assures that the asphalt in the capital of the world is worse than in his native Lviv. “The pits are just terrible. Although it is difficult to carry out major repairs here - if you close at least one street, a traffic collapse will immediately occur,” says the guy.

The activities of the mayor touched his work: De Blasio signed a package of laws that protect city residents from excessive tariffs. Taxi services, including mobile apps, should now show passengers a preliminary price for their trip. At the same time, the total amount cannot exceed more than 20% preliminary charging. For violation, a penalty of $ 250 to $ 500 is assumed. Also, the municipality obliged the taxi service to be responsible for the safety of information about passengers, including their names, addresses and bank card information.

4. Paid sick leave

Five missed days due to illness each year are now obliged to pay for employees by employers. This is the first legislative act that was signed by De Blasio. Its peculiarity lies in the fact that previously such duties concerned only enterprises with 20 and more employees, and now employees of companies with a team of five people can rely on paid sick leave.

The former mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg, argued that the introduction of such laws could undermine the work of small enterprises and entail massive layoffs. Bill De Blasio, in turn, is sure: toughening labor laws will not hurt business. Entrepreneurs who refuse to pay employees for sick leave will pay fines.

“With our actions today, and literally with this signature, we will help five hundred thousand working New Yorkers,” said De Blasio, signing the document.

5. The number of homeless has decreased

De Blasio promised to help those who most need it, and put these words to life. This year, the number of homeless people on the streets has decreased by 12% compared to 2015. To date, assistance from the state receive 952 person. 46 homeless already have permanent housing.

“The City has made quality and strategic investments to identify and serve homeless New Yorkers. The study shows that progress is possible on this issue. Today, with the help of special programs, we have reliable information about where and who is on the street. So, we will continue to find a roof over the head of the homeless,” de Blasio said.

6. Free kindergartens for 4-year-olds (pre-kindergarten)

In the United States, kindergartens, as people from the CIS countries are used to seeing them, are an obligatory element of the school education system. And preparation for them is called pre-kindergarten: it is designed for four-year-olds, and, most often, parents have to shell out a round sum for such training. De Blasio made the program free.

“This training is now available to all children, regardless of parental income. The program is good, and there are more places for it. My grandson went to just such a free kindergarten,” says Elena Makhnina.

Last year on the free program pre-kindergarten more than 65 thousands of children were registered. According to the mayor's office, these kindergartens offer almost two thousand schools.

7. Municipal identity card for immigrants (including for illegal immigrants)

Bill De Blasio has always expressed sympathy with immigrants and said that they make New York stronger. Therefore, one of his first decisions was to introduce a city identity card or ID. The document may apply for residents of New York from 14 years, regardless of immigration status.

“They won’t even sell you a pack of cigarettes without an ID, so this is a great initiative. A friend of mine has already issued such a document for himself. He says that all you need is a passport, utility bills and a couple of letters from a doctor, teacher or neighbor who would confirm your identity,” says Nazariy, an Uber driver.

Using this ID you can also visit a number of museums, theaters and parks for free or with a significant discount. By the way, the ID card also turned out to be useful for the city’s native residents - in New York it is unprofitable to have a car, and many do not have a driver’s license.

De Blasio treats the Russian-speaking community more than well: he has met with business representatives more than once, took part in Russian cultural festivals and ordered government agencies to provide information, including in Russian. “Recently a law was passed that during elections there must be Russian-speaking translators at all polling stations,” says Elena Makhnina.

At the same time, according to the Institute for the Study of New Migrants, the majority of “Russians” did not vote for De Blasio - traditionally they prefer a more conservative candidate.

“They have overwhelmingly voted Republican in mayoral and presidential elections for the last 16 years since we started doing the research,” says Sam Kliger, founder of the Institute.

8. Delay in paying fines for business

According to Elena Makhnina, the fines for business have become a little less. And the procedure for their payment has been simplified: “You do not need to run to the court, but you can still pay by e-mail. Previously, for example, the amounts were around 250 dollars, and today the same violation will cost 150 ”.

De Blasio also signed the 806-B law, which introduces a new program to defer payment of existing business debts to the city without penalty. Now it is possible to repay the fines, first of all, those issued by the Council for the Control of the Environment within 90 days. The total number of violations that are subject to amnesty reaches 700 000.

9. Increasing the number of tourists, an interactive map of the city and limiting the activities of street performers

Last year, New York broke a visitation record - the city received more than 58 million tourists. To make guests' stay even more comfortable, De Blasio signed a law that restricts the activities of street performers. All of them must be in their activity area of ​​​​15,3x3 meters. By law, violators can be detained and fined. The law applies to 53 city squares, including Times Square. The main task of the law is to free for the passage sidewalks and pedestrian zones.

“This legislation is designed to ensure that our pedestrian plazas remain vibrant and safe for the benefit of all New Yorkers. We are giving the Transportation Authority the authority to regulate these zones,” the New York mayor said.

In recent years, cases of violation of the street order by costume artists have become more frequent. Some of them pestered tourists and begged for tips. Sometimes it came to fights and harassment of women. Only since January of this year such accusations have been filed against the 16 people. The law will come into force at the height of the tourist season, which falls on the beginning of June.

Also, the city authorities have created an interactive map of the city. You just need to open the application Discover NYC Landmarks and start your virtual journey. The card allows you to visit more than 33 thousand attractions in 5 districts of the city. For tourists, the application is simply a godsend: it provides specific information about the object, with the address and the opportunity to look at what, for example, this building looked like a couple of decades ago.

And by the end of the summer, all residents and guests of New York will be able to use free city wi-fi. In the city hall they promise that the connection speed will be approximately 100 times higher than the average in cafes or restaurants.

10. New anti-terrorism program

After the attacks in Paris, the authorities of New York decided to strengthen the security of the city. According to the mayor, the anti-terrorism program involves the creation of an elite unit from 500 man, whose task is to quickly respond to terrorist threats. On the first duty, De Blasio personally addressed the law enforcement officers along with the head of the police department.

“You are now on the front lines of the fight against terrorism in our city,” Bill de Blasio said. – I hope you feel like your family and we are proud of you. You volunteered to protect us, and from today a lot will depend on you,” Voice of America quotes the mayor.

Now, at each police station will be on duty a special car with two officers from this unit.