Brad Lander Profile picture
Personal account of @NYCComptroller. For a more just, more equal, and more sustainable future. Tweets about politics, policy, and occasionally dad jokes.
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Nov 3, 2021 4 tweets 2 min read
We have a lot to do to build a city (and a country) that can tackle the extraordinary set of challenges facing us in ways that lift up ALL of our communities.

So we're getting right to work. Today I’m proud to announce our transition committee.
landerfornyc.com/transitioncomm… I am deeply grateful to this group of amazing people who are investing their time and expertises to ensure we are ready to get to work on Day 1.

The wide range of experience with city governance will help us set key priorities and build a strong team.
Jun 3, 2021 7 tweets 2 min read
Thank you @BrooklynCB6 for hosting today’s public hearing on the Gowanus rezoning & providing many ways for community members to engage in the planning process over the past decade.

I’m joining today’s hearing both on zoom & in person.

Links below to watch and/or testify. There’s a lot of distrust of rezonings, and with good reason. It so often feels like communities aren’t given a real voice, like developers get whatever they want, like the affordable housing isn’t really affordable, like City Hall doesn’t care about the neighborhoods we live in.
Jun 3, 2021 8 tweets 2 min read
A thread, by "popular demand" ...

Me: Hey Rosa, do you know the difference between entomology and etymology?

Rosa: I can’t find the words for how much your #dadjokes bug me. Me: Rosa, have you noticed I love bad puns?

Rosa: Gee no dad, I never noticed.

Me: That’s just how eye roll.
May 31, 2021 4 tweets 3 min read
Powerful to be @NationalAction Network on the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa massacre.

“Accounting for racial justice” starts with telling the truth about our history, looking squarely at our present — and then demanding racial equity in our budgets, investments & public policy. Image Thanks to @NationalAction’s Derek Perkinson and @NANYouthHuddle’s Follyvi Dossa for moderating tonight’s forum with the NYC Comptroller candidates.

@DPerkMediaLLC @chieffo_
Jun 30, 2020 12 tweets 5 min read
I committed to vote no on the City's FY21 budget if it did not cut at least $1B from the NYPD. Not moving budget lines around. But real, meaningful cuts.

The budget being voted on tonight does NOT cut $1B from the NYPD.

So I will be voting NO.

THREAD I approached this year’s budget with these principles in mind:

🔹Divest from policing to preserve the social safety net.
🔹Prioritize public health.
🔹Invest in a just recovery.
🔹Take a smart, long-term approach to our city’s economic health.
Jun 5, 2020 17 tweets 7 min read
Last night, @JumaaneWilliams and I were able to help de-escalate a tense standoff between the NYPD and a group of non-violent protestors.

But let’s be clear: it never should have escalated to begin with.

A few observations.

The march, like others around the city last night, had been proceeding peacefully for hours around downtown Bklyn. A diverse group of about 1000 young people, crying out for justice for #GeorgeFloyd, to defund the police, to insist that #BlackLivesMatter.

May 31, 2020 9 tweets 4 min read
This is the most anxious time for our city & country I can remember. Some thoughts on what we must do together & what I am committing to incl:

-Start from listening to Black ppl
-Deescalate the police
-#Repeal50A
-NYPD hiring freeze #NYCBudgetJustice

landerfornyc.com/words/2020/5/3… The starting place for this moment, in general, but especially for white people, is to listen as honestly as we can to Black people about the anger and pain they are feeling, and the system of white supremacy and systemic racism it reflects.
Apr 25, 2020 14 tweets 7 min read
We need to start planning seriously for what to do about transit & transportation in the very challenging coming months.

Our city & our region depend on it.

A few thoughts here, with props to @julehrm @jonorcutt @SamSchwartzEng @RidersAlliance @TransAlt @TransitCenter Some starting points:

⚙️Many people will understandably fear & avoid subways & buses.
⚙️Many essential workers are taking subways & buses right now.
⚙️We need a wide range of options for the medium term.
⚙️We must save mass transit for the long term.
Apr 11, 2020 16 tweets 7 min read
Spent some time reading about "what comes next."

Short story: We're not close to ready. We're not prepared for how long, how invasive, how economically catastrophic it will be. And we probably can't count on the federal gov't to get us there.

So we better get moving. 1/ Let's be clear first: We have another several weeks of physical distancing, regardless.

Even if we were ready with testing, tracing & quarantine (and we are far from ready), we'd still want several weeks of declining numbers.

My guess: another ~6 weeks of this phase. 2/
Apr 5, 2020 13 tweets 6 min read
After conversations w/teachers, families, cybersecurity folks and @NYCSchools ...

I'm even more sure this is a terrible decision.

@zoom_us is far from perfect. Changes must be made.

But forbidding its use will severely damage remote learning. Right now, that is worse. THREAD I know that @DOEChancellor & @NYCSchools leadership really want the distance learning to work. They've put huge amounts of time & heart into distributing iPads and laptops, providing support for all families, incl. kids w/special needs.

That's part of why I feel so strongly.
Mar 15, 2020 10 tweets 2 min read
OK, even while we continue to push & plan for #shutdownNYC, I'm starting to have a new concern that I want to share:

In a few days, testing will start to be more broadly available. Many people will want to rush to it.

But that will be a big mistake. Here's why. THREAD Unless you or your loved one is urgently sick & need hospitalization, you should stay home.

Most people who have COVID-19 need to stay at home, like you would with a flu, drink fluids, rest, and get better.

That’s what they'd tell you at the testing center.
Mar 12, 2020 6 tweets 2 min read
Doctors in NYC's hospitals, jails & shelters are calling on @NYCMayorsOffice to take far more aggressive action re #COVID19.

In the spirit of balancing the urgent need to slow the spread & support communities, @RitchieTorres & I are sharing their call:

medium.com/@bradlander/do… As they put it, actions taken now to encourage & facilitate "enforced solidarity" will help mitigate the impact of the virus on vulnerable populations and our health system.

Their recommendations include:
Dec 29, 2019 9 tweets 4 min read
This is an important time for liberal Jews to stand with Chasidic & Haredi Jews. While antisemitism threatens all of us, the antisemitic hate crimes of recent days have been on visibly Orthodox Jewish communities. We need to see it and name it. We have lots of disagreements among Jews of course. That’s ok, a good thing even. But our progressive principle that frontline communities - those experiencing the pain - must play a leading role in taking voice & crafting solutions, should apply here.
Feb 9, 2019 11 tweets 4 min read
A few thoughts on Amazon (in light of their carefully-timed threats yesterday), and their constant monopolistic certainty that they have the right to make their own rules & dictate them to the rest of us.

nytimes.com/2019/02/08/nyr… If Amazon wants to come to NYC, play by our rules, pay their taxes in full, be good neighbors, and play their part in our democracy, they would be most welcome. Just like anybody else.

But let’s be very clear: that’s not what they want.
Feb 2, 2019 11 tweets 4 min read
I visited the Metropolitan Detention Center (aka #SunsetParkGulag) along with @NydiaVelazquez @RepJerryNadler @RepMaloney and other local elected officials this afternoon. The lack of action by the Federal Bureau of Prisons is really a human rights violation. The electricity & phones have been off since last Sunday. Prison officials have been keeping the inmates on lockdown, so the guys I talked to have not showered in 2 days. Some cells are quite cold (although most do have heat).
Jul 27, 2018 7 tweets 3 min read
Establish a minimum pay standard for Uber/Lyft drivers is part of our broader work to raise-the-floor for workers in the gig-economy, which we launched back in 2016: bradlander.nyc/gigeconomy First, working closely with @freelancersu, we passed the “Freelance Isn’t Free Act,” making NYC the first city in the country to make sure independent workers don't get stiffed, by providing a right to full and timely payment and new tools for enforcement. bit.ly/2vieq4r