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Canal Street Dreams
Chi Ossé on Why Sh*t Not Working, His Start in Politics, Solving the Housing Crisis & More
00:53:26
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- [00:00]
Host
Yo, Canal Street Dreams. Welcome back. We have an extremely special guest, a distinguished guest this week, Councilman from Bed Stuy, Someone who is a leader in New York City. We have, he's given us a lot of hope. Please welcome Chio. Welcome to the show.
- [00:20]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Thank you so much for having me. So, so glad to be on here.
- [00:24]
Host
Yeah, we're, we're big fans, not just of what you're doing as a representative in New York City, but also the real show, like, how to Fix New York. So give me the time.
- [00:33]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Why shit not working?
- [00:34]
Host
Why should not work? Yeah, I call it the, like, how to Fix New York.
- [00:38]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
I like show. I think there's so many renditions of how to. I appreciate like, any. Anyone's take on speaking to it. It's like, why shit not working? How shit doesn't work. Shit needs to work. You know what I mean? So I love every single version of that.
- [00:52]
Host
No, and we know that you came to politics through, like the BLM movement.
- [00:57]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah.
- [00:57]
Host
But tell us from, for the listeners and everybody watching, tell us how you got an interest in this.
- [01:03]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah, I'm a born and raised New Yorker, grew up in Brooklyn, and yeah, never thought I would work in politics, but I'm someone who cares about things passionately and deeply, especially when my mind is fixated on something. I was working in nightlife after I left school here in the city and was doing a lot of party promoting, hosting a lot of parties. You know, DJ'd at parties here and there.
- [01:29]
Host
Oh, so you're actually also a former dj? Because all of our guests so far have been former DJs.
- [01:33]
Co-host
Podcast is DJs.
- [01:35]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
I was, I don't think I was like, I wasn't booked DJing at many different gigs, but I was definitely dabbling into it.
- [01:40]
Host
There was a fire with your name on it.
- [01:42]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Like, absolutely. There have been fires with my name on it out there.
- [01:46]
Host
Literally, that's the one prerequisite to be on the show is that you were a former dj. I love it. Where were you promoting?
- [01:53]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
We love this. So I left. I dropped out of college when I was 19 years old and I was in California, moved back to the city, and one of the first jobs that I worked at was when public hotels opened up right over here. And I was 19 years old and I was promoting parties there, and I wasn't even legally allowed to be there. So I won't out my boss, who hired me at the time and then just got into the entire circuit of, you know, doing some work at Paul's Baby Grand, Casablanca it's also Wong's World alumni, Paul Sevigne. Yeah, There you go. There's. Yeah, the blondes. Yeah. I was all around the New York City circuit.
- [02:35]
Host
Wow. I had no idea you were in the mix like that.
- [02:37]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
I love it. Yeah. I mean, I feel like you said, like, many of your guests have been DJs on this show. I feel like that's just like, a path that many New Yorkers.
- [02:46]
Co-host
There's a pipeline, for sure.
- [02:47]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Absolutely.
- [02:48]
Co-host
It's like, I don't know what it is. I think it's just everyone DJs, everyone's in nightlife.
- [02:53]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah.
- [02:53]
Co-host
If you're here, you, like, kind of get sucked in for a little bit and then you find your path.
- [02:58]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah, yeah.
- [02:58]
Host
For our generation, even your generation. I just feel like if you're like, left of center or right of center, just a little bit different. Nightlife is the way in New York to find your community.
- [03:08]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Absolutely. I mean, I think it taught me a lot about organizing, you know what I mean? And when the pandemic hit and when it turned the entire industry and world upside down, obviously I couldn't work in nightlife anymore. We weren't gathering irl and, you know, around that time, you know, Democrats need to embrace Partyful. No, they actually do not. Listen. Don't embrace Partyful. Partyful is funded by and founded by former Palantir. Sorry, I'm like, looking at both of these parents founded by former Palantir employees. So we all need to stop using party folks.
- [03:44]
Host
Do not partyful. Do not Spoiler room.
- [03:46]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
They are collecting our data and maybe going to send drones to your next birthday party.
- [03:51]
Host
How about Evite? Is Evite cool? Like, how should we party? How should we. Suppose we all want to.
- [03:58]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
I know. Boycott. Boycott. Party for.
- [04:01]
Host
Or just a group chat. Just a group chat.
- [04:04]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
What's up? Yeah, I like the old school group chat with, like, eight unknown numbers that you don't have.
- [04:10]
Host
Savior we off party for.
- [04:11]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
I know, I know. People are still going to use it. It's okay. But, like, you know, when the AI takeover happens, they're gonna start making arrests at baby showers.
- [04:20]
Co-host
Damn.
- [04:20]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
I don't know. Yeah, so, like, when the pandemic, you know, came about and partying ended, it was like a real moment in my life where I was able to sit with myself and reevaluate what was next. And that's when George Floyd was murdered. And so many people were taking to the streets. And I was so deeply impacted, as I'm sure many people were, by the images and videos that we were all seeing. And I left to go to a protest and started going to more every single day after that. Started speaking at some of these protests and documenting what was happening on the ground through social media. And people were listening to what I was saying and following some of the things that I was posting. And I ended up, you know, founding this activist collective that started organizing some of the protests that were taking place on the ground of New York City at the time. And, you know, we ended up honing in a lot of our, you know, activism on the powers of city government, especially our city council, especially when it came to, you know, how they negotiate our over $110 billion budget here in New York City. And when I saw that my city council member was not navigating that budget in a way that I would have, I said fuck it, and decided to run for office myself.
- [05:44]
Host
Respect.
- [05:45]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah.
- [05:45]
Host
Okay, so you decided to run for office. How did you start the campaign?
- [05:49]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah, I mean, I was 22 at the time, just passionate and had nothing to lose and was surrounded by a lot of people who were out there with me on the streets who were like, yo, let's do this. And it was a RAGTAG team of 20 something year olds, people in their early 30s who like, were doing extensive research on how to start a campaign, going to, to the New York City Campaign Finance Board, starting a campaign bank account, all of this paperwork. And I had a really amazing community of folks who wanted to see some level of change, whether it was local or not, to deal with some of the pain that we were experiencing in the world at the time. And my former campaign manager, Paul Spring, who was a musician prior to and still is a musician today, just really got it together and we probably a dj. Not a dj, but I think he could great taste in music. He's on tour with Jean Baptiste right now, but really was able to organize a campaign and it was a learning experience. None of us have worked at the time in politics before, but it was a lot of graphic designers and people who worked in fashion and music. No one who worked in politics. And we brought all of that to a local city council race.
- [07:10]
Host
I love that you took club promoting and applied it to city politics. This is inspiring because I work with a lot of people in nightlife, in restaurants, where I'm just like, man, these skills could be applied across the board. But to see somebody like you do this successfully is incredible. I don't think everybody can do it, but like, it is a very inspiring. I think you're inspiring a lot of.
- [07:32]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
People, thank you so much. I mean, I always say. And I'll say this to camera, like, if you're a party promoter and you can get people to come to the club in February, you can get people to the polls in the summer. You know what I mean? So it's the same organizing tactic in a very different way. But, you know, I think it definitely informed some of my style of activism and how I navigate as a politician.
- [07:57]
Host
Yeah. And I also think what's cool is you participated in New York before you came to represent it, because there are so many people, I think, that run for office in New York, want to represent it. And it's like, I never seen you outside, bro. Like, never seen you outside, or.
- [08:10]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Who love the city. You know what I mean? And understand the city. There's so many people who get involved in politics or even mainly vote in elections who, like, hate everything about New York City. Right. Whether it's the noise or the vibrancy or the young people doing dumb shit. Right. But that's everything that makes New York New York, you know?
- [08:29]
Host
Yeah. You gotta love it.
- [08:30]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Absolutely.
- [08:32]
Host
We should talk about some of your policies. You know, like, I think the Fair act was. Was a big one.
- [08:38]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah.
- [08:38]
Host
So talk to us about that. Talk to us about some of the, I guess, your signature policies.
- [08:43]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah, absolutely. So when I first got elected, I was still living at home, you know, in my. The home that I grew up in. Rent is so expensive in the city, and one of the obstacles that a lot of prospective tenants face here in New York is being forced to pay a broker fee, sometimes to a broker that the tenant never hired. Right. So this broker is working for the landlord. They're charging you 15 to 30% of your annual rent on top of, you know, first months and last runs, last months. And sometimes they're not even doing a great job, Right. Like, there were so many listings that I went to, you know, when I found apartments online, and the broker either wasn't there, was, like, vaping outside, you know, was late to the. To the listing. And this is not like a, you know, isolated experience that New Yorkers have.
- [09:30]
Host
I experienced the same.
- [09:31]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
You know what I mean? Yeah. And then ask you to, like, pay $3,000, you know, for their services. And I think that's, you know, I found that to be bullshit. I was like, how is this happening? I am also in a position of power, so let me make this not happen anymore. So for two years, I built a campaign that would ban forced broker fees. So I introduced the Fair act, which stands for fairness in Apartment Apartment Rental Expenses act, which would require that whoever hires a broker in the city of New York would pay the broker fee. So if a landlord hired that broker, then they would pay it, which happens nine times out of 10. And if a tenant wants to hire a broker, then they'll pay the fee themselves.
- [10:09]
Host
Yeah. No. I do think there needs to be significantly more regulation of real estate brokers. Even more than, like, what you've done is already incredible. But we have never talked about this on the pod. But one of the biggest reasons we faced extreme financial hardship, despite my having, like, a sitcom that went six seasons and like, multiple shows and made money, I put pretty much all of my life savings into a home that we bought in Los Angeles. And a broker representing the sale of the home.
- [10:43]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah.
- [10:44]
Host
Told us when I. When I listed it for sale, we wanted to come back to New York. Told us, oh, you can't. You can't list it like this. You need to repaint. You need to do this. You need to do some renov. I said, oh, okay. Brought in a contractor that worked for him and his family.
- [10:59]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Right.
- [11:00]
Host
And I trusted him because it was a referral from a friend.
- [11:02]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Sure.
- [11:04]
Host
The first day on the job, he sends me photos. Your whole house is flooded. I said, what? He said, the water line popped behind the fridge and the whole house is flooded. Like, I've been in this house for three years. Nothing ever happened. What is going on? He's like, you have to redo all your floors. You have to do all the walls. And we ended up spending mid six figures.
- [11:24]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
That's ridiculous.
- [11:25]
Host
To renovate this place finally. Then listed it on the market, like, the week before the fire. Then the fires happened. We had to leave. The rain came after the fires. All of a sudden, the whole house was flooded again after spending mid six figures. And I was like, what's going on? We called an emergency remediation service. They came and they found out that all of the drains were installed in reverse on the home.
- [11:52]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
All by the contractor.
- [11:53]
Host
By the contractor. All of it was shoddy work. And then when we pulled all the permits and got underneath, we found out that this contractor that the broker brought and vouched for and negotiated with for us was not even licensed to do the work that he did. Bailed, left town. We can't even get a hold of them.
- [12:12]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah.
- [12:13]
Host
And now we are told, oh, my God.
- [12:15]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Left town.
- [12:15]
Co-host
And then we had to pay for a full renovation. Basically what we paid for him to do, we had to now pay again. Basically, we've bought this house like three times. Yeah.
- [12:27]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Brokers. Not all of them are bad.
- [12:31]
Host
Yeah.
- [12:31]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
But there's a large chunk that. A lot of them. That was a whole scheme, you know.
- [12:38]
Host
I mean, it was some used to sell bottles of gold bar, you know.
- [12:42]
Co-host
Well, there definitely is a bottle girl to real estate pipeline, but we won't talk about that.
- [12:46]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
This man or former DJs as well.
- [12:48]
Co-host
You know, I mean, real estate is really there when you don't, when you, when things get tough, real estate is there. You take that exam and then you start showing up.
- [12:57]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
They be giving them licenses out to anybody.
- [13:00]
Host
Anybody. And it's really important to like, not just trust because I think what happens, we all have like anxiety and nervousness and then hopes and dreams around real estate.
- [13:10]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah.
- [13:11]
Host
So it's like, I trust you. Oh, my God. Yeah.
- [13:12]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah.
- [13:13]
Host
This was a near $3 million loss. So, yeah.
- [13:17]
Co-host
We're just giving these.
- [13:17]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Are you. You can't find him?
- [13:19]
Host
We are. We, we've. We've notified the broker that we will be suing.
- [13:24]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Okay.
- [13:24]
Host
I'm waiting to like sell the home and get it all done and then. And then I'm going to take full legal action.
- [13:30]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah.
- [13:31]
Host
I've already found.
- [13:32]
Co-host
We're coming for you.
- [13:33]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah, good. We're coming.
- [13:34]
Host
Yeah.
- [13:35]
Co-host
We're coming for you because you can't.
- [13:37]
Host
Do this to people.
- [13:38]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
People, you can't take their house.
- [13:40]
Co-host
That's what I'm saying. I'm coming for you in the house of your. Your wife's dad bought you, babe.
- [13:44]
Host
Yeah.
- [13:45]
Co-host
That down payment didn't come from you either, Right?
- [13:47]
Host
Yeah. So we definitely are going to take legal action.
- [13:50]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Sure.
- [13:51]
Host
I'm not gonna handle it in the street.
- [13:53]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah. Yeah.
- [13:55]
Co-host
We've graduated from that.
- [13:56]
Host
No more huge hardship.
- [13:57]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Sorry.
- [13:58]
Co-host
But yeah, real estate. Yeah.
- [14:00]
Host
So when, when I saw that you are doing things to, you know, tighten the nuts and bolts around like the industry of real estate brokers. It's important.
- [14:10]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah.
- [14:11]
Host
And I think there's even more to go.
- [14:12]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Absolutely. There's always, you know, housing in New York City and housing in this country in general. It feels like the wild, wild west. Right. Both the housing crisis, tenant protections, real estate brokers. I always say that the answer to solutions for housing is always yes. And. And there is a lot more work to do. Sometimes it does feel. Not sometimes it feels. But in New York City, a lot of our elected officials are sometimes influenced by the powers of real estate. So when you think of some of these solutions as being common sense, you understand that there are people who sit in my seat who are standing in the way of that progress. And that's something that I've been very passionate about trying to change within city government.
- [15:00]
Host
Yeah. Like in the industries of medicine, law, financial accounting, there's a lot of, like, you know, established malpractice law. And I think that you're starting to develop. Develop this around real estate because there needs to be, like, some foundational malpractice, like.
- [15:18]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Absolutely.
- [15:19]
Host
Standards in this industry.
- [15:21]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah.
- [15:21]
Host
And in terms of development of the city and things like that, like, this is a more esoteric philosophical question, but are you more of like a Robert Moses fan or a Jane Jacobs or like. Or like, what is your kind of, like, philosophy behind urban development?
- [15:36]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah, I think Robert Moses is an evil or was an evil person.
- [15:41]
Host
Agreed.
- [15:43]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
And, you know, was the, you know, father of redlining in New York City and, you know, the BQE sidelining black and Latino neighborhoods outside of, you know, whatever.
- [15:54]
Host
He could be, you know, he could actually get credit for creating global warming between, like, the Garden City and the automobile.
- [16:01]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Right.
- [16:02]
Host
Like kind of tag global warming.
- [16:05]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
We could accredit it to. To Robert Moses for sure.
- [16:08]
Host
Yeah. Pre Gronk, it's on Robert Moses.
- [16:13]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Literally. He's worse than the data farms or the data centers. Yeah. I think, you know, he did want to build parks and public infrastructure within the city of New York, which, you know, obviously I think most of us are very supportive of. You know, I want to see an increase in investment within our city's resources for the public. In addition to that, like, something I'm extremely passionate about in terms of development is making sure that there's enough housing for the increasingly growing population in the city. Right. You know, over the past 20 years, 40 years, we've seen a skyrocketing in jobs within the the city. Right. Across various different sectors, most especially within business and tech, but in every different type of sector of business. And at the same time, we haven't seen that rapid of an increase in housing within the city of New York, whether we like it or not. Right. I think people see developments going up and it feels like so much development is happening, but there isn't really enough housing to meet the need of people who are coming to the city of New York. So currently the. The vacancy rate of housing within New York city is at 1.6%, which is at a historical low. So we have people moving into the city from all over the country, and they're competing for the same homes as people who have been here already. Right. So, you know, say you're A Bed Stuy resident, you know, a neighborhood that I represent, and you've been MTA worker and have lived in the neighborhood for your entire life, and your landlord's charging you $1,800 a month, and then this person who moves here from somewhere else is working in tech and making $200,000 a year or more, and they want to live in your apartment. The landlord sees their salary compared to yours, can charge the rent higher and give that space to that new person rather than the person that's been there long term. So with that philosophy, we need to increase our housing stock. Of course, affordable housing needs to be at the forefront of that conversation and something that I've been proud to do during my tenure in the City Council. But there's a lot of other council members who are not very keen on building housing. You know, and I always say that change is the most constant thing here in New York City. In order for us to keep people in the city, we need to make room for as many people as possible.
- [18:35]
Host
Yeah. And what is the, like, what type of housing would you like to see erected in Bed Stuy? Yeah, I mean, Bed Stuy specifically.
- [18:43]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Absolutely. So I just greenlit 4,000 new homes within Bed Stuy. And it's, it's various different types of housing. There's low income housing, so rents, you know, that are as low as, you know, $500 a month for folks who are formerly homeless. There are rents close to, you know, the subway station that are like $815 a month for a one bedroom, you know, $1,115 a month for two bedrooms. This is truly affordable, you know, housing. And even some people are mad at that. Right, because they don't want buildings going up or increase in density. But that's how we, you know, prevent displacement. At the same time, you know, folks who are making that $200,000 plus salaries, they're moving to bed site anyways. And there also needs to be some availability in housing for them so they're not competing for the same homes as people who have been there long term. So with that question, you know, my answer is always yes. And again, like in, I want to prioritize affordable housing. I've, you know, signed off and greenlit on affordable home ownership opportunities within my, my district as well. But also housing for those who are moving here. And we can't stop them from moving here who are making, you know, some of these larger salaries as well.
- [19:58]
Host
Yeah. And then with these housing projects, they're not projects, but it's housing development projects. Right. Who is, Are they owned by developers? Are they owned by the city? Mainly.
- [20:11]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
So, I mean it's mainly developers and it depends on the plot of lands. Right. In my, because I'm a member of the city council, I mainly have control over city owned land. Right. So whenever it's built on city owned land, it'll either be a nonprofit developer or a community developer or sometimes the city will definitely have a role within the building of those projects. But there's also, as of right, housing within New York City or as of right, real estate. Right. It is America. If someone owns a piece of land and they want to build on that piece of land, you know, it's harder for me to impact the type of housing they want to build there. You know, of course, if they want it to go higher than where, what it's zones for, we're really getting into the, the nitty gritty of all of this. But if they want to build higher than what that area is zoned for, they have to come to my office for approval. And that's where we're able to negotiate more affordable housing on top of some of their more market rate housing that they want to build.
- [21:08]
Host
No, that isn't. That has always been an interesting topic though, if you live in New York City long enough, start to see this tense debate around height limits for buildings. And it's a very interesting debate because I came from Orlando, Florida.
- [21:24]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah.
- [21:24]
Host
And I was like, height, why are people mad about height limits? And I lived in the Lower east side at the time when I believe it was Bloomberg wanted to raise the height limits on buildings. And you know, people were pissed. People were pissed. And the East Village and West Village, you know, they have a strong coalition. They were able to prevent the limits from being raised in their areas for the most part. But the Lower east side, I think didn't have as strong of a coalition, didn't have strong leadership. And also I, I don't know if they had the like wealthy developers there yet to like fight and maintain their power. So the height limits went up in the Lower east side and that's when that building, the Ludlow came in.
- [22:07]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah.
- [22:08]
Host
And that's when like that Club Libation came in. And it did fundamentally change the neighborhood.
- [22:14]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Sure.
- [22:15]
Host
And to this day I don't know anyone that lives in that building. The Ludlow.
- [22:19]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah.
- [22:20]
Host
And a lot of my friends got displaced now. So I just want to see from your perspective because like me and my friends are all fans of yours and we all support. How are how is Bed Stuy going to do this differently so that that same thing doesn't happen? Because, like, I got a lot of homies that live like on Monroe street and out there.
- [22:39]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Of course.
- [22:39]
Host
And so I'm just curious how you're going to navigate that.
- [22:42]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
I mean, well, it's not just affordable housing. Right. And you know, during my past four years as being a city council member, I've been unlucky to have a mayor who maybe doesn't get it when it comes to this. Right. Like, I am one of 51 members within the council. He's maybe one of the most powerful elected officials in the city, if not.
- [23:00]
Host
The Zero Bond villain.
- [23:01]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Exactly.
- [23:02]
Host
Eric Adams.
- [23:03]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
And Eric Adams. And I'm sure everyone knows this, but just was a sellout. Right. Was indebted to the real estate industry. Rents raised by 12.6% under his first term and only term as mayor. And you know, that also impacts our housing crisis. And you know, I mean, just his.
- [23:22]
Host
Haphazard legalization of marijuana with wishy washy policies back and forth, that has affected commercial real estate in a terrible way.
- [23:30]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah. And, you know, I'm sure Bloomberg wasn't much better around that issue either. You know what I mean? That's why it was one of the, you know, earlier supporters of Zoron when, you know, he was campaigning and now won his primary and hopefully will win this coming November. And you know, of course we can build affordable housing and build housing in general, but we also need a mayor who gets it right and supports a rent freeze. You know, the Rent Guidelines Board, which is a board that's appointed by whoever the mayor is, you know, can appoint folks who will freeze the rent for thousands of. Tens of thousands of New Yorkers, which is essential to keeping people in their homes. You know, Zoran's committed to building affordable homes as well across the city. And I'm looking forward to actually having a partner in the mayor's office who will actually take these issues seriously because I don't think we. And I'm really hopeful that he'll win, that we'll have a mayor like him or have ever had a mayor like him in a very long time.
- [24:33]
Host
I absolutely agree that supply is the issue with housing in the city. Yeah, I think most good people can agree to that. The issue of supply is just complex and interesting to me, and I want to continue talking to you about it, is that there's also a lot of apartments that are vacant in this city that landlords sit on.
- [24:51]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Sure.
- [24:51]
Host
Are rent controlled.
- [24:52]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Sure.
- [24:53]
Host
And so like what mechanism do you think there is that the city has or does the city just not even have power to force landlords hoarding rent control apartments to actually rent them?
- [25:03]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Sorry. So this is a very. And this is something that's always in my comment section. You know, again, the vacancy rate and.
- [25:09]
Host
It'S not your fault. I want to say that.
- [25:10]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah, of course. And the vacancy rate is at 1.6%. So it is still pretty low compared to where the housing crisis is. The current number of vacant affordable homes or rent stabilized homes in the city, I think it's about 30,000 to 50,000. I think the actual number is a bit unclear. And what some of those landlords are saying is that those homes are in disarray and they don't have enough money to fix up those homes. I'm sure some of those landlords are telling the truth. I also believe that some of them are doing something called warehousing, which is when some of those units are vacant. I co sponsored a bill within the city council that would increase the department of Investigation's oversight into some of these warehouse units. That bill has been blocked by Mayor Adams during his tenure. The council passed it two years ago. He's not enforcing his agencies to take this issue seriously. So again, really optimistic about the next mayor and enforcing a law such as this one so that we can get to the bottom of the truth behind these vacant apartments.
- [26:25]
Host
Yeah, we need that. Because that's the other thing is you live in the city long enough, you have a friend whose job is to like work for a terrible landlord, eviction people or work for a terrible landlord, like reporting false vacancy. Like you just see that and I feel like building is the number one, you know, that will help a lot.
- [26:45]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah.
- [26:45]
Host
I think also just figuring out a way to twist these landlords arms and open up these apartments.
- [26:52]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Again, the yes and approach, it's building more housing and increasing supply. It's getting to the bottom of some of these vacant units and making sure that they're available in the market. It's rent freezing. It's universal rent stabilization. Good cause eviction. You know, right to. Right to council. So when folks are facing eviction, the city can subsidize legal attorneys for them. It's a yes and approach when it comes to housing. I think when as a politician, sometimes when I speak about one, people think I'm ignoring the others. But it's such a complex issue that you have to fight for all of these issues and well, I like the.
- [27:26]
Host
Way you're already thinking about it is to. Even your mind is going to legal aid because like to enforce and to actually have a productive system, there needs to also be access to free legal aid. Because many times when you're mistreated or you know, you're the victim of malpractice, like, who do you turn to? Totally for us right now, it's almost like, you know, we don't qualify for legal aid. So I got to set aside the money to actually go after this broker.
- [27:50]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah.
- [27:51]
Host
And that's why we haven't yet, you know, and the access to legal services for people is really, really important. And they go hand in hand.
- [27:59]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah, absolutely.
- [28:01]
Host
Yeah. And I also think one thing that I've seen work really well in the Citi is the lottery system. Sure, right.
- [28:09]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Like I think.
- [28:11]
Host
Okay, yeah, tell me, tell me.
- [28:12]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah, I think because supply isn't as high as it should be. I think it's like tens of thousands of people applying for, you know, a 200 unit apartment. Right. So I think it's not really working as well as it should be because of how little affordable housing or housing in general we have in the city. And some people who do qualify for. Sometimes a lottery will qualify for an apartment that's like mad expensive, you know what I mean? So it goes back to the increasing supply issue that would aid in the lottery. And in many cases, sometimes the lottery wouldn't have to exist if there is enough housing, you know what I mean? Folks would be able to just apply to different apartments that are affordable and meet their salary and their credit and whatnot. And we'll be able to get those apartments. It shouldn't have to be a rat chase to find a home.
- [29:06]
Host
I agree. I agree. I will tell you why I said I think the lottery system is one of the few things I've seen work is because I experienced like the Ludlow going up the Lower east side and I still don't know anyone in there. So I was like, I don't know if that was the most productive. I've also seen multiple situations where there's a building with empty rent control apartments, empty rent stabilized apartments. So I've seen like how really big wealthy developers get around the laws. But the lottery system, while it does not do. There's not enough units like you're saying, it's. It's making barely a dent in the problem. It is one of the few systems that I have seen work because I've lived in multiple lottery buildings and, and it created community in that Jane Jacobs way where Robert Moses approach was like the Garden City, Garden State. I'm separating. All right. Wealthy people are here. I'm building a white fence. Here's your park. Everything was out round boundaries and borders and like a strata in many ways, Jane Jacobs was like, free for all. The way a city works best is eyes on the street. All different social strata of people are living together and people are their own police and they're watching out for each other. And there's an organic community that's built. I like. Sorry. So sorry.
- [30:29]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
No, you're so good. I think there's, there's certainly success stories when it's come to the lottery process. I think the fact that it even has to exist is a problematic failure.
- [30:40]
Host
Of the other things.
- [30:41]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
It's exactly. It's a failure of like the fact that there just isn't enough affordable housing for the people. Right. So to live in the wealthiest, you know, city and the wealthiest country in the history of the world and have people have to be in a lottery system to find an affordable home is, you know, sometimes not the, the best situation.
- [31:03]
Host
It is crazy that it's.
- [31:04]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Many people have seen work, but it's, it's definitely saved many people's lives and have, you know, gotten them a place where they're. They're not paying, you know, majority of their, their income, you know, on their rent.
- [31:16]
Host
Yeah. Because I see the lottery system as a microcosm of like, what could work in this country. But I agree with you, there's just too few lottery units. But like, if every single building had to reserve a certain number of units for lottery and people who were not at the same economic class are forced to live together in the same building. You actually create community. And I actually think it solves a lot of political issues because I live 192 South Oxford. There was a lot of lottery units on the whole row. Right now we live in a lottery building. And just seeing how everybody from different walks of life have to interact with each other creates literal community.
- [31:57]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah.
- [31:57]
Host
And there's like a special. There's a couple special needs children whose families could not afford housing that got into our building. And they're always just like, by the grace of God, saved us. Yeah.
- [32:10]
Co-host
Changed their lives. They're able to get access for healthcare. They wouldn't have been able to otherwise. It's really crazy to watch it happen in real time.
- [32:18]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah.
- [32:19]
Host
But I don't know. I'm just a lot of fan. My bad.
- [32:21]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Of course. No, no, you're so good. But like. Yeah, I think there's, there's some great success stories, and I obviously have friends who have. Have really succeeded from the housing lottery. For sure.
- [32:31]
Host
Yeah. Because sometimes it's like when you build, this is for these people, and this is for those people, it creates a little bit more even. Not, I wouldn't call it segregation, but just division.
- [32:40]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Totally.
- [32:41]
Host
And I like, when it's. You imagine if there's like a building on Central Park west, like, yo, 100 of these residents got to be lottery, like.
- [32:47]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah.
- [32:48]
Host
I'd watch that reality show.
- [32:49]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Sure, sure.
- [32:52]
Co-host
The whole environment.
- [32:53]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah, yeah.
- [32:54]
Host
Because I think rich people get so dis. Like, once you get rich, you just want to. They, like, people want to be like, oh, I just want to be safe. I want to get away.
- [33:02]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Sure. Out of state, out of mind.
- [33:03]
Host
Echo chamber. And I think it's that Robert Moses type of development that has actually hurt the, like, American mind.
- [33:10]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Sure, Absolutely.
- [33:11]
Host
That's all.
- [33:11]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah, totally.
- [33:13]
Host
My bad.
- [33:14]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
No, you're so good.
- [33:16]
Host
What other, like, is there any other outside will get off of, you know, apartments and landlords like that? Because you're such a, like, you know, just wealth of information and passion? What other things are you passionate about in this?
- [33:28]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
I mean, I think the number one thing that I'm concerned about right now, and I can be focused on various different issues within the city, affordability is the number one priority, but it's how we push back against rising fascism right now in our country. And I know that sounds maybe overstated or maybe some people don't feel the seriousness of that.
- [33:52]
Host
Oh, it's just right.
- [33:53]
Co-host
Yeah.
- [33:53]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
But the federal government's really fucking scary right now, and I don't believe we have a Democratic Party pushing back hard enough. Right. I appreciate that, you know, Democrats are shutting down the government right now and putting that blame on Republicans, but we really need to be taking a stronger approach in how we communicate to the American people that Democrats are the better alternative to these neo Nazis who are in government. And, you know, especially with, you know, Mamdani, you know, becoming the next mayor, God willingly, there's going to be a lot of pressure coming from Washington, D.C. right. Trump has a target on New York City. And it is in our best interests here in city government and state government and our colleagues in D.C. to fortify new York City, making it as affordable as possible, making sure that there is health care for some of our most vulnerable New Yorkers, making sure that we are increasing our job market within the city and fighting for it to be a bastion of what Democratic leadership can look like. And in order for Us to do that, we need to elect better Democrats, make sure that we are not akin to some of those Republicans by taking the same money from these large corporations that are influencing our politics. So that's where a lot of my, I guess, larger priorities lie in terms of how I want to push back against some of the larger issues that our country is seeing, which will trickle down and impact our city.
- [35:28]
Host
No, it's great to see the allyship you have with Zoran and, like, how there are New York politicians getting behind him because it is. There is this huge federal mandate against Zo Ron, his policies. And New York, we're like public enemy number one to the federal government right now.
- [35:46]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Totally. And it's not just Republicans. Right. Like, there are establishment Democrats who are probably funded again by these same lobbyists and super PACs who are not supporting our Democratic nominee. It was blue no matter who in 2016. It was blue no matter who in 2020. Blue no matter who in 2024. And now no more of that in 2025.
- [36:10]
Host
Yeah. And it's been shocking to see which Democrats. And I'm not going to name names because I don't want to get you in any trouble, but it's like to see some of the Democrats who have kind of like, you know, always. Always kind of like wanted our votes and been like, I'm. I'm on the progressive side. To see them not support Zoran has been shocking.
- [36:31]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Sure. Yeah. I think a lot of people are full of. And I think it's not shocking for me, maybe because I work. I work in it. But, yeah, I think it's been upsetting to see, especially given how inspiring of a candidate and campaign he ran and is continuing to run.
- [36:51]
Host
Yeah. I feel like we're like in a Batman storyline, you know, we're like, there's a new guy coming in and he's gonna clean it up. And like, everyone's just against it.
- [36:59]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah.
- [36:59]
Host
That, to me, is the biggest sign that Zoran is the great. Sure Hope as well as yourself. Because people don't want you guys to continue.
- [37:09]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah. And not. Not people. Right. It's like, well, politicians. Politicians and like these, like. Yeah, these people who we don't want to. We don't fuck with anyways. You know what I mean?
- [37:19]
Host
Yeah.
- [37:19]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
It's like the right. The right enemies to have.
- [37:21]
Host
You know, that is a really good way to say it. It's. There are politicians that have the right enemies, because if those guys are against you, it's like, oh, then they're probably doing something yeah, actually for us.
- [37:32]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Exactly. The landlords don't like him. Like, why not?
- [37:35]
Co-host
It's a good time. Things might change positively.
- [37:38]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Exactly. Yeah. Wall street doesn't like him.
- [37:41]
Host
Like, I see the New York Post every two months running an article, landlords, small landlords losing value in rent control buildings. Can't even sell them. I'm like, dude, I know you put that building on the market, it's selling the next day.
- [37:56]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Totally, totally. I think if you have a roof over your head. Let's, let's, let's, let's chill for a little bit. You know what I mean? Totally. And you own that roof too. I don't know.
- [38:07]
Host
Yeah. Where are you eating at in the city? Any restaurants you into these days?
- [38:12]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
And maybe you can help with this because I have found that post 2020 there's been an increase in slop in New York in terms of food. And I blame it on. We saw influx of a lot of new New Yorkers. And I think TikTok food really AI food. I consider it AI food that like.
- [38:34]
Host
Has expensive AI stuff infiltrate.
- [38:36]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Exactly. Infiltra a lot of our food scene. I feel like there's like seven spots that I eat at in the city that I really love.
- [38:43]
Host
What are the seven?
- [38:44]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
It's definitely the Fly and Bed Stuy. I love Marisco sales submarino. The Jackson Heights location. Not the Green Point location. No, shade to the Green Point location. Or shade. It's. It's more expensive there. Like it's not as good, not as spicy.
- [39:02]
Host
You get a hint of dry cleaning chemicals.
- [39:06]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
The soil. Great. Noodle town is pretty. Yeah, that's a good one. Where else do I go to? I think, I mean, you both probably aware of this. I think New York's hood Chinese is like the best in the country. And there's this spot in Crown Heights called Golden Chopstick on Franklin Avenue. And it's really fucking fire.
- [39:30]
Co-host
I like that.
- [39:30]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
And my partner and I kind of. We're doing a hood Chinese ranking and trying to like, you know, test some of the classics at some of these. Like I needed to be the dirtiest. Like hole in the wall, like, like dim, like pictures of the food. Like the, the dirtier the better.
- [39:49]
Host
And I want to give it the, I want to give the, the trophy to New York for hood Chinese. But I will tell you, I actually think DC got it.
- [39:57]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Some people say that. Yeah. Really?
- [39:59]
Co-host
I'm gonna say I'm gonna be with you on D.C. because I did have yums and they have this thing called mumbo sauce.
- [40:04]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Mumbo sauce.
- [40:05]
Co-host
And it's just.
- [40:06]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
I've never had it, so I need to try it.
- [40:07]
Co-host
Crazy.
- [40:08]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Do they have the yellow rice situation that.
- [40:11]
Host
They do have yellow rice, but which. Which you get at the, like, Latino chino spots. That's really fire. That. Like, that New York has that D.C. doesn't have. And then, like, the Latino chino spots will have, like, frozen Blue Hawaiians and, like, I love that. But these. Yummy. Is. Is. It's like, the perfect mix of, like, D.C. black, like, soul food mixed with Chinese food is next level. But if my favorite hood Chinese spot in New York City is Hua Long on Fulton Street.
- [40:43]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Okay.
- [40:44]
Host
In Fort Green.
- [40:45]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Okay. That was it. Hua Long. I always hear Hardee's is bad.
- [40:51]
Host
Hardee's is good. But I just posted up at Hua Long, South Oxford.
- [40:54]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Really?
- [40:55]
Host
That was my joy.
- [40:56]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Do we not fuck with Kumkow anymore? Kumco's good.
- [40:58]
Host
It's, like, bigger.
- [40:59]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah, yeah. Right, right, right.
- [41:00]
Host
Their food is not as fire as hualong.
- [41:02]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Okay. Okay. I'm gonna check that spot. I'm. I'm make sure that we, like, exchange.
- [41:06]
Host
Yeah. I'm gonna give you that spot. You will love it. They got a bench outside.
- [41:09]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Oh, wow.
- [41:10]
Host
My barbershop next side.
- [41:12]
Co-host
No, that's a little too fancy. I like a bench outside.
- [41:15]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
I like when they got the. The public school desks. You ever seen that?
- [41:19]
Co-host
Yeah, yeah.
- [41:22]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
You know.
- [41:25]
Host
It'S like you eat free lunch, right?
- [41:27]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah, that's inside the restaurant, too. It's like you pulled that. Like, someone there saw a school leave some broken chairs out.
- [41:38]
Host
Yeah.
- [41:38]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
It was like, you know what? Someone working there in a cum cow.
- [41:44]
Co-host
Someone working there had their kid in there after school, and they were like, you're gonna do your homework right here. Like, we're working. You're gonna. No, no, no.
- [41:51]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
The kids working, too.
- [41:52]
Co-host
Yeah, truly. Truly backing it up and doing that.
- [41:56]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
I like Bernie's in Greenpoint.
- [41:58]
Host
Okay. Okay.
- [41:59]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Shout out to Frankel. Yeah, Yeah, I like Frankel's too.
- [42:02]
Host
Yep.
- [42:03]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
I. I like Thai diner. You know, I like Thai.
- [42:06]
Host
She loves Thai diner.
- [42:07]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
I find it. I really like Thai food. I think LA has better Thai food than New York City. I think Brooklyn, especially, where I am, like, really suffers from, like, really good Thai food, or it's hard to find good Thai food. I don't want, like, broccoli and carrots.
- [42:22]
Host
Yeah, no, there's not much real Thai food in the city. Queens get the money when it comes to time.
- [42:27]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Right, right, right, right, right.
- [42:28]
Host
I think you got to go to Queens.
- [42:29]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah.
- [42:30]
Host
Thai Diner's cool. It's cool because it's late. It's very few. I. I'm also like, bring back the 3:00am oh, totally.
- [42:36]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
I just. Yeah, I just had like this, you know. What was that? Do you remember? Do you remember?
- [42:41]
Host
Oh, thinking, I forgo. I gotta give you props to Narkin.
- [42:44]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Oh, yeah.
- [42:46]
Host
You. You did a lot of the Narcan, like, advocacy, which is important.
- [42:50]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah.
- [42:51]
Co-host
I mean, yeah. They. I always see when we've been doing the pop up here at the flower shop and the guy comes in and I always. I'm like at the front and he's like, I need to go refill in the bathroom.
- [43:00]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
That's awesome.
- [43:00]
Co-host
And that was the first. I mean, I haven't been outside in New York City in a while. Like, I had a kid in L. A. And then came back and I was like, oh, shit, we're doing this now.
- [43:08]
Host
Yeah.
- [43:08]
Co-host
And that's incredible. Much respect.
- [43:10]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
That requires old bars to, you know, which is huge. Narcan. Get it for free from the city. Do Narcan trainings. You know, it's life saving legislation.
- [43:19]
Host
And it is. It is because none of us do party favors here.
- [43:22]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah.
- [43:22]
Host
But the thing is, people in every city are going to do party supplies. And unfortunately, right now the party supplies are dirty.
- [43:30]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah.
- [43:30]
Host
The very dirty party supplies. And like, I do think it shows a lot of empathy on your part to be like, look, people are going to do this and we need to protect them.
- [43:38]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah, absolutely.
- [43:39]
Host
Respect. That was one of my favorite parties.
- [43:41]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
That was one of my first bills, if not the first bill that I passed. So very proud of that. And especially coming from nightlife and, you know, knowing of some of those situations, it was definitely close to. To home.
- [43:51]
Host
Yeah. Because I've seen people in response to like a Narcan bill, they deserve. I'm like, deserve what, man?
- [43:58]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
And these are the same people that are like, allegedly going to church on Sunday in our pro life.
- [44:03]
Host
Yeah.
- [44:03]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
And it's just so. They're like, let them die. It's like, yeah.
- [44:07]
Host
How is your performative virtue signaling let somebody die?
- [44:11]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
That's the wildest virtue I know.
- [44:15]
Host
Craziness.
- [44:17]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
But, yeah, that's my restaurant. That's my working. That's my consistent restaurant cycle. You know what I mean? Because, like, I always say, don't try something new on Thanksgiving. Like, I hate going to a restaurant and it's a, you know, a special night out and like, I'm trying something new and it's expensive and then it's mid city. You know what I Mean, so if you have more spots, what do you recommend to. You know, going to.
- [44:43]
Host
I really. There's. There's a lot of spot. It depends on cuisine for me, but noodle town is up there for me.
- [44:51]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Where else do you prefer another Chinese restaurant? The noodle town in Chinatown.
- [44:58]
Host
Okay. New York City, Chinatown. This is perhaps an unpopular opinion, but it's just not as good as it used to be.
- [45:05]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah.
- [45:05]
Host
I think Maxi's wontons has, like, been a very welcome addition. Everybody. Really.
- [45:11]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
It's not as good as it used to be at all.
- [45:13]
Host
It's not.
- [45:14]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
This was a spot that we. I went to growing up called Shinki. Yeah.
- [45:19]
Host
Incredible.
- [45:20]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
So good.
- [45:21]
Host
Like, everyone's gassing Maxis, and I'm like, it's good.
- [45:24]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah.
- [45:24]
Host
And it's better than what's here, but, like, I've had much better. So everyone needs to chill.
- [45:29]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah.
- [45:29]
Host
I do like Golden Unicorn still.
- [45:31]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Okay.
- [45:32]
Host
I go there. But also, I used to strongly prefer Jingfong.
- [45:35]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Okay.
- [45:36]
Host
And Jinfeng the escalator. Dim some clothes.
- [45:38]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
No. Did you go to the recent one?
- [45:40]
Host
It's not as. So Chinatown right now is down on its luck. Like, I really am. I get bummed out about the quality of offerings in Chinatown.
- [45:52]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Right.
- [45:52]
Host
It's definitely become gentrified. A lot of kids have left the neighborhood. I am excited, though, because I do think in the next five to 10 years, there will be this wave of, like, you know how, like, with Italian immigrants, right. They left Little Italy. Little Italy has been shambles for, like, 20, 30 years. Not that many great restaurants, but you see them open. Distinguished ones like Il Cantonori or AI Sodi. And, like, I think that is what's gonna start to happen with Chinese food.
- [46:23]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
I want that. That's, like. I don't like not everything. First of all, I hate small plates, and I hate tapas. I'm sorry.
- [46:32]
Co-host
I like it.
- [46:34]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Abolish the wine bar. That's my next bill. There's some good. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
- [46:40]
Host
No, charge me.
- [46:41]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Don't charge me. $18 for a cold cucumber salad. I'm happy about that.
- [46:47]
Host
My feeling is, too, if I'm buying a protein, like a steak, a. A pork chop, a piece of chicken. That thing needs to come with a carb or a vegetable or both.
- [46:57]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah.
- [46:57]
Host
It can't just be like, steak in Zhu.
- [47:00]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Right, right, right, right.
- [47:01]
Host
$37, my brother.
- [47:03]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah.
- [47:04]
Host
Where's my potato?
- [47:05]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah.
- [47:06]
Host
Where's my spinach? Where's something. Something else got to be on this plate?
- [47:10]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah.
- [47:10]
Host
It can't Just be beef in its juice.
- [47:12]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
I just, I love dive in New York City. Like, I just love, you know, the divey spots.
- [47:17]
Host
And Kiki's. I like Kiki. A lot of good times. Yeah.
- [47:21]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
You know, if you can get a table.
- [47:23]
Host
Yeah, yeah.
- [47:24]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
We got TikTok ified like crazy. But it's still. And it's reasonably priced.
- [47:29]
Co-host
It is. Kiki's is so reasonably priced.
- [47:31]
Host
One of the only reasonably priced restaurants in like a popping neighborhood.
- [47:35]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah. Yeah.
- [47:36]
Co-host
And it's. I mean, it's. It's very like authentically Greek.
- [47:39]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah.
- [47:39]
Co-host
Taverna style.
- [47:40]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
What are your spots?
- [47:42]
Co-host
Wow. I don't really leave the house.
- [47:44]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah.
- [47:45]
Co-host
I'm like so at home. But I. I really have been loving Ayat.
- [47:49]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Okay. Yeah. Love the Palestinian restaurant.
- [47:52]
Co-host
I like order from there constantly on rotation. At least twice a week we're eating Ayat for dinner.
- [47:57]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Nice.
- [47:59]
Co-host
I think in recent months we've gone to. I mean, when we pop out now, it's for date night.
- [48:05]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah.
- [48:05]
Co-host
So it's kind of like our daytime lunch spots. Like we have done. Kiki's Penny was really amazing for dinner. Just open. Great seafood.
- [48:15]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Nice.
- [48:16]
Co-host
Great date night spot. Where else have we been?
- [48:19]
Host
Because we're parents now. I think more slightly like we eat bougie or food now because like.
- [48:25]
Co-host
Yeah, we gotta pay the name and.
- [48:27]
Host
We only get out once.
- [48:29]
Co-host
So I'm like, we're paying to go to dinner. So we got. It's a thing.
- [48:32]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
I mean, we don't.
- [48:33]
Host
But lunch. The stuff that you like, we order for lunch a lot. Like chodango. Like, we live near Koreatown.
- [48:39]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah.
- [48:39]
Host
So we eat a lot of wanjo.
- [48:41]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah.
- [48:41]
Host
We eat a lot of chodango.
- [48:43]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah.
- [48:43]
Host
And then, you know, I'll get the mad for chicken.
- [48:47]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah.
- [48:47]
Co-host
And then I'm with, this is bowl.
- [48:49]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
This is bowl.
- [48:50]
Host
This is both fire. I'm with, this is bowl fire.
- [48:53]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
I don't get up there that much, but with Korean food. Yeah. I. I don't mind spending a lot of money on food if it's really, really good.
- [49:01]
Co-host
You know what I mean?
- [49:02]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah. So if, you know spots that are.
- [49:05]
Co-host
Some of your lists, like what you've said though.
- [49:07]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah.
- [49:08]
Co-host
The. I don't mind spending money on food when it's amazing. Like when I'm. I'm having a really amazing meal. There is a lot of really mid. Really expensive food in New York.
- [49:18]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
I feel like that's the norm now.
- [49:20]
Co-host
That's just the standard. It's like $30 for a salad. That kind of sucks.
- [49:23]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Exactly.
- [49:24]
Co-host
You know what I mean? The 30 DOL needs to change my life.
- [49:27]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Right, Right.
- [49:28]
Co-host
So I'm just not there with that.
- [49:29]
Host
You know, we. We actually will take a cab all the way to Islands in Crown Heights.
- [49:34]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Oh my God. I grew up going there.
- [49:36]
Co-host
We do a whole day to get Islands.
- [49:38]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
It used to be right next to, you know.
- [49:41]
Co-host
Yeah.
- [49:42]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
I went recently. You. You don't think it's changed a little bit?
- [49:46]
Host
It has o. I mean, it's a bigger. It's a bigger space.
- [49:50]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
You don't think the food's changed a little bit?
- [49:51]
Co-host
I think it has. The last time we went, I didn't think it was.
- [49:54]
Host
I like. Well, I get the oxygen. Oxtail.
- [49:56]
Co-host
Yeah.
- [49:58]
Host
I have to be on. I don't think it's changed, but I can see catching it on a bad day because it's still one dude.
- [50:04]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Right.
- [50:05]
Host
And the dining room is three times.
- [50:07]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah.
- [50:08]
Co-host
I think it's still the best in this. Like.
- [50:11]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah.
- [50:12]
Co-host
In the New York Tri state area.
- [50:15]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Number one ox I with peppers. Even the peppers. Peppers really fire that's in the roast.
- [50:21]
Host
Peppers is good.
- [50:22]
Co-host
Yeah.
- [50:22]
Host
Peppers is good.
- [50:23]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
But the Islands, it's a good spot. I do, I do do. I do love their macaroni pie too. I think they. They do a great job with it.
- [50:30]
Host
They do a good curry goat. And the ginger. The ginger drink. The ginger beer. There is actual ginger.
- [50:35]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Oh, yeah.
- [50:35]
Host
It's not like the fountain because.
- [50:37]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Right.
- [50:37]
Host
So many people now just use the fountain ginger soda. And I'm like, bro.
- [50:40]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah.
- [50:41]
Host
So I. I will stand. I still think Islands is as good as before, but yeah. Usually because we have a kid, we're usually like the second people in there. So it's like fresh and it's ready and he's ready for us.
- [50:51]
Co-host
I think truly, I tell everybody him like the best thing you can do in New York City is just like have a baby with you. Cuz you'll get in any restaurant, you'll get a table, they'll seat you immediately.
- [51:00]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Oh, get out of here. Like, I'll go to V. You said he's a little over. He's two now.
- [51:03]
Host
Okay.
- [51:03]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Does he. Is he. How's his palate?
- [51:06]
Co-host
He eats a lot of everything.
- [51:09]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah.
- [51:10]
Host
Yeah.
- [51:10]
Co-host
He's really.
- [51:11]
Host
Masa buco. He ate it.
- [51:12]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Oh, wow.
- [51:12]
Host
Yeah.
- [51:13]
Co-host
He eats pork, he eats beef, he eats chicken.
- [51:15]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
You don't need picky human any more. Picky human beings in the world. No, no, no, thank you.
- [51:20]
Co-host
We try to really give him some. He. He likes sour. He is like an interesting. He really likes a more sour.
- [51:26]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Like chewing on a lemon yeah.
- [51:27]
Co-host
Chewing on a lemon. He really likes, like, interesting soups. He'll really get into, like, a Korean soup.
- [51:32]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Okay.
- [51:33]
Co-host
Which is fun for him.
- [51:34]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
That's cool.
- [51:34]
Co-host
Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's not. He's not. Chicken fingers and French fries.
- [51:37]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Good.
- [51:37]
Host
Yeah, he gets funky.
- [51:39]
Co-host
He gets funky, for sure.
- [51:40]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
I think that's the issue with the world. We have too many people who've grown up on chicken fingers and french fries. Running things.
- [51:46]
Host
Robert Moses eaters, man.
- [51:47]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Exactly. It's like a, you know, one track mind. Exactly. Any outside of it, you know?
- [51:53]
Co-host
Yeah.
- [51:54]
Host
This has been incredible having you on. Is there anything else you want to talk about? Any. Any exciting things going on?
- [51:59]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
You know, telling people to vote on November 4th in this mayoral race. Right. It's not over until it's over. We need a better mayor. Vote for Zoron, of course. And just tap in. You know what I mean? I think election people don't know that elections are every single year. I think they were really pulled into this race, this mayoral race, and I just want people to be tapped in.
- [52:19]
Host
And we would love to throw a party for you the next time you. You need it.
- [52:23]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Oh, wonderful. Yeah, I would love that. Yeah, you guys, real party.
- [52:26]
Host
We throw parties.
- [52:27]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah, we will. For you. I'm so down. We'll. We'll get one of those. Those hood Chinese spots to cater, you know?
- [52:36]
Host
Yes. I'll make. I'll make the hood Chinese food.
- [52:40]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Have you that? Would you ever made hood Chinese? Oh, yes. Yeah, that's when you do the velveting and everything.
- [52:46]
Host
Yeah. Easy, easy. You just grab it with the egg whites and cornstarch.
- [52:50]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Hell yeah.
- [52:51]
Co-host
I want all do it kosher.
- [52:53]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Really?
- [52:53]
Host
Yo, cuz. Cuz the OB G, I was just greasing the wheels and wanted the OB to take good care of her. And he's like, eddie, I can't find good kosher Chinese food, so I made him kung pao chicken.
- [53:03]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Get out of here. Crazy.
- [53:06]
Host
Like, if I make the hood Chinese for you, I really love you.
- [53:09]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yeah, yeah. Cuz it's actually harder the Chinese food wings too. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [53:14]
Co-host
It's harder to make that food than like top.
- [53:18]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Yep. I completely agree. That's why I love it more.
- [53:20]
Host
Yeah.
- [53:21]
Co-host
It's incredible.
- [53:23]
Host
Thank you so much.
- [53:24]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
Thank you, guys.
- [53:24]
Host
Incredible conversation.
- [53:25]
Chio (Councilman from Bed Stuy)
This is so fun.