Corinne Fisher Joins the New York Mayoral Race

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Comedy Cellar: Live from the Table

Episode: Corinne Fisher Joins the New York Mayoral Race

Date: April 4, 2025
Host: Comedy Cellar Network
Guests: Dan Natterman, Noam Dwarman, Perry Al Ashenbrand, Corinne Fisher (Democratic Candidate for 2025 NYC Mayoral Race)

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Overview

This episode features comedian and podcaster Corinne Fisher, now a serious candidate in the 2025 New York City mayoral race. The discussion dives into her campaign platform, policies targeting NYC’s cost of living, affordable housing, small business challenges, public education, and more. The panel—anchored by longtime Comedy Cellar owner Noam Dwarman—engages Fisher on the merits and pitfalls of her proposals, often challenging her from the perspective of a small business owner and long-time New Yorker. The conversation is characteristically candid, irreverent, and opinionated, blending policy analysis with classic Comedy Cellar wit.

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Main Segments & Key Discussion Points

1. Corinne Fisher’s Mayoral Campaign: Real or Stunt?

[02:02–03:12]

• Corinne assures the table her candidacy is 100% genuine, not a publicity move.
  • “There are way easier ways to get attention, especially as a woman… It’s the most work I’ve done in my entire life.” (Corinne Fisher, 02:10)
• She discusses the personal and legal implications if it were just a joke.

2. Campaign Announcement Video & Platform Introduction

[03:25–04:47]

• The panel listens to Corinne’s campaign announcement—addressing corruption, rent, police accountability, and a vision for keeping NYC inclusive and culturally vibrant.
  • “Being the biggest police department in the country isn’t something to brag about. Being the best will be.” (Corinne Fisher, campaign ad, 04:11)
• Video production credits: Eric Freddy (videographer), Nicole Lyons (editor/producer)

3. High Cost of Living & Fees for Residents vs. Tourists

[05:24–09:16]

• Corinne’s stance: No new resident fees; proposes a minor tourist fee, modeled after Las Vegas’s destination charge.
• Emphasizes enforcing fare evasion more equitably and using NYPD presence at turnstiles rather than punitive crackdowns.
  • “So if we’re going to stop people for fare-evading, we have to be stopping all kinds of people.” (Corinne Fisher, 07:13)
• Noam raises concerns about ever-increasing fees and NYC’s global affordability.

4. Affordable Housing and Rent Stabilization

[10:17–18:06]

• Debate over the effectiveness and side effects of rent control and “affordable housing” requirements.
• Corinne supports increasing the percentage of affordable units in new builds (targeting 35%, up from ~32%).
• Noam argues black markets and “squatters” are byproducts of these policies, recounting examples of underpriced rent and inefficiency.
  • “Every one of us knows half a dozen people who are illegally subletting rent control apartments.” (Noam Dwarman, 14:15)
  • Corinne counters that affordable housing would require continuous income verification—if renters’ incomes increase, they must leave the units.
  • Both acknowledge restrictive NYC building policies compared to more conservative cities.

5. Small Business Survival: Rent, Regulation, and Wages

[21:29–33:03]

• Corinne proposes “capped rent” for small businesses, essentially commercial rent stabilization.
• Noam challenges the practicality:
  • “If you’re a landlord… the property is now worth twice as much as it was prior… Now you’re telling them: nope [you can’t charge more].” (Noam Dwarman, 23:22)
• Complexities of defining “small business” and “corporation” are debated.
• Discussion on minimum wage hikes for large chains, potential unintended consequences favoring big brands like Starbucks.

6. NYC’s Regulatory and Bureaucratic Burden

[39:03–41:08]

• Noam and Corinne agree: City government is technologically behind and choked with red tape.
  • “The city shouldn’t have a fax machine. We have email. Crazy.” (Corinne Fisher, 39:46)
• Noam shares personal frustrations as a venue owner, including years-long permit processes and illogical rules.

7. Supporting NYC’s Arts & Culture: Audition-Based Housing

[41:11–44:45]

• Corinne proposes affordable, audition-based housing for artists to sustain NYC’s cultural edge.
• Noam and the table are skeptical, fearing corruption and subjectivity in auditions.
  • “The idea of auditions is… wide open for corruption. Look at what happened to Just for Laughs in Montreal.” (Noam Dwarman, 43:29)
  • Corinne floats public voting on YouTube (“New York’s Got Talent”) to democratize selection.

8. Public Education, Anti-Semitism, and Discipline

[57:45–76:27]

• Issue: Rising anti-Semitism in NYC schools and proper boundaries for political/religious speech in the classroom.
  • Corinne: “Crime, anti-Semitic crimes have to be treated as hate crimes. But I would also say the same if something is happening where people are anti-Islam, then they also have to be supported.” (Corinne Fisher, 60:37)
• Corinne on education reform: Teachers at underperforming schools should be paid more; big class sizes hinder learning.
• Noam emphasizes the failure to maintain disciplined environments, proposing “alternative classrooms” for disruptive students to protect well-intentioned kids.
  • “If you want to fix the schools... tell every kid in a different classroom where you have someone who has a certification in dealing with people probably with emotional issues.” (Corinne Fisher, 74:55)
• The panel debates the limits of teacher impact versus home environment and discipline.

9. NYC’s Future Outlook: Is the City Dying or Thriving?

[54:09–56:15]

• Concerns aired about the city losing its entrepreneurial and cultural dynamism due to overregulation and high costs (“New York is hanging by a thread”).
• Tension between hyper-growth areas and struggling small businesses highlighted.

10. Closing Thoughts & Openness to Change

[78:23–81:13]

• Corinne stresses her willingness to listen to business owners and refine her policies.
  • “I think there are additions... I am passionate about that, and so while I have owned a brick and mortar, I haven’t owned one in New York City.” (Corinne Fisher, 78:30)
• Noam, despite strong disagreements, considers Corinne “open and reasonable” and potentially “a good mayor.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On running for Mayor:
  • “There are way easier ways to get attention.” (Corinne Fisher, 02:10)
• On city bureaucracy:
  • “The city shouldn’t have a fax machine. We have email. Crazy.” (Corinne Fisher, 39:46)
• On market forces:
  • “It’s one of the profound failings of our entire education system… the average person does not understand how the market works.” (Noam Dwarman, 37:31)
• On school discipline:
  • “If you want to fix the schools... tell every kid in a different classroom where you have someone who has a certification in dealing with people probably with emotional issues.” (Corinne Fisher, 74:55)
• On anti-Semitism:
  • “Crime, anti-Semitic crimes have to be treated as hate crimes. But I would also say the same if something is happening where people are anti-Islam, then they also have to be supported.” (Corinne Fisher, 60:37)
• On Candidate Openness:
  • “Noam, isn’t down with much of your platform.” — “That’s fine. I knew what I was walking into.” (Dan Natterman & Corinne Fisher, 78:19)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Corinne’s Mayoral Campaign is Real: 02:02–03:12
• Campaign Announcement Ad: 03:25–04:47
• Main Policy Points Introduction: 05:24–09:16
• Housing and Rent Control Debate: 10:17–18:06
• Small Business and Commercial Rent: 21:29–33:03
• Regulation and City Bureaucracy: 39:03–41:08
• Artist Housing Proposal: 41:11–44:45
• Education, Antisemitism, and School Discipline: 57:45–76:27
• Closing Reflections on NYC & Candidate Flexibility: 78:23–81:13

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Overall Tone & Takeaways

The episode is a robust, freewheeling mix of policy debate, insider comedy banter, and New York street smarts. Corinne Fisher comes off as passionate, open-minded, and earnest about reform but is regularly challenged on economic realities by Noam Dwarman and company. The conversation covers some of the city’s most pressing issues—affordability, regulation, housing, small business, cultural vibrancy, and education—captured through the unfiltered voices of local comedians who live and work in NYC every day.

Listeners can expect both laughs and sharp insights on the quirks and challenges of running America’s largest city—plus a revealing peek into the mindset of an outsider (and comic) turned would-be mayor.

Transcript

[A]

This is live from the Table, the official podcast of the world famous comedy seller. Available wherever you get your podcasts. Available on YouTube as well and available on demand on Sirius XM Satellite Radio. This is Dan Natterman, comedy seller, regular, along with Noam Dwarman, the owner of the Comedy Cellar.

[B]

Hello, Dan.

[A]

Things seem to be going apace, by the way, at the the New Room on Saturday. I see a bunch of scaffolding. So obviously construction is taking place there.

[B]

Yes, it's going along, it's moving forward despite all the problems of doing anything in the city of New York.

[A]

Well, we'll get to that. We have Perry, Al Ashenbrand with us.

[C]

Hello.

[A]

And we have our special guest, a candidate for the 2025 mayoral race in New York City as a Democrat, Corinne Fisher. You can learn all about her platform on Corinne Fisher.com. that's C O R C O R I N N E F I s h e r.com Corinne, thank you for coming.

[D]

Thank you.

[A]

Been our podcast before. It was years ago when we were downstairs.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

I don't recall what we discussed, but.

[B]

We discussed her podcast. Guys, we fucked.

[D]

Yeah. I think I might have still been in my twenties. How. Like very long ago.

[A]

I think it was north of five years ago. But you've. You are now returning, hopefully the next. We fund to have a mayor that we know.

[B]

They say it's the hardest job on earth. The city of.

[D]

They really, they really like to let you know that. Yeah, I mean, I don't. In. In other towns we have mayors who are drunk driving. There's the mayor of Sea or the attempted mayor of Seacliffe who's like causing a coup. I don't know if you heard about that. The guy who owns Pirates Booty the Snack.

[C]

Oh, really?

[D]

One of my favorite stories of the past couple weeks, he just decided he was mayor.

[B]

All right, before we get into this, can we play your ad, your television commercial, whatever it is, the commercial, your.

[D]

Internet, my social media commercial.

[B]

Sure.

[D]

My announcement video.

[B]

So let's just set the. Set the mood. Now you. This is serious. This is your real. You're like, this is a real candidacy. Right? It's not like a.

[D]

No. It's so funny. People keep asking me this and I'm like, there. First of all, there are way easier ways to get attention, especially as a woman. And second of all, this is. This is the most work I've done in my entire life. And I'm also taking donations from people that legally, if I'm not. Not really running for office, I could be in really big trouble. Not to mention that it's, you know, would break the trust with everyone I've ever built a relationship with in my entire life. It's not. And. And there's so much gate keeping and access press that it's really. It's not worth it to fake run for office. Unless you're more famous originally than I was, I suppose.

[B]

Well, Cynthia Nixon from Sex in the City, she also ran for mayor.

[D]

She did? Yeah.

[B]

And? Well, I don't know. I don't know.

[D]

And she's not. And she wasn't. Yeah.

[B]

And was. And. And you believe that was a serious candidacy too?

[D]

Oh, yeah. No. Cynthia Nixon is super politically involved and really proud of being a New Yorker. I 100 believer. She's all. She's already in, you know, endorsed one of the other candidates, so.

[B]

I knew it.

[D]

It's okay.

[C]

Her politics are questionable.

[B]

No feminine loyalty. Okay. Did she endorse at least a woman?

[D]

No.

[B]

Oh, my God. Okay.

[D]

Socialist.

[B]

A Hamas member?

[C]

Pretty much.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding.

[B]

Let's play the. Let's play the commercial. Go ahead. This is. This is the next mayor of New York City here. Go ahead.

[D]

Hi, I'm Corinne Fisher. I'm a New Yorker and I'm pissed. That's why I'm running for mayor. It's time to let the corrupt politicians destroying our city know we aren't doing this anymore. I moved to New York City when I was 17 to follow my dream of becoming an artist. I bet on myself and I won. Now I want all New Yorkers to be winning. No more added fees for residents, more rent controlled apartments, capping rent for our beloved small businesses, and tax breaks for New Yorkers who volunteer at one of our over 45,000 citywide nonprofits. I want you to spend less time worrying about how you can afford to stay in New York City and more time being a part of it safely. As mayor, I will hold the NYPD to higher standards, including mandatory periodic mental health checks and a zero tolerance policy on racism that's actually enforced. Being the biggest police department in the country isn't something to brag about. Being the best will be. But amidst all the chaos, let's not forget about the magic of New York City. My audition based, affordable artists housing will keep the culture of the city alive and will encourage the most talented people in the world to choose New York City as their home, which will always be a place where immigrants and members of the LGBTQ community are welcome, no matter what direction America is. Moving in New York City will keep moving forward. I hope you'll join us.

[B]

Bravo. First of all, that's a very well done commercial.

[D]

Thank you.

[B]

Slightly goes from black and white to color. And what do you want to say?

[A]

Well, who produced that commercial?

[D]

It was shot by Eric Freddy, and then it was edited by Nicole Lyons.

[A]

Oh, we know Nicole.

[B]

We don't.

[D]

Nicole. Yes, of course. She just started her own production company.

[B]

All right, so I. I have brought up your website here, Corinne. Fisher.com. it's C-O-R-I-N N E Fisher.com.

[D]

Thank you. People get that wrong.

[B]

A lot fishes without a C. Yeah. C O R I N N e f I s h e r.com fisher.com n and we're going to go through the issues.

[D]

All right, let's do it.

[B]

We have a lot of New Yorkers that listen to this.

[D]

Yeah, I know.

[B]

You know, I've been ranting about congestion pricing, so. Okay. Number issue number one is the high cost of living.

[D]

Mm.

[B]

My solution. No additional fees for residents. Instead, a small tourist fee for visitors. So no additional fees. That. That. That doesn't include congestion pricing. You favor that?

[D]

Well, it doesn't include undoing congestion pricing. I think congestion pricing is still so new that we have to see if the MTA is really going to do.

[B]

What we be raised, because it's on. It's on schedule to be raised every year. I think.

[D]

I mean, I would say no on the raising. I think. I think we push it with the raising. We're always raising everything here in New York City, like, give people some room to breathe.

[B]

Check. Okay, you got.

[A]

What fees are you talking.

[B]

Yeah, go ahead. What fees?

[D]

Oh, so, like, a tourist fee, like.

[B]

A lot of people, like, for the residents. Like, are they going to have to pay. What about. Will residents finally have to start paying for the subway and the buses? Because, you know, nobody pays.

[D]

Well, fare evasion is a huge problem. We're losing, like, $700 million a year. And I am not for. Yeah, I am for enforcing it. I think there is simp. Simpler ways to do that. I don't think people should be, you know, arrested and held at gunpoint if they're evading the fair. It's a misdemeanor. But I think that if we positioned the NYPD officers in front of the turnstiles, we haven't really tried that yet. I think that could be better at dissuading people from evading the fair to begin with. I also think that the NYPD is. I mean, I'M going to two neighborhoods weekly because of my commitments I have. So I'm. I live on the Lower east side, but I'm traveling to Harlem at least once a week. I used to live in Harlem for 10 years and I have a standing appointment there every week. So I see the difference in a bunch of white people fair evading downtown and not getting in trouble and then people far evading in Harlem and getting stopped by the police. So it's like if we're going to stop people for faravading, we have to be stopping all kinds of people. Yes, I just.

[B]

Gay. Gay people too.

[D]

Well, I mean, are you eyeballing gay people? I mean, sometimes, yeah.

[B]

So instead, a small tourist fee for visitors. This is now, this is where we begin to lose me.

[D]

What, because you own something that tourists like to come to?

[B]

Actually, I hadn't thought of that. But like, how do you identify a tourist?

[D]

Oh, you're just adding it to things like a hotel, like a destination fee. The way Las Vegas have that. I mean, so you up it additionally. I mean, Las Vegas has one of the most prominent destination fees in the country. And so just adding to that.

[B]

But, but how do you know the status quo is not high? It's pretty high as it is.

[D]

I mean, I don't, I don't think the destination fee is, is that high. I mean, it's just adding on like an five bucks to when you check into a hotel. Because my theory is. Well, first of all, when you're running a mayor of New York City, doesn't really matter what other people think. It's only about New Yorkers. So that's one of my favorite things about it. But secondly, I think New York City is so special that we are not going. $5 more is not going to stop anyone from coming to New York City. There's very few other cities who can claim that Las Vegas can get away with destination fees because it's unique.

[B]

Yeah, I think they're already.

[A]

What fees? So what fees are we as New Yorkers currently paying that you're, that you're against?

[D]

I mean, I'm just, I'm just saying I'm against adding fees. I'm not undoing. I think a lot of times the new administration comes in and just their game is like, let's undo everything the previous guy did and let me put my stamp on it. I don't think that's a good tactic. I think it wastes time and money. And unless there's something that I am morally opposed to, I would stick with it and build upon it so we can actually get things done. So we're not changing every four years playing a game where it's three steps forward, four steps back.

[B]

All right, so there are state and local tax on, there's an occupancy tax, there's a $50 a day tax, there's all, there's all kinds of fees on. But all right, we would just call.

[D]

It like truly a tourist fee and, and have it be $5. But also we can get a lot a day. I mean, $5 a day, do you think, how long do you think the average person is staying in New York? I think $5 a day is fine.

[B]

All right. And, and I mean, listen, I want to get on to the more interesting stuff, but the idea of you can always add $5. Like can you have $5 again on top of that and $5 again on top of that. I, I think that New York is already. New York went from, you know, being what the lady tells the last time that Cat Wild was her name, that Catherine Wild, that it was not one of the most expensive. It was like, like 20. And it's now it's like the second most expensive city in, in the world. I think she told us it's like.

[D]

After what Tokyo or I feel what.

[B]

She said, but like it's, it's gotten, and as before congestion pricing, it's just gotten ridiculous.

[D]

Yeah. And so I mean, I think the people who are really feeling that the most are New Yorkers. So we don't want New Yorkers to have to absorb any more of those rising costs.

[B]

No, it also, it also, but it also deters tourists anyway. So, so, but that, but that's fine. You know. You know, I think the assumption is it's so rich already only rich people can come stay in hotels anyway. Right. All right, you say more rent stabilized apartments.

[A]

Oh, you open up a can of worms with.

[B]

No, how do you, how do you do that?

[D]

Yeah, I mean, I think the more proper language would be more affordable housing. I think every, every year of Mayor Adams actually he broke a record with the most affordable housing built in 2023. And he's been breaking that ever since. It was a little over 14,000 new units of affordable housing. And then he preserved a little over 13,000 units.

[B]

So what this means when somebody proposes a new construction to allot a certain number of them to be affordable housing?

[D]

Correct. It's about 32%.

[B]

You can build, you can build a really luxury high rise, but then you have to have a certain percentage of Affordable housing?

[D]

Yeah. So it's about 32% right now. I think we can get that up to 35% of any deal that the city makes, having 35% of it be affordable housing. And then I think we just keep building on the units. I think we can increase it by about 5% from the 14,500ish new units that Mayor Adams proposed, which is like 700.

[B]

What would be the monthly rent? An affordable house?

[D]

I mean, well, that runs the gamut. It's, it's based on where the apartment, the affordable housing is built.

[A]

Well, so how many bedrooms?

[B]

Well, but for an example, like, you.

[D]

Know, I mean, like 1300. I mean, but it goes up from there. And a lot of people like, kind of laugh when affordable housing is introduced online. They're like, well, that's not affordable. It's still quite expensive.

[B]

And what are the qualifications to be eligible for that affordable housing?

[D]

I mean, I think you have to. It's usually just a monetary, like, how much are you making? And it's open to this bracket of people. So are you asking specifically what my housing would. Would be? Because it would be. It would be different depending on where it's being built. So we would want affordable housing for people who are, you know, can be, you know, make maybe, you know, 900 to 1200amonth, and then you have another.

[B]

Section that's a month.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

Who's making that?

[B]

Who makes 912?

[D]

No, no, no, not making that. They can, they can afford that in rent.

[B]

I see.

[D]

Based on their, based on their salary.

[B]

And then they have to. What happens then? I've always wondered about this. So, so let's say that you make $35,000 a year, you get affordable housing, and then you get a better job. And now you're making a hundred thousand dollars a year. Do you get evicted? What happens? I mean, you have to provide your tax returns.

[D]

Yeah, I mean, you. To stay in affordable housing, you have to keep submitting your paperwork. But I mean, I think the amount of times that someone making $35,000 a year skyrockets to $100,000 a year is not super common all the time. No, it, no, it doesn't. The, the to come out, it's like lift yourself out of a tax bracket is a huge achievement.

[B]

This happens all time. The, the time people, people starting out make small amounts of money.

[D]

Oh, you're talking like you're just like young people. But they're not. That's not who mostly is going into affordable housing. A lot of affordable housing.

[B]

They will if it's available to them.

[D]

Yeah. Which is mostly like lottery based and people wait for years to get that. But I mean people aren't moving like fresh from other cities to get into affordable housing.

[A]

What about young people whose parents are helping to foot the bill but want to get into affordable housing? I think maybe that's what you were referring to.

[B]

No, no, I think most people I know who, I don't think money now started out making little money. I mean almost everybody I know, you know, even, even children of. Yeah. Of, of people with means, they started out making small amounts of money, but.

[A]

They can, but they might be able to afford more expensive.

[B]

Well, you can't require the parents to chip in.

[D]

But I also think that like based on what we're seeing with the quality of affordable housing, there's very few people who like, unless they're, it depends where they're coming from, a lot of people are not willing to live in affordable housing. There's like a stigma on it even.

[B]

So let me ask this question because you know my experience with rent control and rent stabilization is non stop black markets, illegal sublets. Every one of us knows half a dozen people who are illegally subletting rent control apartments. And that's going to be the same thing with these affordable housing. And this has been a terrible system. How do you counteract that? Like, part of the reason that I believe that there is so little affordable housing for two reasons. One is that they don't. New York doesn't allow us to build housing.

[D]

Correct.

[B]

This is now, you know, like Ezra Klein is even.

[D]

Absolutely. I heard that and I listened to the Free Press. I have the book. I mean.

[B]

Yeah, it's finally after years.

[D]

Yeah. And I'm glad that point was made because I think the Democratic Party is making a lot of mistakes and we like to think that we're, we're always doing the right thing when in reality conservative cities are able to build affordable housing at a much higher rate than liberal cities. And that's a great point.

[B]

Conservative is telling this for like, you know, my entire lifetime been trying to make this point. And the second thing is that they create these black markets so that people, I, and we all know them, they never leave their apartment. They just never leave because they've gotten in on some sort of rent control or affordable whatever it is. And therefore they, they, there's like squatters basically where no one else can, can get these apartments. And, and they have, I mean I know people with three, four huge bedroom apartments that staying there by themselves for like 2,000amonth. Apartments that are worth $20,000 a month. You know, crazy stories like that. I might be exaggerating, but only a little because I had a friend who got paid out by a landlord. Hundreds of thousands of dollars. That was the differential. So why would you want to go down the same road of more of this like kind of black market creating policy?

[D]

Well, it's not. I mean, so, I mean we made the change from rent control to rent stabilization and that was supposed to be bit more on the side of the landlord. So that has already happened.

[B]

So we have both. It depends on how many.

[D]

No, but I'm saying like there's no more new rent controlled apartments being created because that was stopped. But so what, what are you like suggesting that you think that those people should be kicked out of their apartments?

[B]

Yes, of course they should. Of course they should. But they, the, the.

[D]

But when they made a deal though. So like if the deal. It was said that it's always going to remain this amount of money and you can stay here as long as you continue paying that amount of money.

[B]

Well, they didn't make any deal. The landlords, the landlords are restricted from raising the rent and.

[D]

Right.

[B]

And off and oftentimes that's like a deal, basically.

[D]

No, I mean it's like, you know, it's like a forever stamp saying, like I bought this for 29 cents, but now it should be more.

[B]

So rent control was supposed to be an emergency temporary measure during I think the depression or even before the depression. Like rent control was never supposed to be forever.

[D]

Right. And it's done. Yeah.

[A]

Gary Gomen special or the great.

[B]

It got, you know, ensconced. But. And you have a situation with people like in, in neighborhoods that were once poor and then now the neighborhoods are, are. Tony. Is that the name? Is that.

[A]

That's a word?

[B]

Yeah. And, and, and the, the apartments are worth much, much more than, than this.

[D]

Yeah, we saw that happen in Williamsburg a lot for sure.

[B]

And this just, it's nonsensical. Like, this is as, as you acknowledge that conservative cities don't have these problems. You're doubling down on the policies that the conservative cities don't have.

[D]

Yeah, but I just don't see a way, you know, especially in America, how we're going to be kicking people out of their apartments.

[B]

Well, I mean, you're not going to kick them out. Apartment. They have, they have to eventually.

[D]

Yeah. Renters have a lot of rights.

[B]

They eventually have. Well, it'd be nice if they were kicked out or Sunset you know, like in five years, all apartments are going to go to market rate or whatever it is, or five years, all people above a certain age, below a certain age, your apartments go to market rate, whatever. But certainly you don't want to build more of these things. That's my point. We're just compounding the problem.

[D]

Right. Well, I mean, but the affordable housing would be, would be different. This would not necessarily be rent stabilized apartments. Use would be new affordable housing where you have to stay in that, that earning bracket. And once you lift your, yourself from that earning bracket, then you no longer would live there.

[B]

They're going to hide or they're, or they're going to stay in that earning bracket and they're going to rent it out, illegally sublet it.

[D]

Yeah, and I mean, I think part of this is, you know, a big part of the mayor's job is being a watchdog and making sure that, you know, these things don't happen. There's so much corruption in this city.

[B]

Why not just, I mean, I have this new building around the corner, right. And originally we conceived of building apartments above it.

[D]

The old McDonald's.

[A]

Are we talking about days you were.

[D]

Going to build apartments?

[B]

What? Oh, I didn't.

[A]

I thought you always wanted it to be a showroom for comedy.

[B]

I did, but above it, I wanted apartments. It was just, it just wasn't feasible. The, the setbacks and this and that and all and, and the pile of, of regulations and, and you know, obstacles.

[D]

Did you want to make it specifically affordable housing or just.

[B]

No, I wanted to make it, I mean, I wanted to make it market rent housing. Right, okay, but, but, but every new apartment.

[D]

I thought you had a philanthropic endeavor that the city shut down.

[B]

Well, this is, but you see, this is the problem. It's, this is the capitalist economy. Nobody does anything philanthropically.

[D]

I hear you.

[B]

And yet Steve Jobs didn't do anything philanthropically. And we all walk around with supercomputers in our pocket. That's how it works. You, if landlords are allowed to build apartments, if there weren't so much regulation to prevent the apartments from getting built, then you wouldn't have all these problems. Apartments would be affordable like they are in conservative cities. You start by saying conservative cities have affordable housing without all this layer upon layer upon layer. It's like a band aid on top of a band aid.

[A]

But I think New York would be expensive any way you slice it, even without rent control, rent stabilization, because it's New York. These other cities aren't New York.

[B]

No, no, it's fine if it's fine if it's expensive. Commensurate with the fact that people make more money in New York. Affordable to me would mean that people at an average job in the city can get, get a decent apartment.

[C]

It also might be the case that if it were easier to build more, then you would be able to have more affordable housing and maybe landlords would be feeling more philanthropic because you'd have apartments everywhere.

[B]

Notion of film philanthropy is, is, is actually dangerous.

[C]

Why?

[B]

Because it's utterly naive.

[A]

Because greed is good.

[B]

Nobody. Not because greed is good. It's not greedy.

[D]

That's your campaign slogan.

[B]

You listen, you guys don't do your, you might do a show from time to time as a, as a gesture, as a donation or something like that. But in general you want to make top dollar for your profession. This is what, this is what you do for a living.

[D]

That's. I, I navigated my comedy career differently, but I did it based on like where I wanted to perform. But I, you're, you're right. I have the luxury of doing that because I have a podcast.

[B]

Everybody, yeah, everybody wants to get paid there for what they are doing. And so do builders, so do landlords. So, so anybody who, if I undertake a big project that's going to cost me $12 million to build and I'm going to build some apartments, what am I going to do it to break even? Why would I do it? No one's going to do it.

[D]

I don't think anyone's doing it to break even. But also these, these developers, they're getting things done a lot of lot fat like they're getting it done a lot faster if they agree to give the 32 or 35%.

[B]

Yeah, that's why they do it. It's like for sure.

[D]

So they are getting something in return.

[B]

Capped rents for small businesses. Like what the hell does that mean, capped rent for small businesses?

[D]

Well, basically it's like that's stable rent stabilization basically for businesses.

[B]

Right. Why? How?

[D]

What, what do you mean why? You're a small business owner.

[B]

How do you do that?

[D]

What do you mean how do you do that?

[B]

So let's say I, I'm a landlord.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

And I have a restaurant. And then the neighborhood becomes better or just for whatever reason. Mario BATA, But Keith McNally, you know, a high powered restaurateurs.

[D]

Right.

[B]

I wanna, I want to take this restaurant and I'm going to build a fantastic restaurant. I'm going to pay you double the rent. I say no, no, I'm not allowed to. The city says I have to cap my rent.

[D]

Well, for the, for the person who is currently in there.

[B]

Well, his, his, his rent is capped by his lease. But when his lease is up.

[D]

Right.

[B]

I want to be able to say, well, okay, your lease is up. Now I have a tenant who wants to offer me much more money.

[D]

Are they a corporation? Are they a small business? What's going on here?

[B]

All small businesses are corporations.

[D]

I'm talking about like corporate, like Walgreens.

[B]

Chick Fil A. I, I don't know how to distinguish. What am I. I don't know.

[D]

Do you? I don't know.

[A]

You're privately.

[D]

You have an llc. I mean, I owned a brick and mortar store. I was not a corporate. I was not incorporated. I was an llc.

[B]

Well, the same, Same thing. It's the same. I mean, it's just a. I guess.

[A]

She means publicly traded corporations.

[B]

No, she doesn't mean public.

[D]

I mean, I mean, think. I mean Starbucks, Walgreens, these big, big places.

[C]

Conglomerate.

[D]

Yeah. Where the money, the problem with that is the money that they earn is not staying in the area that the business is in for the most part. So small businesses are beneficial to the area because a lot of that money stays in the community. And also just in general for the energy and look of New York City.

[B]

You understand that like you're, you're. I mean, there's a lot of ways to look at this. First of all, if you're a landlord and you own this property, you are taking and the property is now worth twice as much as it was prior. Like, let's say you had a, a shack in the meatpacking district.

[D]

Sure.

[B]

And now the meatpacking district's the hottest district.

[D]

Right.

[B]

Obviously, the, the price per square foot of these landlords properties might have gone up five times. And they might have actually speculated that might be why they bought the building.

[D]

Sure.

[B]

And now you're telling them nope.

[D]

Yeah, but I mean, there's a lot of gambling going on with. For people when there's a hundred and, you know, thousand unhoused people and then we have so many storefron are completely making more money.

[B]

You're going to set the rate of rent at every commercial.

[D]

You're not setting it. You're saying it can go up X amount percentage in this time.

[B]

That's setting the rate.

[D]

But I mean, I'm not, I'm not saying like it's going to be the same across the board no matter what neighborhood we're in. Of course, that would be foolish. Some neighborhoods can earn more money.

[B]

But what if, what if, what if my rent is lower than the guy next door? I don't, it doesn't make any sense. Sense.

[D]

Well, so just, I would like to hear your, your. Okay, let's, let's say as a small business owner.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. Let's say I'm paying $10,000 a month rent for, you know, let's call it a 3,000, 2,000 square foot property. And the guy next to me is paying $15,000 the exact same size. Who knows how that happened? Sure, he happened because the landlord shows a different tenant. The landlord, I mean, you have to understand, landlords will take less rent from something more they consider more reliable. They'll take more rent from somebody they can consider less reliable. Well, for sure, sometimes they rent during recessions, sometimes they rent during inflationary periods. So the rents are comparable over longer periods of time. But you can have wildly different rates of rent for similar properties at any snapshot of time.

[D]

Well, and the more they're going to.

[B]

Instantiate those rates as somehow fair market rates and then, and then that's it. And as long as the guy wants to stay there, it's kept.

[D]

Yeah, but I mean, if, if the, the neighborhood is improving that much, most likely it's going to be very hard for whatever the business that was there that was relevant. Relevant in this other time period is going to remain relevant. It is extremely hard for small businesses to keep their doors open.

[B]

Well, so it's all, it's always been anywhere.

[D]

Yeah, but, but should we just say okay, I mean, don't we like, don't you enjoy having small businesses? And you're right, because you're right about the reliability. A lot of times landlords will opt for something like a Starbucks over a mom and pop coffee shop because there's much less chance that those, because we know that that brand, that it's going to close its door. So 100%. Right, but like are we just going to sit back and let. Okay, first of all, New York City turn into a shopping mall.

[B]

So let me tell you, the reason that small businesses have trouble keeping their doors open is almost never because of the rent. Rents can be high. It is because of all the other things that the city does to make it impossible to run a business. The ridiculous spread of hours pay, the overtime rates, the minimum wage for tipped employees, the plaintiff friendly laws which require you to pay 70, 80, $90,000 a year in insurance, the, the, the, the handicap laws, the regulations, the, I mean, I could, the, the health department law, the Fines. The, the, the, the. The rules are ridiculous. Rent is an expense, of course, but when you see empty storefronts, obviously those landlords will have to come down to a rent that a prospective business can afford. Otherwise they'll just be empty.

[D]

Yeah, but a lot of times they don't. We're seeing this especially like on the. A lot of people on the Upper east side are complaining. There's just rows and rows of places. Well, why do I think.

[B]

Why do you think that would be?

[D]

Well, because they're making more money by keeping it empty than by renting.

[B]

Make money by keeping it empty.

[D]

Because. Because they're getting money back from the government for having it. I mean, that's why they've. We've been trying to pass this vacancy fee. It's in committee right now. It's been held there for like two years.

[B]

But let's zoom in on that. That before you start capping rents. What is the perverse structure of laws that allows. I don't even know if that's true, but I'm taking, you know, stipulate that it's true.

[D]

What, the vacancy law?

[B]

No. What. How can some, like. I'm a landlord.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

I don't know. I can't imagine how I would make money with places empty. I don't even know. I don't know anything about that. But presuming there is a way to make money in a place empty, you don't need a vacancy law. How are they making money in places empty?

[D]

Because they're getting money back from the government.

[B]

So stop that.

[D]

Okay.

[B]

Why have to. In other words. That's what I was saying. You piled one thing on top of another thing on top of another thing. You're giving people money back from the.

[D]

Government, but it's just to incentivize.

[B]

You mean that I can. I can make my place empty and get money from the government more than I can make in rent.

[D]

I don't know. More than you. Because you run a very successful business.

[B]

No, no. Just as an arm's like thing. Like, let's say I. I didn't want to run the olive tree anymore. I can get $20,000 a month rent for it. You say I can get. Do better than that by keeping it empty?

[D]

I don't know. I would have to look at what you're making.

[B]

I make $5,000 a month by keeping it empty.

[D]

I haven't heard any.

[C]

Are you really considering this as an option?

[D]

Absolutely. It's my fault that it's gutted.

[A]

Well, no one would never Give up his, you know, his. His restaurant where he hold court, and we have to listen.

[C]

Well, he might have no choice.

[A]

No choice but to agree with him because he's the owner.

[D]

Well, okay, what. What is. What is your. So I think you have a unique. Also set of fees that you're incurring and overhead because of, you know, being a restaurant and a space where you're having a lot of people come in so there can be like. Like extra lawsuits.

[B]

Hundreds of thousands of dollars even.

[D]

For sure.

[B]

An empty building.

[D]

Yeah. And then.

[B]

So I. I've had my. I'm sorry to interrupt.

[D]

No, it's fine.

[B]

I've had this McDonald's I know you have. Going on two years now. It's empty.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

I've not received a dime from the government. I don't know what you're talking about.

[D]

Well, no. Okay, so. But that's because you're in the something. Right? And so what's holding you up is the streamlining of the permits. Correct? It's not. It's not like. It's just blank with a please call to rent sign.

[B]

And I'll put it up if I can get money for it.

[A]

He's not getting money from the government. He is getting some money from Kylie Jenner, I believe.

[C]

Kylie Jenner.

[D]

Who's Carly Jenner?

[A]

Kylie Jenner. You had those advertisements on the side of the building.

[B]

Oh, yeah, we get. We get a little money from the advertising company.

[D]

Okay. See, there you go. You're a swift businessman. Okay, so for. I understand. I do not understand. You know, not that I don't. I. I know that it's a lot more unique circumstances and overhead to run a restaurant and also a showroom. Right. That's a. That's unique. It's. You know, a lot of people say that a restaurant is the toughest business to own. So kudos to you. Obviously, you know how to do that. The brick and mortar I own for many years, and that was my family business for over 30 years. Not in New York City, but a baseball card store. So a lot simpler structure.

[B]

It's a good example.

[D]

Yeah, but. But for us, the. The weight of the rent really was the number one difficulty. And, like, so, you know, because you have minimal employees, a baseball card shop kind of can be owner and one employee run. And, yeah, there's all kinds of, you know, insurance and stuff that it takes from that. But really, it was two things. It was the cost of the product when fanatics bought tops and they pushed out the middleman. And then number two was the exorbitant rent. And this was in Larchmont, New York.

[B]

Right. But maybe you shouldn't have it.

[D]

It.

[B]

Maybe that's the landlord. If the landlord's rented this, you know, this picture baseball card.

[A]

Baseball.

[B]

And they have somebody wants to open a jewelry store there. No, no, sir. This neighborhood needs a baseball coach. And go on the Internet like any. Like everybody else. And, and open. Let the jewelry store open.

[D]

Well, okay, but. So you just want to sit back as brick and mortar stores disappear. You don't want that. Don't you think that experience is a part of our culture?

[B]

And certainly they won't disappear because once they run out of tenants that landlords have to come down in their rent.

[D]

So you just think we'll just wait until we run out and then we have to take someone in.

[B]

It happens every day.

[D]

Yeah, but what. Sorry, go ahead.

[A]

What about this notion that Corinne alluded to about you don't want New York to become all Starbucks and all those kinds of stories that there's some inherent value to the mom and pop stuff?

[B]

Well, she's responsible for it. And I'll tell you. I'll tell you. Here's your next thing on your list.

[D]

I'm not responsible for anything.

[B]

As of now, corporations must pay employees a minimum of $20 an hour. Now, how does that not help Starbucks?

[D]

How does. What do you mean, how does that not help Starbucks?

[B]

Who can afford to pay 20 an hour except big business?

[D]

Yeah, exactly. It's only for big businesses. It's only for these chain. Chain places. That's what I'm saying. You can keep paying employees 1650 because we want to encourage that.

[B]

But they're not going to work for me.

[D]

I. Oh, I see. I really. It is so much more pleasant to work for a small business than it is to work for a corporation.

[B]

If the first of all, you said corporations. I don't know what you mean. I mean, every business is a corporation conglomerate.

[D]

We'll use as the word now mean.

[B]

Like, do you have a definition of that?

[D]

Chain restaurants? That. That. Yeah, I mean, I think actually can. Publicly bought and sold is part of a good example. So Chick Fil, a Starbucks, Walgreens, CVS. Okay.

[B]

They have to pay 20 an hour.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

Now I have a coffee shop and I want to pay. What's the minimum wage now? 16 to 15 for tipped employees. Like $11 an hour.

[D]

Right.

[A]

That's pretty high for tipped employees.

[B]

It's ridiculous. It's absurd. I mean, I have our staff. I have waiters and waitresses making six.

[D]

Figures I believe it.

[B]

And then on top of that, I have to pay them ridiculous amounts of money which provide incentive to not hire more people.

[D]

People.

[B]

No question about it. They are, they are. They make it too expensive to hire servers. But anyway. But if, if the place next door is paying 20 an hour, how can I pay somebody $11 an hour?

[D]

Well, because they're getting tipped on it. These are for people who aren't getting.

[B]

Tip to Starbucks too.

[A]

No, no, I don't, I don't think.

[D]

The tips at Starbucks.

[B]

Every time you go to Starbucks, that's like a dollar, please. Every time you're.

[C]

Don't you know you're supposed to hit no on those things?

[D]

Yeah, you can.

[B]

Everybody hits. Yes. And most people hit Y. Yeah. And by the way, that's right. It adds up very, very quickly.

[D]

I agree.

[B]

It's probably commensurate with anything the service. Every. If every. What does the coffee cost $5. Everybody more than that. And you. And you tip a dollar is about 20%, which is about what my servers.

[C]

I mean, it's a little bit criminal to be tipping 18% on a Starbucks that you're picking up and walking out and drinking. Right. That's already like a $7 drink.

[B]

Pay what you want. I kind of like. This is just as an aside. I think this thing where tipping has spread everywhere is actually good.

[D]

Why?

[B]

Because it's allowed a way to increase prices in a sense on the wealthy. Because people who have more money, like me, we do tip where we wouldn't have otherwise. But Starbucks can't raise its price of a coffee from seven to $10 because people can't afford that, don't want to do that.

[D]

It's making us eat the funds, the expense.

[B]

So people who have less money can just buy the coffee and they don't have. It might be bad, but they don't have to tip.

[D]

Sure.

[B]

But this is a way of, of increasing wages in a sense.

[D]

That's why Starbucks is doing so.

[B]

But. And I'm sure it's coming more and more from the affluence who are being more generous.

[A]

I don't think it's interesting way you'd be surprised at. I mean, I haven't done. Yes, it doesn't tip. I mean I haven't done a study on it, but you know, just anecdotally, some of the more generous people are not the wealthiest people.

[D]

I agree with you. When you on the subway like so say you're watching Showtime, the people. It's not the rich people who are tipping Showtime. It's not the rich people who are buying packets of gum from the people going around selling it. It never is. And I think that's, like, socially, I' very interested in that because I think it's like people who have more recently been through a tough time are more willing to help out someone who's going through a tough time.

[B]

We're.

[D]

However rich, you're removed from it, however.

[B]

You want to put it in some way. People who can spare it are paying more for a cup of coffee than people who can't.

[D]

I agree. Tipping culture is out of control. I agree with you. And it.

[C]

No, he. I agree. I think so, too. I don't.

[D]

You feel guilty, right?

[A]

I would think that somebody.

[C]

Yeah, but then it's like, why am I going to tip like tipping is. And I always tip at least 20%.

[D]

Sure.

[C]

I go to a restaurant or any place I'm sitting down. Or a nail salon.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

All of these services. Like, why are you making that face?

[B]

I think you're being a little defensive because you're Jewish.

[D]

Isn't everyone at the table Jewish?

[A]

Everyone is, and that is often the case.

[B]

We get it. We get it. The Jew tips. 20%. Go ahead.

[C]

No, but I don't. I don't understand. Going to a Starbucks.

[B]

I tip. I. I tip at the nail salon. I. Anyway, list them all.

[C]

You know what? I feel very comfortable. You can check me.

[B]

I even give the homeless people. I give charity.

[C]

I always give to homeless people.

[B]

The teacher, I give an apple. Ari, where. Where he goes to the school.

[D]

That's actually. I think you're more generous than most New Yorkers, though, if you're always giving to homeless people.

[C]

I always give money to homeless people. I grew up in the city and, like, I think it's really important to, you know, spread generosity in that way.

[A]

I think giving money to the unhoused. Oh, that's what they call it.

[D]

I know, but it's just like. It's funny.

[C]

I know.

[A]

Anyway, so I think that's probably not a good idea.

[C]

Well, they'd rather me tip them than you call them unhoused.

[D]

I know, because that's the thing. I'm like. I'm like. I think unhoused is one of those liberal decisions that people made without speaking to people who don't have homes. I think they're like, probably.

[A]

They probably don't mind being called homeless.

[B]

I would describe your platform so far as having no faith in market forces. And I would just say, perfect.

[D]

Put it on the website.

[B]

I. I would just say that it's it's one of the profound failings of our entire education system. What that. That the average person, the average citizen.

[D]

Yes.

[B]

Really does not understand, you know, how the market works. And I would invite everybody to watch that famous YouTube that. That's not. It's on YouTube. I. It's called eye pencil or whatever. Oh, yeah.

[A]

That Milton Friedman thing.

[B]

It's not.

[A]

Is it Milton Friedman.

[B]

Not Milton Friedman.

[A]

Milton Friedman talks about the pencil and how no. No single person could ever make.

[B]

Nobody even know. Nobody even has the knowledge necessary to make a pencil. Right.

[A]

Not no single person.

[B]

No single person. Yeah.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

And it's, you know, the, the. The profound things of technology and convenience that. That boggle the mind that we see everywhere. A satellite tracking us for free from space to get within, you know, within inches literally on our phones. This is what a. The market forces unleashed can produce. Although no reason to be housing would be any different.

[A]

I don't know that GPS was invented through market forces. That was a military thing. But, but the. But the GPS receivers are market for forces.

[B]

The entire. The entire.

[A]

The system of GPS was.

[B]

The entire system.

[A]

But that was invented, I think by the military. I don't think it was.

[B]

I don't know who invented the invented gps, but the fact that you have it in your pocket is for free. That's my point. Nobody. You didn't have to. You don't have to buy it. It's free. It's free.

[D]

Well, I mean, to go off what you're saying, I do agree that there's a real lack of use of technology in government, especially municipal government. The amount of things that are still filed paper by hand.

[B]

We did it. We had unemployment hearing day before yesterday. Yeah, we had to fax in.

[D]

I'm not surprised. And I'm on your side. There's so many things and I think a lot of facts. And I'm sure your permits are taking longer because you're feeling out. People are losing paperwork and you're faxing things. I don't even. Most people who are under, I don't know, 35 don't even know how to fax.

[B]

I had to get an effects account working fax.

[D]

I'm on your side.

[B]

And by the way. And on top of it, it. The city's fax machine doesn't even answer.

[D]

Yeah, the city shouldn't have a fax machine. We have email. Crazy.

[B]

Three hours. Yep. Faxing again.

[C]

That's outrageous.

[D]

This is. I 100% agree. This is a point that I brought up in a mayoral forum. Like A week ago about how we need to embrace technology.

[B]

We need Doge.

[D]

I'm not going to sign off on that.

[B]

But we don't. We don't need Wild west insanity Doge, but we need the spirit of Doge.

[D]

Well, I mean, I'm going to start with we need email over fax machines. I think that's like a step we can all agree that we should have been taken a long time ago. Everything should be digitized. I mean, I went and got the voter file from the board of elections. It was on a CD Rom.

[B]

Oh, my God.

[D]

It was $200 for a CD Rom. My field director is 29. He goes, I don't even know what this is. I said, I'll walk you through it.

[B]

Oh, my God, that's hilarious.

[D]

All right.

[B]

I'm getting nonstop alerts on my computer. Okay. Okay. My signature program.

[D]

Oh, I'm sure you're going to love this one because it's philanthropic.

[B]

Actually, I. I have mixed.

[A]

What am I hearing dings?

[B]

My. My stupid computer is just running a muck.

[C]

Turn off the volume. Mute it.

[D]

You just went. You just said technology is a gift, and now we can't control it. It's taking over the podcast.

[B]

I. I don't know why it's doing this. Okay. My signature program. Tax breaks for New Yorkers. Oh, no. I thought this was the. The artist housing.

[D]

Oh, that one.

[B]

That was about that.

[A]

The auditions.

[D]

Audition based housing. Yeah. I mean, again, I want to. I want ways where it's not just giving things away because you're right. Like, this should be more run like a business, but I think people need support. And then in return, the city can also be supported because if you're addition based housing, it's not. You know, we know there's a lot of comics who maybe shouldn't be comics anymore running around the. Around the city. And so let's see if. If people want to live here and they're going to bring a lot of talent here, or if they already live here and they can't afford to stay unless they want to pursue this talent, let's invest in that.

[C]

I love that. That's great.

[D]

$100 billion comes from the arts to support New York City. And again, like, this is like very small programs exist, but I just want to.

[C]

There is a building on the west side very. Yeah, exactly.

[A]

That has an audition process.

[C]

You have to. Yeah, I don't know if it's an audition. You have to apply. I think it's something like.

[A]

I believe it is the artist housing. Right. Isn't there such a thing as artists?

[B]

There was. In SoHo, you said, was there an.

[A]

Audition or was it just based on.

[C]

No, I don't think so.

[B]

So. So this is my, this is why, to be honest here, the board is the problem.

[D]

What's the problem?

[B]

No, no, there's. There's no question. I know that back when New York was, you know, had a lot of poor neighborhoods, SoHo, East Village, whatever it is, it actually, it's true. It was a. A breeder of talent and the arts and the. A lot of very good artists lived in these soho lofts that were zoned for housing. And we spawned Keith Haring in the city and all. Who was. Yeah, yeah, all these things.

[C]

And Madonna.

[D]

Yes.

[B]

And. And this, this Lady Gaga. This is. Well, the music scenes. Yeah, and. And this is lost. And put music scenes aside for a second because I want to go back to that. Okay, but. And this is a casualty of New York becoming just so affluent now that we don't have these degenerate neighborhoods where, where these things could grow. The idea of auditions is, you know, it's just, it's just a wide open for corruption. Look at the, look at what happened to just for laughs in Montreal.

[D]

I know.

[B]

I mean, as soon as politics makes its way, the audition process says just becomes a disgrace.

[D]

But don't you. Wouldn't you have a little bit more faith in it if an artist is running it?

[B]

No.

[D]

I appreciate your honest answer.

[B]

I'd have less.

[D]

You have less. Why you think I'm competing with them? I'm gonna. I'm gonna go do a tight five to get my own house.

[B]

I know how. Because artists, comedians, they have their own vision of what's good and what's not.

[D]

Well, I'm not going to be on.

[B]

The board, but inevitably there's snobby. They'll hook up their friends. I mean, I. I was on the community board related and it was just astounding. If a restaurant owner came and want. Came and wanted in a sidewalk cafe or whatever, it was right all the time. If the guy on the community board liked that kind of food or he knew the guy or he frequented that guy's restaurant in another neighborhood. It was so corrupt.

[D]

But that's why you have a multiple people making the decision. How about this? How about this?

[A]

How about esteem?

[D]

How about we put all the auditions on YouTube? New Yorkers vote. New York's Got Talent. Is that better for you?

[B]

Even this becomes subject to. It's better. Yeah.

[D]

That is better. Okay.

[B]

It becomes better. People, people. Game It. It becomes subject of. Of trends and fads and.

[C]

Okay, okay, two questions. Number one is what would be a reasonable way to get people into these housing. Into this housing situation, artist housing, that wouldn't be corrupted?

[A]

I think I could answer that question on no one's behalf. Lottery don't live in New York.

[C]

No. That's garbage, though. The other thing is, is that these artists are still living in New York, but they're not living in the city. They're living in Queens and they're living far out in Brooklyn. And I think that that sucks. Like, I would much rather have a lot of these comics and artists and whoever be more in the city than. Instead of, you know, $5 million apartments in the East Village.

[B]

I know you would rather it, but. But nobody cares. And I. And I would rather it. I would rather it as well. However, I understand deeply in my gut that because I prefer it or because it's what I'm used to, so therefore I think it's preferable is a very poor way to run a city. You have to allow change to happen and progress to happen.

[C]

No, but that's not what I'm saying.

[B]

If the city becomes successful and the Bronx then percolates a new art.

[A]

You can see what's going on in the South Bronx, by the way. They're building luxury apartments there as well.

[B]

I mean, at some point, this is what happens. The best thing to do would be to build more and more housing. But can I just. I told you, I want to come back to the music thing because you can't have a music scene in New York anymore because of all the noise. The noise restrictions. When, when I was a kid, if you walked around Greenwich Village, you would hear music pouring out of bars. It would be like Austin is today. Actually, Austin is over the top, but Nashville.

[C]

But isn't that terrible?

[B]

Yeah. Yes, but this is. This is not right. This is terrible. This is not a product of. Of change. This is a product of a city turning its. Its law enforcement against these things. Meaning, like, you can't. You cannot have music clubs anymore.

[C]

But it's also of turning a city corporate, right?

[B]

Like, if you don't have corporate, it's the people. People. It's related to rent control, by the way.

[D]

So it's.

[B]

It's all related. But it's very interesting because. Because if you look at all people live in this neighborhood here in rent control apartments. Many, many, many of them. It's the common narrative. They moved here when they were young, they wanted to live in Greenwich Village.

[D]

Now they're old and they want.

[B]

Greenwich Village was the hippest, coolest place. Yeah, it was nightclubs and Bob Dylan.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

Now they're old, they don't like the noise. Yeah, they've organized. They shut down the music clubs. Yeah, they have rent. Why don't they move out? They can't afford to move out because they have a rent controlled apartment. So go move to Gramercy Park. No, I can't live in. So it all feeds on itself.

[D]

Well, I mean, that's why there is specifical. Specific affordable housing.

[B]

Specifical.

[D]

It's fine. It's kind of a fun word.

[A]

Yeah, I'm happy with specifical, but I.

[D]

Think there's specific affordable housing for seniors. So they could move into that. I mean, there is, there is a certain amount of housing that's allocated just for seniors.

[B]

Nobody wants to live in a house for seniors.

[D]

Well, they have to make a decision then. I'm not.

[B]

Oh, they're happy. They're happy where they are.

[D]

Noise complaints as you are. But so, I mean, I, I think I agree with you. Like there should be. If you want to live in a certain area, certain areas in the city should be open to creation, especially on like Friday, Saturday nights. Are you getting a lot of noise complaints still for your venue?

[B]

I don't have music anymore.

[D]

Well, you have music in Olive Tree.

[B]

Oh, I own the building.

[A]

But the only people complaining about that are the comedians. We can't have a conversation.

[B]

When I was a kid, when I was a kid, New York was kind of the wild West.

[D]

Right.

[B]

And I mean, I can remember growing up, my father spent very little of his time in worrying about compliance of some, you know, just the, the day to day compliance with all the different rules and regulations and, and thing. Now this is what we spend all day doing every day.

[D]

Well, what did your, what business did your dad own?

[B]

The Olive Tree?

[D]

Oh, he owned it too. I. Okay, yeah, he would go to work.

[B]

He played music, he'd do this, he'd have some fun. Whatever. You got to pay your taxes, whatever it is. But you know, you can move your. If you want to move your tables around. You can move your tables around if you want to. Like now it, like, it's unbelievable. You just, you just, it takes all the fun out of it too. It's like you run your whole organization just to deal with the neverending enforcement of the city, the state and the federal government. The cops come, they raid you, they inspect. They literally, they'll tell all your customers to leave to inspect you on A Saturday night, and then they'll give you a ticket for a crowd on the street, because they may. So help me God.

[D]

That's happened to you.

[B]

It happened years ago. Yeah.

[D]

And so. And so you think this is the result of liberal government having too many rules?

[B]

Of course, they pile rule on top of rule on top of rule on top of rule.

[D]

Right. I mean, I don't agree. And a certain point, especially when you're talking to certain groups of people, like, I had a. I don't want to give out who this was, but I had a.

[B]

Give it out, give it out, make news.

[D]

So I had like a. I. I had a. I. I'm doing a lot of small talks with, you know, groups of like 10 to 15 people. And so I was on the Upper east side a couple weeks ago, and I was having a chat, and it was mostly like, liberal white women and.

[C]

You know, on the Upper east side.

[D]

And so you're. You're thinking this is a group of people who considers themselves quite politically active, you know, has the tote bag that says, you know, support your public library or whatever it is. But then when we actually started to have a conversation about the issues, you think that be shocked and want to do something immediately about the. A hundred thousand people experiencing homelessness or people going through a mental health crisis, but really, it went around the table, and everyone was kind of just worried about their own individual, specific situation.

[B]

White women.

[D]

Well, and I think that is a problem. And I do. I agree. I think that's a problem for liberalism. We like to parade ourselves around as the party that has the biggest heart and love's always going to win. But I don't think we've shown that. That in our policy and in the things that we've gotten done. So, yeah, we do need to loosen up on things, for sure.

[B]

So I know a guy. I. I can tell you who he is.

[D]

You can reveal. I can't reveal. Okay, who's.

[B]

No, I can reveal off the mic because I don't want to.

[D]

Okay.

[B]

He is, I would say, the smartest bar owner I've ever met.

[D]

Huh.

[B]

He owns six or seven places. You know, you've probably gone to most of them what time or another.

[D]

Right.

[B]

Call him up already a couple years ago, and I was asking him some question about opening a new place, and he says, no, I'm never opening another place in New York. He says, I opened in Nashville. Now I opened in some other city he named. He says, it's a pleasure. They want you to do business there. It's easy. You open up, you can build whatever he says. I have my places in New York. I'm not closing them. I will never open another place in New York. Why would I? That is what you need to crack all the rest of this stuff, in my opinion, with all due respect, you know, is all bs. It really is. If you want a future for New York, crack.

[D]

Crack the code of making it easier to own a small business if you.

[B]

Want a future in New York. Because all money, 100% of it, not 99% of it, 100% of it comes from businesses either through salaries or their taxes that they pay themselves. 100%. And if you cannot make it your priority that businesses want to open and can thrive in New York City over a not that long a period of time, given current technology, New York will die. And right now, well, New York is hanging by. Doesn't feel like it, but we're hanging by a thread of the financial district because you've chased out all the rich people as it is. I know, I know. We all know people who moved out of New York because of the taxes.

[D]

Yeah, but it's still the wealthiest city.

[B]

Because of the financial district. But you know what? You don't have to have a geographical location for the stock market anymore. Wall street is just an automated process. It can operate from Dubai, it can operate from anywhere in the world.

[D]

So you're saying these people have no incentive to stay here because it can exist eventually.

[B]

Eventually it will leave if the city is not safe and it's not pleasant to live here. And it's not. There's no other base of businesses. It's a reckless thing that's going on in New York and you just want to pile more taxes and more rules and more this and more that. And you guys are going to kill New York City and it's going to happen. What's the Scott Fitzgerald world? Gradually then all. All of a sudden go, and.

[D]

Gradually and all at once. Yeah, I, I mean, I. One of the. My main priorities, though, is supporting small businesses. I want, I want you to do well.

[B]

We don't need your support. I don't need.

[D]

You want, you want it.

[B]

You want, you want to get out of the way.

[D]

But I mean, I think that happens is like, yeah, you don't have to have a million people come who might not, you know, to say, okay, you're in compliance with this, you're in compliance with this. If those compliances don't even pertain to your.

[B]

Stop with the rules, stop with the regulation.

[D]

But Then what?

[B]

So let people. I mean, just current. So. So this place. I bought that building. And I'm not wealthy, like, you know, wealthy people.

[D]

You're wealthy like other people.

[B]

I'm wealthy, like. Like middle of the road, a successful business, a small businessman.

[D]

Okay.

[B]

I bought that building in April of 2023h.

[C]

It's crazy.

[D]

Yeah, that's.

[B]

That's started till two months ago.

[D]

I agree. That's insane.

[B]

It cost me hundreds of thousands of dollars, I'm sure.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

Just to sit. Sit there waiting for permits. I had to wait three months to get the approval of the mta. Ask. Ask me why I had to get approval. Mta?

[D]

Yeah, I would like. Well, why did you have to get the.

[B]

Because I have no idea.

[D]

I was like. Because the entrance across is across the street. Street.

[B]

My. My feeling is probably because in 1939, somebody put a jackhammer through a floor somewhere.

[D]

Right.

[B]

And went into a subway tunnel. Right. We have no subway tunnel under our. Our place.

[D]

Okay. There.

[B]

There is. There is a subway station, you know, Caddy corner to us. It's not.

[D]

Whatever.

[A]

Where's the tunnel, though? But you found 6th Avenue.

[B]

I. I don't know. I don't know where it goes. Yeah, 6th Avenue. But you. You want to help businesses. Tell everybody we're going to turn that process. You won't have to wait three months.

[D]

Months.

[B]

You'll have to wait three days.

[D]

Yeah. Streamlining the process for small businesses, I agree, should be a priority.

[A]

No, but. No, I mean, you talk about the city dying gradually, then all at once. You know, when I look at the city and I see Long Island City, for example, or Hudson Yards. These are whole, basically cities within the city that cropped up in the past decade. I don't see a dying city. I see a city that's exploded with growth.

[B]

Now the city. The city's exploding with. With. With that. With. With the financial district.

[A]

You're saying the financial district is. Is. Is the engine driving all the revenue.

[B]

I'm not an expert on the city's finances, but I know that mom and Pops can't open in the city anymore. And that's for sure, because the.

[D]

Yeah. I mean, for a tiny hole in the wall, it's like $5,000 a month. Like a closet.

[B]

Not the rent. The. The economies of phosphorus.

[D]

Me. I mean, that. And that was even one step.

[B]

The higher wages that you're required to pay, the expertise you need to know in accounting, the economies of scale that big companies have, the architecture fees, the expediting, like it's impossible for Anybody. I went to an Ivy League law school. I can't fucking figure out what's required of me.

[D]

Right. And I think that's a problem. I think everything should be clear if.

[B]

I have to hire a professional at 3, 400 an hour. Yeah, my father opened with money he squirreled away as a taxi driver and just opened, right? He just opened. You know, like he just opened.

[A]

Well, but I'm seeing a lot of bodegas that. I mean these guys aren't sophisticated people.

[B]

They're probably. Many of them are probably illegal and they're probably headed up to here with. Have it up to here with the violations. But the fact is that we all. If you want to know why there's more and more chain places, more and more court places. I mean, I understand. Nothing stays the same. When I was a kid, you would see the soda shop, this shop, it'd be people who didn't barely spoke English. They'd be immigrants. It was just completely different thing.

[A]

That's who's running, you know, the 711 on the corner and that.

[C]

That's not who owns the 7 11.

[B]

Necessary11 is exactly my point.

[A]

Well, but then there's also these. All these little shops on McDougal street, the guy next door, they don't last.

[B]

They last a few months.

[D]

Yeah, that's the problem. There's a constant turnover.

[C]

If there's time, I have one question.

[B]

Yeah, go ahead, hit it. What about the schools to the public schools?

[A]

Okay, that's a good.

[C]

What are you doing as mayor about the anti. Semitism that is ravaging? No, it's a real question.

[B]

That's an example of how it's ravaging in the public schools in New York City. Public schools?

[C]

Absolutely.

[B]

Okay, give us an example. I don't know about this.

[D]

Do you have children in public schools?

[C]

I don't. Okay, but that, that's only one example. I mean, I think that there.

[B]

How is it ravaging in the public schools?

[C]

There are. Are teachers who are bringing in anti Semitic and anti Israel propaganda. I mean. What do you mean? I mean this is all over the city.

[B]

Heard about this. I know about Columbia.

[D]

Yeah, it's mostly I. I've heard about it mostly because I read about this weekly. I mean I've heard about it mostly on college campuses.

[C]

No, it's also, it's also in the public schools. I have, I know a woman who like this is pretty much like what she does. She's sort of of trying to deal with like from the elementary school.

[D]

Just.

[C]

There was just a Big thing in Brooklyn a few months ago. But I mean, in general you're going.

[B]

To do about it, Corinne?

[D]

Well, I mean, yeah, it's interesting because, because it's an international issue and you say, well, how do we fix this on a municipal level? I mean, I think as mayor, you want to make sure that everyone is able to engage in free speech, but also feel safe. I do also feel a rise in anti Semitism. I've lived here for over 22 years and I me, I see things whether it's like, you know, spray paints on the wall or actual interactions between human beings that I've had. And when I was still doing comedy, there were multiple instances where something was said on stage. And I'm talking like in the context of a joke, but to where I'm going up to other Jewish comedians afterwards and going like that was someone, someone said something on stage maybe late last year about like Jews having the mark of the devil and everyone in the audience laughing and me truly feeling like I'm in another universe, because had you said that about any other group of people, that comic would have been banned from that club. So it's obviously an issue. I mean, and so I think it's just about treating hate crime no matter who it's against. Yeah, I'm not, I'm not taking aside here, but I, I think there is this thing like, almost like, oh, well, you know, this. A lot of people, especially active people who are active in politics, younger people might feel like, well, you know, Palestinians are being wronged. So we can take that out against Jewish people in New York. And obviously we can't have that. So crime, anti Semitic crimes have to be treated as hate crimes. But I would also say the same. If something is happening where people are, are doing, you know, anti Islam, then they also have to be supported. That's my job, just to make sure everyone's safe and is able to be, be religious the way they want to be religious, as long as it's not harming other people.

[A]

Perry, were you referring to like teachers that might take an ideological position in the classroom teacher might be telling their students, right, you know, yes, we need to, you know, divest from whatever they might be saying. So, so what are the rules, rules regarding public school teachers and what they can and cannot say?

[C]

I mean, I mean, I don't think that in elementary school you're supposed to come with an ideology like that for anything, right?

[D]

Well, yeah, I mean, to me, but I would imagine that no separation of church and state. I mean, like, you Know we're talking about like the education. Like this is, this is run by the government. So yeah, unless it is a specifically religious school that you sent your child to. Like. No, there should not be a religious discussion.

[A]

I mean you're not supposed to even a political discussion.

[C]

Yeah yeah.

[A]

A you know says we're, we're raising, you know, we're raising money for Palestine or whatever.

[C]

No, no, but I'm talking about like you're not supposed to indoctrinate, indoctrinate students with any politics whether you're anti gay.

[B]

Or you know, 16, 19 project.

[C]

I'm saying like this is that we.

[A]

Have the numbers that the school, the school system has, has, has rules in place, I gather.

[C]

Well, I'm telling you that those rules are being broken on a regular basis and there are a lot of complaints and a whole movement.

[B]

How are you going to improve the.

[D]

Schools, the public schools? I mean my number one thing is to right now public school teachers are paid the same rate to teach in any school. And I think that obviously if you're going to go to teach at an underperforming school you should be paid more. That seems very simple. Who is going to want to take a harder job for the same amount of money? No one is the answer. Why would anyone want.

[B]

Unless you somebody philanthropic.

[D]

Yes, you're right. I was gonna say unless you know, unless it's like a. To sir with love where you just feel this passion in your heart or you want to, to you want to teach people which by the way a.

[C]

Lot of public school teachers do and God bless them. Right.

[A]

I think we could save a lot of money replacing these teachers with chat GPT.

[D]

I knew, I knew it was going in a robotic direction.

[B]

Why, why do you think that a higher paid teacher can make a dent in the bad schools?

[D]

Well, I mean I think, I think it's that we can get teachers with more qualifications, a higher level of education and more years of experience.

[B]

I'm saying do you think problem and we have atrocious like scores, you know kids.

[D]

Oh I know.

[B]

Do you think the reason that those kids just can't read carefully now is because of the bad teachers?

[D]

No, I don't think it's bad teachers but I think that if you have a really difficult situation, you don't want to be sending a first year teacher.

[B]

But how do you, how do you change the difficult situation?

[D]

You mean like, you know too many people in a like class size?

[B]

Well, what did you mean by difficult situation?

[D]

Well, people are under this where the test Scores are coming in way lower than what be the average. So people, obviously, whatever the teaching tactic is, it's not working. People are not absorbing this information. I think part of that is that the class sizes are too big.

[B]

Because I think, first of all, you know, bleeding heart white people like Perio don't put their kids in public school anymore. So.

[D]

And I think that's unfortunate.

[B]

It's very unfortunate. So, so the school.

[C]

Hey, but wait, wait, wait, wait a second.

[A]

Where else is AR going to learn Hebrew if he goes to so the school.

[B]

So the.

[C]

Wait, wait. I mean, you're.

[B]

So the public schools. What do you want to say?

[C]

No, I mean, you guys don't get to talk about, like, me putting my kid in private school. And then I'm not going to respond.

[D]

I, I didn't even know if you had had a kid or not.

[B]

So, okay, she puts her kid in public school. The schools are mostly minority and Asian, I think, right?

[D]

That. Yeah, well, Asian is a minority.

[B]

Yeah, well, yeah, but mostly people of color and Asian. And, and the Asian kids do very, very well in these schools no matter what. Even when, even when their parents don't speak English, they score in the top in the city, in, in the sats. So, so they're getting something at home, obviously, that people of other groups are not getting. And it seems to me that if we want to, to have all our children thrive, we have to figure out how to fix what's going on in the homes so that they can better, so they can perform better in school. I don't think the teachers can do it. I'm a parent. And you see very quickly as a parent that, and we have very good schools. Where I live in Westchester, it wouldn't amount to a hill of beans if we were not home every day making sure our kids were doing their homework, reading, writing and arithmetic. We could send them there every day and it wouldn't matter at all. And.

[D]

So you just don't, you don't think that the education that you're getting during the school day is relevant without support at the home.

[B]

I actually don't think it matters all that much within reason if you have a proper home environment. But problem is we, you know, people are poor and they have single families and they don't have a proper home environment. But also add to that you have a lot of, you know, these schools can be rough. And what I observed as an employer of single moms over the years in the city is that when they had good kids, that they were trying to do right by the city was their enemy. Because the city never expelled the troublemaker kid, never expelled the bully, never always took the side of the worst kid who had the worst impulse on the classroom, rather than prioritize the, say, like the poor black kid who was trying to do right, who had a good home, who had a mother who was also working, but she would find the time to work on his homework, whatever it is, but she sent him to school. And the school was just overrun by, as I said, the bullies and the bad behavior and the weapons and all sorts of things that went, gangs, who knows what was going on in these schools. And the city never once would say no, okay, we're going to prioritize these good kids, and then we're going to worry about these bad, bad kids. I, I, they don't do that. And until they do that, they can pay these, they can pay these teachers a half a million dollars a year.

[D]

Right, but I mean, like, that, that's just kind of not the American way to just leave people in the dust because they have problems at home that, you know, so we're talking like grammar school kids. If they're misbehaving, we're going to say, well, put a pin in that.

[A]

Well, it depends how bad the misbehavior is. Well, you send them to an alternate school. You don't, you don't abandon them completely.

[D]

Or, or you mean you can isolate them to a different classroom where they're the kids who are not active now.

[C]

But who, but who's also in charge of that classroom? Like if you have a kid that's throwing chairs at people, for sure.

[D]

I mean, if it's, yeah, if it's actually violent behavior, I mean, for the weapons, I mean, you can just have metal detectors. I, I went to, you know, grammar school in New Jersey. We can have metal detectors. That's not a problem.

[A]

I, I went to plastic explosives.

[B]

I went to New York City.

[D]

Is that a big problem?

[B]

I went to New York City public schools. Yeah, I went to pretty good New York City public school, but I experienced some of this, and this was in the late 60s when, you know, those kids would get thrown out of the classroom right away. Yeah, but that's not the way it works anymore. And as far as I understand it, and my mother, my stepmother was a teacher in new public schools, and she was deathly afraid of getting, as you said, getting assigned. They used to assign the teachers, it wasn't to one of these bad neighborhoods because she knew what, what that meant. It was dangerous to her and it was, was just, it was just an impossible way. Also, you got no gratification from the job because you went from actually having positive days in well behaved classrooms to just becoming a kind of cop, you know?

[D]

Right. But I mean if children this young are acting out, I mean like doesn't, don't, isn't there a spot of empathy where you go, let's get to the root of this, why is this happening? Like, like kind of a takes a village mentality. If they're not getting support at home, that doesn't mean that they should be abandoned.

[B]

I have tremendous empathy, but I have more empathy for the well behaved kid.

[D]

But, but why? Because they most likely came from like, like, I think I, I've learned so much growing up.

[B]

They should not be penalized for the fact that their parents don't have enough money to send them to private school.

[D]

I hear you. I mean I went to public school and I put, I, I've put up with this and it was distracting. I did have to go home every night and have my dad ret, teach me the math lesson. And I, I, and so to me, I don't go, poor me, I go, wow, I'm so lucky that I had a dad who was available to reteach me that math lesson every night.

[B]

That's right.

[A]

Did he teach you with baseball cards? Like if I have three baseball.

[D]

No, but that would have been fun. It was, it was like a little bit more advanced, like geometry and stuff. Like though I guess he could have used a baseball card.

[B]

I, I, I, Growing up in this city, I went as I said, I went to New York public schools. I've heard you politicians come and go, come and go.

[C]

You politicians.

[D]

Well, at least, at least we've convinced them I'm a politician. There we go.

[B]

Go, come and go and come and go saying how you're going to improve the schools. Mayor Bloomberg, very, very smart man. As far as I understand, it doubled the amount of money per student that was spent in New York City public schools with no discernable effect on performance. And you guys just keep playing this game.

[C]

So what's the solution?

[D]

Yeah, exact.

[A]

Yeah, he just thought the solution. Toss out the bad apples.

[B]

The solution.

[C]

But then what do you do with them?

[B]

Well, the solution put him in alt. I don't knows you the like, like I said, I mean I'm not, when I say I don't know what you do.

[A]

Curtis Lee would run the class.

[B]

Don't, don't, don't misunderstand me. It's very Important what you do with them. It's very important that you treat them with care and empathy as you say and you try to do your best by them.

[D]

Right.

[B]

But I am of the opinion that with a lot of kids there is nothing you can do for them.

[D]

I don't think that's true. Any child, there's nothing you can do when they're still a child.

[B]

Yes. Because if their parent, if they're not going home, home to a wholesome upbringing.

[D]

What does that entail?

[B]

Whatever it entails.

[D]

Are you, do you think that you have to have a two parent household to have a wholesome upbringing, whatever, however.

[B]

You want to define it. I don't get dragged into that. But I'm saying is if, if the, if they're not going home to a rearing which is possible to produce whatever it is to, to of. To overcome these problems that we're talking about, if the parents can't do it, some bureaucrat sees them an hour a day or is not going to overcome it. If you have a very, very badly behaved child, only the parents can overcome that. You cannot hire teachers to overcome that.

[C]

I don't know if that's true.

[B]

Well, it's never been done.

[C]

I don't know if that's true. I think you hear, you guys, you.

[B]

Guys are really part of the program problem.

[C]

You let me talk you.

[B]

But, but okay. You have to understand if you have a traumatic home life.

[C]

I appreciate that Richard Pryor grew up in a house. Right. I mean what I'm saying is, is gun sled shame.

[B]

I think that Richard Pryor was a genius. And by the way, he didn't overcome it.

[C]

Well, I mean, define overcome.

[B]

He blew himself up with a crack pipe when he was a famous celebrity.

[C]

Well, that's a fair point, I will grant you that. I think that that is, that is a fair point.

[D]

Back to the drawing board, Richard.

[C]

I say, I take. I think that. All I want to say is that I think that you hear a lot of stories about teachers who saved kids lives.

[B]

No, you don't hear a lot of stories like you.

[A]

What about Morgan Freeman?

[D]

I think really teachers can have a really impactful, can be really impactful on students and they're not. And especially when we're in grammar school, they're not spending one hour a day. These people are classroom teachers. They're spending, you know, six hours with.

[B]

You know, if you have any. What was the last time when you had any person who's suffering from antisocial behavior, one kind or another, an adult and they Go to a therapist and a therapist says, tell me about your third grade teacher.

[D]

I think lots of people have.

[B]

Nobody. But you don't really, you don't. Nobody. Nobody thinks that the teacher is somehow responsible for the fact that your life is.

[A]

No, no, no.

[C]

Come on. School is a salvation and like a safe haven for a lot of kids.

[B]

There are kids who are, who are gifted in some way or blessed, who even come from bad homes and difficult homes and do actually thrive in schools. But I'm saying if you have some kids. Kid who was a problem, you need to get. If my, if my kid is a good kid and trying to learn in class and God damn it, peril, you're upsetting me here because you wouldn't tolerate it for five minutes in the school that you pay.

[C]

I agree with you about that.

[B]

If there was some kid in that. In your. In your private school, 100%, I give him two chances. And you. And you go to the principal, say, get this kid out of Mike. I don't pay $30,000 or $40,000 a year to have this kid ruin my kid's classroom.

[C]

I agree with you that.

[B]

That's.

[C]

I said that in the beginning, though, that I agreed with you about that.

[B]

They say, but what would you have us do with him? Say, I don't know. You'll figure it out.

[D]

But also this notion of, of that children can be good or bad.

[B]

My teachers, more than the teacher will be able to deal with this kid. It's so.

[C]

It's so not. That's not what I'm saying. The only is what you're saying. No, it's not. I agreed with you in the beginning that I do not think that those kids should be able to ruin a classroom for everybody else.

[B]

But you think the teachers can magically fix kids who have problems.

[C]

Think that there are children who are living in abusive homes.

[B]

There are.

[C]

And that school is like the only safe place for them. That's the only point I am making.

[B]

I agree.

[C]

I don't think that kids should be able to ruin.

[B]

I want to repeat again because it doesn't. It might not sound that way. My heart bleeds for these kids.

[C]

Yeah, of course.

[B]

But they're a different issue. What I'm saying is don't meet. Don't be naive to think you're actually not doing these kids a service. Service. To think that, well, we'll just keep them in this classroom and that we're helping them. No, you're not helping them. If you want to take them out and you can Think of some intensive way of helping them. Take my tax money because these kids deserve.

[D]

You have to leave them into disruptive people who need to learn. I agree with you.

[B]

If you want to fix the schools.

[D]

Because that has been destroyed out of the school. It's the isolation. Tell every kid in a different classroom where you have someone who has a certification in dealing with people, probably with emotional issues. Issues. Some kind of a psychology background.

[B]

Have a classroom that says this classroom is only for kids who never miss their homework. And if you miss your homework once, try whatever, you're out.

[C]

Yeah, I, I think that there is something to that. That like also how many kids you'll.

[B]

Help by doing that.

[C]

I, I think that like I do really agree that like having no consequences for bad kids is not. Is not helpful.

[B]

Come parents sign. Yes, we will all. We are going to make sure our kids do their homework and they do their homework. That's how you help kids.

[D]

Right. But a lot of people.

[B]

That's how I help my kids. I make sure your homework.

[D]

Me too. But so, but what are. What are we doing with these people who. Kids who are going home to an empty house because their parent is working two jobs and they don't even have anyone to sign off on their homework. Are we just saying them?

[B]

I told you three times. I'm not saying them. I'm saying handle it as a different issue.

[D]

Yeah. And it. I say we can do that. We can isolate it. Because I agree with you.

[B]

Everything about the school system is set up.

[D]

I'm not in charge right now.

[B]

That's what I'm saying. Well, you're not going to. But I'm saying you're not going to fix it. You're not going to fix it by increasing teacher salaries. My point, that was.

[D]

That was. I mean that was one piece of, of a plan. That was just the first piece that I introduced that you see, I somehow don't. I mean, I still think that teachers who are working in a harder environment should get paid more money.

[B]

I think so too.

[D]

Chair thrown at you. You deserve a little. You know, you deserve to buy yourself a frappuccino.

[B]

That's to be. That's to do right by the teachers. Do not expect higher scores from it. That's my point. Of course teachers should get paid more for. For harder work. I'm for that. Is.

[A]

Is getting bullied at. At. At. At. At.

[C]

Don't say the name of the school, please.

[B]

At the school at Temple Bethel.

[D]

Thank God. Please don't say the school.

[A]

Are they stealing his tadaka Money, thankfully.

[C]

No, no.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

I, I, I said, Anyway, Corinne, where, where's Neil? Where's Nick?

[C]

He, I, that was just checking. He's downstairs.

[B]

I, you know, I had a friend, Neil Gillespie, when I was younger. I knew somebody, I can never, I always call him Nick. Neil. All right, Corinne, listen, I, I think it's great what you're doing and I, I hope that you do win because it'd be awesome to be able to, you know, call up the mayor and get a little. Well, how do you know she's, hello, VIP service.

[A]

Well, I don't know that she's going to answer your call when she's going to be busy. Are you going to live in Gracie Mansion or you prefer to live where you are currently living?

[D]

I mean, honestly, I really love where I currently live. I think I would do weekdays in Gracie Mansion and then do a little weekends a couple blocks away.

[A]

Do most mayors.

[D]

Yeah, most mayors do. I believe there was one mayor in the past, like five mayors, I think.

[A]

Bloomberg, I think just stayed in his house. Bigger than Gracie Mansion.

[D]

Yeah, my house is not big, bigger than Gracie Mansion. My, my house is probably the size of one room in Gracie Mansion.

[A]

Gracie Mansion is pretty cool. There's like a, you could have barbecues in the backyard.

[D]

Yeah, well, all the comics will be invited, so hope you guys are registered Democrats and they're gonna, you know, vote for me or ranked choice voting. So if you have someone else that's in your number one, are you number.

[A]

Two now, obviously there was some disagreement. Noam isn't, isn't down with much of your platform.

[D]

That's, I, that you know what, and that's fine.

[B]

She knew those.

[D]

I knew, I knew what I was walking into.

[A]

Is this platform written in stone or have you taken any of Gnome's words to heart and you thought, well, maybe he's, he's on to something with regard this thing or with regard to that?

[D]

No, I, I, I, I think there are additions. I mean, I'm especially very curious and interested in speaking to business owners because I am passionate about that. And so while I have owned a brick and mortar, I haven't owned one in New York City. So that comes with a different set of, of hurdles. And I, and I agree. I've talked to other bar, I did a piece with a bar owner in Brooklyn and she had a really long and aggravating process meeting compliance. She had a back, a back outside area in the back of her bar that she couldn't keep open for like the first, you know, year of business or something. So that's all that loss income, especially when it's nice outside, people want to be outdoors. And why can't. It's like, I'm looking at it. Why can't we go outdoor out there? Streamline it.

[B]

It's a crazy. The city is. I'm very pessimistic about New York City, although it does seem to be doing all right.

[D]

But I'm still excited.

[A]

We had James Alto John a few years ago who predicted the death of New York.

[B]

And I'm not predicting a death like that, but I just, I think that other places now in the country are, are really growing, and they're growing because of the contrast between the way they are running their cities and the way the old kind of what Ezra Klein was talking about, the way the old school cities have. It's very good that Ezra Klein finally snapped out of a little bit. But let's see. New York is so sclerotic.

[A]

What do you plan to do about the shitty weather? You call this a spring day day? It's like 40 degrees now.

[D]

You're gonna start rumors about our people.

[A]

Oh, yeah, that's true.

[B]

We are, we're, we are running a lot. All right, well, anyway, well, thank you.

[D]

Thank you so much for, for taking the time to talk to me. I, I sincerely appreciate it. I know that you are a very respected person in New York City, and a lot of people listen to this podcast who are. Am I? Yeah.

[B]

I appreciate that.

[D]

People, people know you, love you. Respect. It's, it's not, it's not easy to run a business in New York City, and you run a really successful one. That is legendary.

[B]

I'll tell you this. You're not out to lunch. Like, I, I, like, again, put.

[D]

I hope we're taking notes because all these are going on the. Whoops.

[B]

No, no. You really're pretty reasonable.

[D]

Not out to lunch is. I, I, I'll take it.

[B]

Yeah.

[D]

I'll take it.

[B]

Meaning, like, I, I, there's certain things that you, you don't have my experience, and so I don't, so I don't expect you to, you know, to, to intuit certain things. You know, what's the word? Like Sue Generos or. I don't know. But, but you are open and reasonable, and I think, I think you could be a good mayor.

[D]

Thank you. I appreciate that. I just, I want people to know that they deserve more, and it is possible we don't have to put up with the absolute bare minimum from our government.

[B]

All right, Corinne Fisher, everybody. Donate money.

[A]

Corinne Fisher.com that's C O R I n n e F I S H E r t for her platform. And I assume they can contact you there as well.

[D]

Yeah, there's an email and there's a form like what would make New York better for you? I read every single one myself. I'm really interested in hearing from New Yorkers and also specifically New York residents. If you donate even $10, $10 is the minimum. Matching. There's a really generous public matching funds program in New York City. Once I meet this thresh threshold, I get matched 8 to 1. So if you're listening and you even kind of think I have some good ideas, Please, please donate $10 at corinnefisher. Com. I appreciate it so, so much. This is a grassroots campaign. Average donation $53. Very proud of that.

[B]

Okay, go because I got a show because I have an appointment. Okay. Okay, bye.

[D]

Thank you. Bye.