 Thank you so much. Thank you so much chair Jones Austin I know for many of us here. It feels like a family reunion, right? We're all connected and and in this work and so my job is not to you know There's a there's a saying, you know, everything's been said, but not everyone has said it My job is not to say what everybody has already said But really just to give you a charge and to get us started I want to do want to thank Darren Walker and the Ford Foundation for this Wonderful wonderful kind of reception and the use of this space and underwriting this event and certainly all the leaders that are here I can name you all but we would be here all day, but thank everyone and certainly our Commissioner Sherman who's really that spearheaded all of this work We know the data. This is a group, you know as they would say in church would be preaching to the choir We know the data. We know that 50% of the people on Rikers Island are black men We know that 65% of black and brown children were not reaching proficiency in reading We know that they're only 3.5% of the businesses in the city of New York are black on we know the data about homeless youth being disproportionately LGBTQ plus we know the data so you will we all know the data and we all know how we got here this group this room knows That you know, this system was designed to produce the results that we have We all know that so the question here today is now. What do we do about it? right, we've got you know, there's lots of conversation and Surprising and and maybe even pontificating and sometimes finger snapping. It's okay. We can snap our fingers But the question is what do we do about it? And so what I what it might charge to you as you you hear from the esteemed panelists We have mayors that set the vision right set the vision without vision the people perish so we need to set a clear vision you're gonna hear from leaders and stakeholders who will help ground us in Not only what the data is and what the data shows but real concrete Examples forward, but this is a working session today, and I want you all to appreciate that there are work breakouts Work groups you are experts. That's why you're here and we want to hear from you There is a guide guiding Thought I want you to have today as you as you traverse this day's activities. Did it matter that I was here and Not just because yes because I took away a lot. I got I learned a lot, but it's about what you contributed Because we're really gonna take this forward. We're asking you to weigh in roll up your sleeves Lean in give what you've got and it's not gonna stop here But in this moment in this session, it's historic in so many ways and all the ways that we know and that are so evident to us so lean in Contribute and and help drive and I know you're all doing it in your individual way But collectively as commissioner sermon said we go far together Let's really put it all together and push forward certainly for the city of New York and beyond So without further ado, I think we do have our two mayors Who are here gonna be in conversation? So that they can help us set the vision for the path ahead. Thank you so much So we have our two mayors coming down shortly and we'll start this conversation But you know when we were planning today one of the things that we wanted to do is really start the conversation with big picture framing And really an opportunity to discuss some of the biggest challenges that our cities face And who better to discuss it than Mayor Adams and Mayor Baraka And so we'll talk about some of the challenges that our region is facing And really get an opportunity to hear from these two leaders So without further ado Mayor Adams and Mayor Raza rocker Thank you Discussion is focused on creating more equitable New York City And how better to start today than a conversation with our mayors You know, we want to start with where we are today This city was devastated and our region was devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic Which we know disproportionately impacted communities of color low-income communities immigrant communities And as we start to recover as a city and as we ensure we have a just recovery How do we avoid restored returning to the status quo? And if you can just describe what are some of the biggest challenges that we see In our cities right now, and I'll start with you Mayor Adams A combination and really is the shifted of mindset Of you know, I use analogy all the time that we have to have an upstream approach Archbishop Desmond to two stated we spend a lifetime pulling people out of the river No one goes upstream and prevent them from falling in in the first place We have a downstream mindset We wait until people come downstream and then we spend hundreds of billions of dollars on The downstream mindset and people are eating off that system and as long as that system is profitable There's no real desire to go upstream and prevent it. So what we did around Dyslexia, you know Dyslexia screening we know 30 to 40 percent of our prisoners at Rikers Island are dyslexic So why aren't we screening for dyslexic upstream? All the money that's made for those who are incarcerated is in contrast to those Who want to prevent the downstream mindset? foster care children Young people who the profiles are the same when we did an analysis Through our criminal justice analysis We noticed those young people was just as involved more likely to be in a homeless shelter more likely to have a learning disability More likely to come to from a community where they were abused But we were doing nothing upstream to prevent that we were just responsive And so the real challenge that we have in my opinion is the shift of mindset from being downstream Thinkers to upstream thinkers and be proactive to prevent what's happening downstream now We can't just abandon what's going on downstream We have to fuel while we're flying Let's prevent the flow and then deal with those who are downstream Also, and those who are midway to catch them and pull them out before they go all the way down Street that mindset is hard to show because so much money is made off of downstream Reaction and now we fight. I'm hurting how people make their paper. That's dangerous Well, I definitely hear that and I would add You know when you think about some of the underlying challenges with within the COVID pandemic I mean these were right all of these compounding inequities and and years of Particularly investing in in our work downstream I'd love to get your your your response to Mayor Baraka and also some of the unique challenges that you see in Newark Well, first, I would agree when Mayor Adams that we refuse to invest in the issues upfront So the kind of heavy The heaviness of the pandemic hit our community so hard because of those gaps particularly around housing We did not have anywhere to quarantine Which made it, you know more difficult for us to avoid catching COVID So one person got it and the whole family got it as a result of that So our investment in housing and making housing available and affordable to our residents particularly black and brown people and you know people of low income we Need to do that and so we began Even doing that faster and more in the city of Newark Because it's necessary to access the broadband for example, we've been spreading broadband across the city We did it before the pandemic. So we allowed some of our kids to go to the rec centers to do the kind of You know work in school from home. They were able to do the virtual learning They wouldn't even be wouldn't be able to do from their own home So now we have to expand that city-wide to make sure everybody has access to broadband and all in all those services as well I mean access to health care, you know, we have four times more people die at home in the city of Newark during in 2020 They did a year before Because they didn't have access to health care because the hospitals were overcrowded And people frankly were just afraid to go. There was no one coming to their home There's no clinic right down the street from their house So really trying to you know Reorganize and rethink health care and the delivery of health care service is important for our community And we continue and we're going to continue to do that and talking to our partners about how to make you know Health care easily accessible to the residents of our community. Those are like major issues You know that we have in our community that that that existed before COVID compounded it and now we have to work on it even more just the access to income and wealth and money Once you know, you couldn't go to work and all those things shut down. You were in trouble, right? There's no way to pay your rent. There's no way to You know, all these other things that you need so kind of guaranteed income and all these stimulus checks became important That's why they're still important now and it should be happening now people should still be should be getting money You know some cash in their household in order to take care of the services that they need to and and it helps the economy at the same time Absolutely, you know, one of the things that we discuss often is equity is not only about how we lead but also who leads, right? And you know, I have the privilege of sitting between two black mayors who are leading the biggest cities in our region And you know as leaders of color, I'd love to hear more about Reflection of your call to public service and how your lived experience is informing the work and the priorities of your administration And also how you navigate that tension between, you know Managing and serving your constituents with systems that weren't always necessarily designed with us in mind Some in some ways were designed to perpetuate inequities at the same time that you're trying to transform those systems So whoever wants to jump Well, you know, I think a couple things and we have to we have to always be conscious of the the hitting sexism and racism and how we communicate of My administration I may be a male mayor, but my administration is led by women I'm the first man in history where you have five women deputy mayors Women police commissioner women in charge of the department of sanitation You when you look at my administration and you see all of these women who have been really Men have been taken to credit of for what women have been doing behind the scene And so when I became mayor I said listen, I know where the real talent is and so now because I'm not taking the traditional people Now is defined and well your your administration is Is doesn't have the traditional people so it is not so suitable So those hidden messages that you see men coming up and say well We have to advise they're seeking help from us to help them in administration like hell We are we know we are asking you we we what we are doing is institutional shift and as being a Mayor of Color black mayor You know after 30 years of you know from David Dinkins day on this this has been a 28 year journey For 20 28 years ago. I said in January 1st 2022 I would be the mayor of the city of New York now took a while before people thought I was not on medication, but I But that plan has been mapped out and so These these city that betrayed me is now is being built into the policies that I'm Implemented I was betrayed to be dyslexic and not learning till I got into college I was betrayed when I was at the point that my family needed some food to eat They were feeding my mother and my five other siblings food that fed our chronic diseases I was betrayed that mommy didn't have child care That you know Sandra my sister had to stay home to keep us and that's why our child care and the billions We're putting into child care because we know it impacts women and so all I did was do an analysis of where the city betrayed me and Took notes over these last 28 years and said now that we're mayor and we have an administration We're gonna go after those betrayals and fix those betrayals and the team is focused on how do we deal with those betrayals that that were in in place and That battle is really it's a moonshot moment as I tell a team all the time We can't use all solutions to fix 21st century problems anymore You know and so people say to us all the time. Well, you know what you want to do is impossible No, it's impossible for you. It's not impossible for us We know that we can run these cities better And that's what what you see Roz doing in Newark And that's what I'm doing and 11 of the top cities in America for the most part have black mayors Have mayors of color I concur In reality, I think it's It's not lost on me that we have the ability and responsibility to make sure Our administration is more diverse So more than half The leaders and out in our administration are led by women women of color Our 90% of the people are more that are running the city of Newark are people of color black and brown folks specifically so We most of that is because of where we are, but it's also about design I grew up in a household of activists, you know folks that were attacked because of their beliefs who Sometimes were ostracized because of the things they they organized them as a part of it made me understand the Importance of community and the power of organizing and activism And so I bring that kind of lens and framework to city government And I don't treat the systems like they're broken. I treat them like they're operating the way they supposed to They just been designed to operate against me So that that means that I either have to supplement what's going on or create entirely new systems To address the issues that we have so they can include me, right? Because they don't include me. That's why we have to have this inequity kind of conference because I'm not included And when I see it that way That's me trying to be more democratic folks look at it differently, but our fight Against racism and white supremacy is a fight for democracy That's what it is. And so us putting women in these positions is a fight for democracy to expanding democracy And that's what we're doing in Newark. We and in New York City. We're helping America see what democracy really looks like You know, you know was important because so important what rise just stated that we have to be so careful We just did a summit over the weekend with a Group of people who are involved in the criminal justice system Which is really the feeder of some of the crisis that we're facing we had Advocates legal aids judges prosecutors police and we were all in the room and we walked out of there saying We agree on eight out of the ten items on a list But we have a media in this city and country that sensationalism and division Sales because our minds are hard-wired to be attractive to unfortunately bad news Right when when when you look at my daily papers and you go through the first eight pages You would think this is my city is out of order, you know, oh, we got this black man and everything is out of order Yes, I have six felonies six felonies a day that are on my subway system But I have 3.5 million riders that get to and from that place of employment to school and work with no problems at all I'm on the subway every day So when you sensationalize the worst part of your day, you start to define yourself through the worst part of your day So that image that goes across America. Hey, you have this African-American mayor and the city is falling apart That's not true. We're number one in the major market in hotels We have 56 million tourists coming to our city 65 million to come in next year 91% of our hotels are back up and operating we've increased the number of people coming back to work We are realizing How our economy is turning around But when others are painting that picture it dismantles The leadership that we are doing and it's so important that we can't pit ourselves against each other The blueprint we must be all a part of and not allow other people to define how we come together That's what we saw over the criminal justice summit this weekend So important, you know and this is the point around expanding democracy You know, one of the things that we've been talking about and we'll discuss further today is this idea of You know the way in which we're addressing our work here and now But also how we're thinking about it in terms of generation, right? The New Yorkers that will come after us and particularly our young people What are the ways in which your? administrations are trying to attract Address generational challenges like the opportunity gap the racial wealth gap. I'd love to hear some strategies and ideas That your administrations have underway. We'll start with you mayor Baraka, but New Jersey has one of the largest wealth gaps in the nation You know where white families median Income is or medium excuse me Wealth is about 300 something thousand dollars black families are about 17 and Latino is about 21. So that that wealth gap is enormous a part of it is centered around home ownership So, you know just starting from from there first we have a program where we are taking folks that were using section 8 We're taking them out of how housing and we're using that to allow them to have a mortgage So we're giving them a home putting them in a home So they use their section 8 voucher as a mortgage and they can own the home outright in 15 to 20 years paying the same amount of money they paid When they were in public housing In it and this does not go up or down it stays the same and we're able to do that because we own the property So we're able to manage that we want to step further We're about to expand that program to all residents who are 60% or below of the area median income We'll sell them the house directly for a dollar They have to fix the house the mortgage day. They will be based on what it costs for them to fix the house We're doing it in conjunction with Bank of America knock at no money down. You don't have to pay any money so there's no upfront costs and your Obviously your mortgage will be tied to what it costs you to refurbish the house Which in some aspects will be cheaper than what you're paying now for rent, right? And so we we are trying to be as creative as we can to make sure that that work We also joined with the mayor's guaranteeing income trying to make sure we we've identified some people and we're giving them cash You know every month some twice a year Some a big check once a year studying how that looks and what what it turns out to be to push for Earned to come tax credit the expansion of that the child tax credit expansion of that in the state and in federal Government there over a hundred mayors that are part of that right now That that we are pushing and pushing and pushing because I believe that I believe the stimulus checks work I believe we should continue to do that for people who need it in perpetuity, right? That that's what we're focusing on you know, we also are dealing with our lasting our anchor institutions and making them hire Newark residents at larger salaries and spend more their procurement dollars in the city of Newark with Newark based businesses trying to expand their ability to grow and Have you know money at their disposal as well? And I know Mayor Adams We've had the opportunity to celebrate universal college savings together and and you shared some of the investments in child care So it'd be great to to speak more to the work of our administration. Yeah, no, and it's so important. First of all We're the first mayor in this country to have an office of equity, which is so important Because sometimes people think equality is equity and it's not If you give me a jacket and my size is 52, but you give me a 44 That's the equal that we all got got it, but I need one that fits me and so we want to cater our Programming about equity everything from what we're doing what we call V cred teaching our young people of Vocational training good jobs that basically have been skipped over with our young people As the mayor stated earning comes tax credit We were able to get a increase the first time in over 20 years in Albany how we lean into Moving transition of people into home buying we moved away from the Mitchell llama type program Officer teachers next door program That's how I got I got my home and that home purchase allowed me to have enough equity To pay my son's college tuition that he left school debt free So the holistic approach to lifting people up our child care Many women are unable to go to work because they don't have adequate child care But we did and invested in child care brought the cost of child care down. So it was really incentivizing many Families to be able to go back into the rug field and then what we're doing over the summer building out With a Sheena Wright did and David Bank stayed around our Summer learning what we did to summer rising program of the syep program Those young people that went to school over the summer was not only becoming academically smart They would become an emotionally intelligent. We did meditation mindfulness yoga financial literacy Healthy food. So they must be a holistic approach to dealing with the economic challenges that people are facing And not just a a band-aid effect and we just really believe we must develop the full personhood of Children's and families so they can move out of this of the economic challenges that we're facing And then for our final question, this is really a question for you, but also Prompt for our audience, you know today we brought together a room of diverse leaders from all sectors And we're spending the day together discussing equity sharing ideas And you know the premise of this the summit in this discussion is that no city can do it alone Right that that equity requires something of all of us. So I'd love to hear from you both as leaders What do cities need in terms of partnership collaboration investment? What what do we need from our stakeholders in order to really ensure that we're addressing these issues long-term? Well, we need first of all we need commitment and the will To get these things done the urgency has to be there not just in a crisis People came together in a crisis to do specific things well Most of us did right in the crisis to get to get these things done But this should happen even when there's not a crisis in your mind because we've been in the crisis You know for a very very very long time And and when you look at it that way you the urgency is is there and then I think we need investment like we just I mean there's been deliberate and intentional Disinvestment in our communities for decades Intentional and deliberate in fact the u.s. Department of Justice just Sue the company in New Jersey Lake Lakeland Bank who are still practicing redlining today, right today You know, so it's been intentional and so we need intentional investment the same way that was intentional investment You know FDR and WPA and the new deal We need a new deal now because some of us they never had an old deal So we need So we we need that now like we need an urban Marshall plan I mean, it's I mean the mayor is brilliant and smart and I'm I think I'm brilliant sometimes He looks better than me, but you know, but at the end of the day, I mean these problems are big We do what we can but we need partners We need help and we need commitment and investment in these communities and we need to know on all levels Yeah, and one of the first things we did when we took office. I believe it was in January We met with Darren and Ford Foundation web. They have been amazing Jennifer and others and we say let's all get in the room together. You have to operate off a blueprint You know, I think nothing is more Shakespearean tragedy then You put your heart and soul into something your resources into something and it's not coordinated We must get in a room and identify a real blueprint and identify who's doing what? You know, we can't continue to operate on one block. I have four financial literacy nonprofits, right on one block I have five Domestic violence, we don't all have to have our own nonprofit our own boy I'll own you know this I own that and if we coordinate together We can come up with a real blueprint on what's expected We missed a major moment during the black lives matter of movement All of these corporations that felt guilty for the moment You know, they thought that okay, let me just you know put a hundred thousand dollars at your dinner dance Let me just you know do these token events. No, we were supposed to have those of us who are in health Should have come up with what's the health blueprint those of us in education? What's the education blueprint law enforcement the blueprint social services the blueprint housing the blueprint then we go to those Corporations, we should have told them all hold on to your money We're gonna come to you what we want as a master plan instead of you know, just these little Smart checks that we're doing and so what I'm hoping that all of us do with Darren Did with us in the beginning of this administration? Let's get in the wrong room number one Let's draft the blueprint number two Many of us have been in this too long And we we are we start from a place of what can't be done Instead of what can be done and we need to just have outside I told my team the other day we need outside entities to come in look at our operations and say You need to start thinking of the possibilities. I tell I'm trying to I'm getting this book for my home team I encourage everyone to read moonshot that book is a power a powerful book That we are around each other and we're limited by our intellectual Boundaries of the possibilities. There's nothing impossible We have to we have to be aggressive enough to move beyond that so when the Anathor men were around if someone would have told them they walked into a room and they would be able to Flip one switch and every light will come on and I built it. They would have thought it was impossible There's nothing on the planet right now that was not on the planet when they were there It was just that no one had to vision and insight to go beyond where they are The things we're doing right now. We think are impossible. We just need the visionaries to tell us that we can do it We're not lacking possibilities. We're lacking vision Well, thank you. I can't think of a better way to end this discussion a new world is possible Thank you so much. Mayor Adams and Mayor Baraka. Thank you. Thank you Hey, I hope everyone's feeling good and energized after that discussion So we are going to go straight into our next panel Which is really focused on possibility. It's all about reimagining new york city Believing a new world a new city is possible. And so I'd like to call up to the stage our moderator and our panelists Jennifer Jones Austin