By Gus Saltonstall
Scott Stringer is currently running for mayor for the second time in as many election cycles, but before he vied for New York City’s highest office, he got his start in politics on the Upper West Side.
Stringer first served as a community organizer for now Rep. Jerry Nadler, who represented the Upper West Side in the New York State Assembly from 1977 to 1992. Stringer eventually became Nadler’s district coordinator, and moved to the Upper West Side in 1982.
After Nadler was elected to Congress, Stringer won the race to take over the vacant Upper West Side Assembly seat, and represented the neighborhood for the next 13 years. Following his time in the Assembly, Stringer continued serving in elected office as Manhattan Borough President and New York City Comptroller.
West Side Rag got on the phone with Stringer to discuss his Upper West Side ties and his current campaign for mayor.
Responses have been lightly edited for clarity.
West Side Rag: What first brought you to the Upper West Side?
Stringer: I was born and raised in Washington Heights, but I decided to come to the Upper West Side when Jerry Nadler was in the state Assembly representing the neighborhood. Over the next few decades, I became immersed in West Side life, West Side politics, and everything else West Side.
West Side Rag: Are there any specific Upper West Side projects that you were part of that you look back at most fondly?
Stringer: I was an organizer for the Mitchell-Lama Residence Coalition [an affordable housing program] that included work on the Upper West Side. I fought to protect residents of Park West Village, and as Nadler’s district coordinator, I helped thousands of residents with basic problems in the community.
As Assemblyman, I played a significant role in building the second entrance to the 72nd Street train station, which stands today and was a real battle at the time. There hasn’t been an issue of importance on the West Side that I haven’t been involved in during the last decades.
West Side Rag: One issue that is generating conversation on the Upper West Side is the number of vacant storefronts in the community. How would you look to improve the situation as mayor?
Stringer: Landlords have to rent. We have got to — with a carrot or a stick — get them to understand that it is not just about simply renting a store; it is about being part of a community. We depend on our stores not just for goods and services, but also for lighting and street vitality. When you have blocks and blocks of empty stores when the sun goes down, that is not safe. It doesn’t give people a feeling of confidence in the neighborhood.
We also have to get off the backs of stores that are struggling, because we have to prevent people from creating vacancies, and we have to reorganize the city’s Small Business Administration to actually service these stores. Everyone who is a small business owner should have a streamlined way to interact with the city.
I believe we should create a system to deal with things like inspections and approving building plans quicker. To that end, we should split the Building Department in two, have a Department of Inspection and a Department of Planning, so we can get those two things moving at the same time. We don’t move to solve problems now, so the store that is not making it has to close. We don’t value keeping stores open enough, and we do this whole storefront process backward. We assume a store or restaurant will fail, and then the city says, somebody else will come in and rent the store, and we’re starting to see that’s not the trend. Stores are staying vacant. We have to incentive the landlords and reorganize these city agencies.
West Side Rag: More vacant storefronts is one way that longtime residents say the Upper West Side has changed. Do you feel the neighborhood has changed in other ways since you first got here in the late 70s and early 80s?
Stringer: The Upper West Side is a neighborhood that has gotten wealthier; it’s attracting the big chain stores. Again, we have to leave room for the small mom and pops. This is the work I did when I was Manhattan Borough President and in the state Assembly, fighting very hard to keep our small businesses there. When you know a neighborhood like the back of your hand, you sort of always miss what you were used to, but we also have to work to usher in the next generation of mom-and-pop shops.
West Side Rag: On the topic of preservation, there is an ongoing debate about how to preserve a neighborhood with the history of the Upper West Side, while also finding ways to create housing, whether it is a luxury condominium building or affordable-housing units. How do you see that balance?
Stringer: When I was in the state Assembly I worked on the West End Avenue Historic District, because I wanted to help preserve the history and beauty of the Upper West Side. I have also worked with community boards to make clear that we don’t want developments that are out of context with our side streets, but maybe we need to up-zone certain parts of Broadway. The advantage of having me as mayor for locals is that nobody knows the nook-and-cranny blocks of the West Side like I do.
West Side Rag: In January, West Side Rag reported on how NYPD officers newly assigned to the 20th Precinct had been moved out of the community despite a downtick of officers in the neighborhood since the COVID pandemic.
What is both your vision for public safety, and specifically, how would you look to solve the police retention problem the NYPD is currently dealing with?
Stringer: We are having a serious police retention problem. 50 percent of our young police officers are leaving after two or three years on the job. They are not retiring from policing, they are moving to other municipalities or other cities. We need to have a retention plan. We have the lowest police count in the city in a generation, we are losing more cops than we are hiring. I have a realistic plan to hire 3,000 more police officers. We need to look at more flexible work schedules, child daycare, especially for women who are on the force, who now make up 20 percent of the total.
But look, we are also spending $1.3 billion in overtime. We went from $650 million four years ago to $1.3 billion today. If we are able to hire 3,000 more cops we can reduce overtime and then use that money for a robust mental-health plan. We see too many people that are homeless on the West Side and the East Side. We see too many people that are languishing in the subways, they are literally dying in front of us, and nobody is helping.
I want to do the 3,000 more cops, I want a retention and recruitment plan in place by January, I want to make sure we have a deputy mayor for quality of life, which would be a first.
People are tired of seeing trash piled up everywhere. People don’t want to see rats walking right past them on the West Side. I see it everywhere I go, and we need to tell people that our mayor is going to focus not only on the big things, but on the day-to-day life-altering issues that make New York harder to love. And the West Side is one of the great vibrant neighborhoods — you see the energy and excitement, you see the rich political history, the families and the fabric of the neighborhood — but government has to help.
West Side Rag: Speaking of our neighborhood, do you have any personal favorite spots on the Upper West Side?
Stringer: One of our favorite family restaurants is Amber on 70th Street. I want to make it clear, I love every West Side restaurant, but Amber has always been a special place for us. We sit at the same table, and our kids sit in the same seats they have since they were babies.
Spending most of my life on the West Side, whether it’s Riverside Park or Central Park, or just feeling the energy of Columbus Avenue or being out in front of Fairway, the neighborhood will always hold a special place in my heart.
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Stringer is a defund the NYPD liberal, who has zero interest in the safety of New Yorkers.
Yes the current COP mayor did a great job reducing crime. Let’s give the NYPD more funds!
The last I heard on the issue (2021), Stringer, a two-term City Comptroller, had proposed a cut of $1B from the NYPD’s $6B(!) budget, spread over four years — if that’s what you consider “defunding”. Stringer has also stated, “I have a realistic plan to hire 3,000 more police officers. We need to look at more flexible work schedules, child daycare, especially for women who are on the force, who now make up 20 percent of the total” (source: the article above). What might your evidence be that he has “zero interest in the safety of New Yorkers”? Zero, eh?
But you are absolutely correct: Stringer IS a liberal — perhaps your core complaint?
Defund the police is so 5 years ago, give it a rest. Your guy is in the White House and you elected a cop for mayor, if at this point you’re not satisfied, you never will be. For Pete’s sake!
He’s trying to make a comeback. No thanks.
A comeback — heaven forfend!
I’ve had more than enough comebacks for a dozen lifetimes this past November.
OPOD,
You know, well you don’t, that “defunding of the NYPD” never occurred.
It’s the mayor and the NYPD that chose not to enforce basic laws — especially regarding traffic and guns.
Jay, The NYPD did not abandon NYC. New York City abandoned the NYPD.
NYPD and their union threw a hissy fit when NYCers wanted to hold officers accountable for their actions and they have been on soft strike ever since.
NYPD culture is completely corrupted, exhibit A is former chief Jeffrey Maddrey who has ethics violations and complaints his whole career and still gets appointed chief and then is conducting overtime fraud and sexually abusing subordinates and who knows what else. Tisch is cleaning up the place a little but the culture of NYPD is broken.
UWS Dad, Running towards danger is a very unnatural act. I seriously doubt you are the type to risk your life for people you don’t know. The current belief for many NYPD is many New Yorkers are cop haters like yourself. Cops still go towards danger just not as fast. When I look at what liberals have done to a city I used to love, it makes me sick.
I’m not a cop hater by any stretch; I just think if you sign up to be a NYPD officer you should do the job you were hired to do, doesn’t seem like a lot to ask for. You seem to agree NYPD aren’t doing their jobs… if I did the bare minimum at my job, I’d get let go pretty quick.
Excellent point the NYPD is civil service there is no reward for going to extra mile. You endanger your career if you try to Police people who have been told Cops are bad , you have rights you don’t need to listen to the police and you absolutely do. Please understand that NYPD don’t get in trouble in anyway because they did the minimum. A do nothing Cop almost never gets complaints from CCRB. A hard worker who wants to make the city safer probably has 20 CCRB.
OPOD,
How?
Jay. during the George Floyd riots. New Yorkers stood by while their Police Department was attacked on many fronts. Physical attacked with bricks and the attackers were let go by filthy vermin like Alvin Bragg. Weak politicians like De Blasio and Stringer folded like cheap suit and spoke against the NYPD. Teachers and Nurses marched against the NYPD because of something that happened in Minneapolis.
The morale of the NYPD was changed forever. The betrayal will never be forgotten. Many Cops turned into blue potted plants who were simply there for decoration.
New Cops for the most part have no love for the job because no one teaches them that, it’s simply a job instead of a real and deep love and commitment for the city of NY.
“riots”? They barely happened in NYC.
The only things that would qualify would be looting that the NYPD at a minimum allowed to happen, and some attacks on police cars parked outside of precinct houses. The NYPD brought that latter upon itself by repeatedly physically assaulting peaceful protesters — especially in the Bronx and Brooklyn.
If you were being honest about bad police behavior, the moral of the NYPD should have gone down significantly, and barely recovered, 30 years ago.
Daniel Pantaleo murdering Eric Garner didn’t help much. Shouldn’t you be on Theerant with the rest of the 20 is plenty crowd?
People get the society they deserve. Pantaleo didn’t kill anyone. People who hate the Police better make friends with the criminals.
“Pantaleo didn’t kill anyone”?? I believe I’m beginning to see the root of the problem here: we inhabit different universes.
In “my” universe, anyhow:
https://web.archive.org/web/20210210083006/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/02/nyregion/staten-island-man-died-from-officers-chokehold-autopsy-finds.html
Saw him outside Fairway, just like in the photo above. I asked him about residential parking permits for the UWS. He said he’d never heard of this issue. I mean, what? He’s a public official and hasn’t heard of permitted parking? Talk about out of touch.
Also, this gem. “We have got to — with a carrot or a stick — get them to understand that it is not just about simply renting a store; it is about being part of a community.”
I’d like to learn how one uses “the stick” to compel me to engage in any economic activity with my legal property that I have chosen not to undertake.
Your take is so Charles Koch.
You also read kind of like DJT when he was running the Trump Org for his father in the early 1970s.
Evidently vacant storefronts do have their proponents, and I suppose it’s good to hear from them as well every so often.
Evidently, people who can write but can’t read do exist, and I suppose it’s good to hear from them as well every so often.
The context of your carrot-or-stick quotation from the article above (which I trust you read very closely), along with your questioning the legitimacy of “the stick”, straightforwardly suggest a defense of the right to contribute to urban blight. Did I misread you, or are you just being coy about the logical implications of your complaint? I shall do my best to read your answer.
Disagree with your interpretation. (Nor do I believe not renting out a property is some sort of exercise of a “right to contribute to urban blight.” )
Just genuine curiosity regarding this candidate’s planned tools and methods – of the “stick” variety – to compel a landlord to rent out their store.
“(Nor do I believe not renting out a property is some sort of exercise of a ‘right to contribute to urban blight.’)”
I would say it depends on the circumstances. Having blocks of vacant UWS storefronts seems rather blighted, at least from my perspective. Living in the company of others in a society — as opposed to alone on the proverbial desert island — carries certain responsibilities, it seems to me, though I’d be loathe to deny anyone their right to go jump off a cliff, bad idea or no. What responsibilities, if any (moral, not legal), do you believe accompany being a landlord, Peter?
I don’t say you’re wrong for being curious regarding Stringer’s “stick” ideas. Perhaps you could just ask him? It might inspire an interesting and productive discussion, and according to OPOD he will sway with the wind.
Now that Eric Adams is a “free” man and back on the scene, the mayoral race just got real interesting!
It’s only interesting in that Adams may attract enough votes from a subset of Democratic voters in the general election to elect someone like Curtis Sliwa, or worse.
The general election? Do you believe Adams and Sliwa will be the respective candidates? I wouldn’t bet a huge fortune on that, at least in the case of Adams. Or were you thinking of the poor souls who might write his name in?
At this point Adams almost seems more interested in promoting the latest MAGA-themed literary effusions of Kash Patel.
Adams just said, “I’m skipping the primary, and running independent”. Therefore he will likely be on the ballot in the general election come Nov.
Notice how I wrote, “someone like Curtis Sliwa, or worse”, I did not say I thought the Republicans would nominate Sliwa specifically.
Adams is toast.
No, thank you.
I don’t want anyone is not tough on crime and wants to defund the police.
Yep, defunding should be reserved exclusively for social services, military preparedness, healthcare, education, the judicial system, consumer protection, veterans affairs, women’s health, scientific research, immunology, meteorology, the arts, emergency assistance, national intelligence, food production and safety, civil-rights protection, infrastructure maintenance, financial-fraud regulation, election integrity, retirement benefits, and basically anything not directly related to the police or golfing. On that we can surely all agree!
It’s still too big to fit, let alone drown, in a bathtub but progress continues apace.
Same here. Stringer is my #1 pick.
You forgot the r.
Oh? In “Stringer”? I count two.
I like what you did there.
Republicans could actually have a chance if they ran someone besides crazy cat hoarder Sliwa.
Now, now! Animal-welfare advocacy may be Sliwa’s one socially redeeming quality. I happen to like cats (though dogs more so); it’s Curtis I don’t care for.
And remember, he was sporting red caps long before they became fashionable.
The major hurdle for any (R) candidate is being of the same party as King Krasnov.
Not up on west side lingo.
Who is King Krasnov ?
Is that a new store opening ?
Whoever we elect is going to be a disaster. That’s for sure.
This guy has less than zero chance of winning. If his chance of winning could be visualized, it would be a black hole from which no light ever escapes.
And Trump will never win a second term.
However, black holes can be intensely luminous in the accretion zone just outside the event horizon and draw in vast “support” (matter). Intended metaphor?
Could he afford his first apartment today if he was a new hire in his first job? The neighborhood has not grown since he moved here and its become unaffordable for many families who would like to live here. “We don’t want developments that are out of context with our side streets” – the context on our side streets is that we are directly adjacent to Midtown Manhattan, the 72nd St subway is one stop away from Times Square, and we are in year 40 of a severe housing shortage. Maybe a few of the side streets could stand to grow a little. We need to recognize the housing shortage as the crisis it is.
If you read the article you will learn that Scott Stringer wants to HIRE more cops, not defund them.
“I have a realistic plan to hire 3,000 more police officers. We need to look at more flexible work schedules, child daycare, especially for women who are on the force, who now make up 20 percent of the total.”
Stringer will sway with the wind.
Like a well-designed skyscraper.
Or a person without core principles.
Scott is a born and bred civil NewYorkerI We should be thrilled that someone like him has emerged from the carnage of NYC politics. He should be treasured and supported. I worked with him and always found him to be. considerate and principled
Of all the candidates I’ve seen interviewed, he is so far the only one to make concrete recommendations instead of glowing generalities about what “we must” do. 3000 more police officers and a more efficient bureaucratic structure for helping small business — not a bad start. Stringer may not be the most charismatic candidate but we’ve had enough of charisma with Party Guy Adams. Stringer sounds like the real, serious deal.
When all the Thrive money went unaccounted for, why didn’t he audit any of it? I could over look the allegations about sexual misconduct at this point but this guy is part of the broken machine that got us where we are today. We need change. Not more of the same.
Re auditing ThriveNYC: apparently it wasn’t for lack of soliciting the required information: https://www.gothamgazette.com/city/9179-thrivenyc-looks-to-turn-corner-with-new-data-assessing-programmatic-effectiveness
I don’t presume to know everything about this case; perhaps someone else can fill me in with some incriminating details on Stringer’s handling of it?
Scott is a good guy and a family man. Take a look at his accomplishments and look into his positions on issues. Many are family oriented positions.
Is he? How did those sexual harassment allegations from a couple of years back turn out? How were those resolved?
I understand that it might have been awkward to ask about, but did the Rag not think those issues were relevant?
They are to me. Still.
AFAIK, Stringer’s defamation case against accuser Jean Kim is still ongoing. (You know how lawsuits have a tendency to drag on and on.) Beyond that I couldn’t say, but you’re certainly not out of place to be concerned about it.
I’m guessing the handle “Just Another Groping Pol” alludes to local examples Adams and/or Cuomo, though perhaps you had in mind some parties on the national level….
As far as Stringer, there was a second accuser, beyond Ms. Kim.
The fact that there are two accusations is very troubling for a candidate on my ballot.
I don’t see ‘good guy’ or ‘family man’ as relevant descriptors here.
He was a very good comptroller. If people start judging candidates based on their actual accomplishments instead of their television appearances or social media savvy, we might get better leaders.
As the Founder of Westsiders for Responsible Development, I worked with Scott and his team for the 3years it took to down zone part of the neighborhood and require contextual zoning along with the curbing of selling air rights. I learned that Scott was honest, hardworking and committed to the community. His staff is excellent. I was impressed that he hired such talented people and gave them credit for their ideas/input rather than claiming these good ideas as his own. That showed how strong a leader he is. He was an outstanding Comptroller and Borough President. From my long and in depth experience with NYC politicians, no one is better equipped to be our next Mayor.
Yikes he was downzoning the UWS? Guess that makes sense with his comment on ‘out of context development’ in the article – that’s gonna be a no vote from me.
He is anti-police, anti arrest, bail reform advocate.
Stringer was the NYC Comptroller during the ThriveNYC debacle in which about $1B in funds vanished.
A competent comptroller should have kept his eyes on this pet project of DeBlasio’s wife.
I don’t see how Stringer has the competence to run the city.
Murray,
It’s a myth that ThriveNYC vanished 1 billion in funds.
Now about CityTime and that billion…
If you stuck with: “De Blasio shouldn’t have appointed his wife to the position and the executives of private homeless charities, which get funds from government programs like ThriveNYC, are significantly overpaid, while the people doing anything like effective work for the homeless are paid little”, then you’d have point.
You mean THIS Scott Stringer — “NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer raises concerns over Chirlane McCray’s ThriveNYC plan” (https://www.nydailynews.com/2020/02/25/mayor-de-blasio-fails-to-show-effectiveness-of-thrivenyc-led-by-chirlane-mccray-comptroller/)?
“A likely 2021 candidate for mayor, Stringer added that he would ‘probably dismantle’ Thrive if elected to City Hall.”
Just as Hilary was almost unquestionably the most qualified, best-prepared candidate for president when she ran (First Lady, Senator, SOS), Scott is the most qualified, best-prepared candidate for mayor. His year as Assembly member, Borough President and Comptroller, and his being a long-time “mentee” of Jerry Nadler, give him more administrative and political qualifications for the job than anyone else running. By a lot. He has worked diligently for his constituents in all positions, and has done many good things for this City.
He will be #1 on my ranked choice voting ballot. It is not even a contest.
It is very simple.
Vote the same. expect the same.
Vote better, get better.
The same people who were agitating for closeted Republican & champion of the NYPost Eric Adams…. that turned out great! Stringer won’t be my first choice but he’d be a whole lot better than the current mayor.
Unless Alvin Bragg loses this fall nothing will change.
Vote Lander
Why?
Stringer has been a lifelong local politician has never had a job where his performance was evaluated, not in political terms, but on his effectiveness in the job. He has been very good at developing the right allies politically and getting himself appointed to various roles, but in terms of actually having to perform his success rate seems to be quite poor. He has presented over significant increase in the debt of New York City and it’s financial mismanagement in general. I guess it must run in the family because his father was an advisor to Mayor Beame who presided over the bankruptcy of New York City in the 1970s, and it is considered one of the worst city mayors in US history since 1820 according to study by the University of Illinois Chicago. For all of the Andrew Cuomo haters out there, stringer has been accused by two women of sexual misconduct. So if you are eliminating AC from consideration for all of the accusations against him. I think you have to be consistent and also nix stringer. In terms of policy, I can’t figure out what this guy actually wants to do. He seems to dislike racists which is obviously good. But I don’t understand what he’s saying about the police does he still believe in the defunding the police that he advocated for a few years ago or is he for hiring new police officers? He clearly sees the waist that’s happening at the police department, but I’m not sure a solution makes any sense. He is appealing to businesses to stay open in the neighborhood because they should want to be part of the community, but if they are not making money, it’s kinda hard to keep paying the rent. So I’m not sure what sort of carrot and stick approach he actually is advocating for. With respect to eliminating some departments and making government more efficient yeah I’m all for it, but I don’t wanna do it haphazardly like we are seeing already at the federal level. This can be counterproductive and catastrophic. Overall, he sounds like a guy that has been trying to move up in politics, but it’s been hitting a ceiling for a long time because he doesn’t have a clear message or a really strong constituency that is willing to get behind him. His positions are all over place because it sounds like he might be throwing stuff at the wall to see what sticks and will get them the most traction. Overall, it seems like he will be a likely early exit from this campaign because of all of these reasons. This is probably the most thought I will give to this man or his candidacy for the rest of my life.
New York City didn’t go bankrupt in the 1970s. Came close, but avoided it.
Detroit went bankrupt recently.