Meet Your Mayor
Answer the questions below to see which major-party candidate for NYC mayor agrees with you most
Welcome to Meet Your Mayor, which shows you how candidates’ stands fit with your take on key issues ahead of New York City’s Nov. 2 election.
If you’re new to Meet Your Mayor, learn more about how it works.
Answer the following 10 questions to see which candidate — Democrat Eric Adams or Republican Curtis Sliwa — best matches the future you want to see for New York City.
In recent years, 15 New Yorkers experiencing mental health crises have died in encounters with NYPD officers. NYC’s current mayor has committed to send out mental health teams without cops in a two-precinct test. Some advocates want to go further.
Question 1 of 10
"I will never put a city employee, psychiatrist, family members or anyone else in a situation that could endanger the lives of innocent people or the person who's going through a mental health crisis.... So no, I will not just openly state, ‘Under no circumstances should a police officer respond.’"
from Citizen Action Mental Health Town Hall, Dec. 15, 2020
"I agree with some of the critics of the police department: Cops don't want to be social workers, don't want to have to deal with mental health care problems. You should have special units in each precinct compose the mental health experts who can respond simultaneously with the police when there is an emotionally disturbed person having an episode."
from Decision NYC With Ben Max, MNN, Jan. 27, 2021
In 2019, the state Legislature voted to charge vehicles a special toll to enter Manhattan south of 59th Street — with specific rates and other details to be determined later by an appointed board. Once congestion pricing is in place, funds will funnel to the state-run MTA to support mass transit — rankling some who seek city control over local streets.
Question 2 of 10
"Need it now. Also we lockbox all the money goes into transit. Commissioners and others with cars, on the subway system, MetroCard. I use the subway all the time. I think it's important to do it right now.”
from Leading Contenders Debate, June 10, 2021
"What is that gonna do to the Queens residents who want to drive into the city? How are they gonna afford all of this? They’re gonna have to take a reverse mortgage just to drive their vehicle into the city of New York in Manhattan."
from Queens Post podcast, Aug. 2, 2021
A bill pending in the City Council would change New York City’s charter to allow “lawful permanent residents” 18 and over to vote in local elections.
Question 3 of 10
"Say it loud and say it clear: Immigrants are welcome here. I'm proud to support expanded voting rights in municipal elections for lawful permanent residents of our city."
from Twitter, March 10, 2021
Dank, shadow-casting sidewalk sheds are widely disliked but provide public safety protection during building facade work and construction.
Question 4 of 10
“New legislation I'm introducing with @JustinBrannan will make building inspections more cost-effective, saving building owners and the City millions. It will help us take down sidewalk sheds that stay up for years. Most importantly, it will make us safer.”
from Twitter, Dec. 22, 2019
Uneven property assessments have many homeowners in neighborhoods with lower real estate values paying much more in taxes than those in tonier areas, among other inequities identified by the NYC Advisory Commission on Property Tax Reform.
Question 5 of 10
"New York City’s property tax system is fundamentally unfair, allowing wealthy people in Manhattan high-rises to pay significantly less than lower-income and middle-class, single-family homeowners in the outer boroughs. We need to shift the tax burden off renters and homeowners in less affluent areas to the owners of pricey apartments in wealthy areas."
from Commerical Observer, April 29, 2021
Sliwa's campaign advertises a plan that "eliminates unfair tax benefits and ensures that New York City’s low- and middle-income communities are no longer forced to subsidize the City’s wealthiest residents and neighborhoods." He would reassess properties based on their actual market value.
from campaign website
Even before the pandemic, high rents in many Manhattan neighborhoods coincided with numerous empty storefronts and a proliferation of chain retailers. More stores are vacant now.
Question 6 of 10
“Let's see if market forces lower the prices and that new people get involved in opening up businesses. Meantime, we can study commercial rent control, rent stabilization. See if it even makes sense.”
from THE CITY interview, May 17, 2021
Asked if he would support rent control for commercial tenants, Adams said no.
from NYC Mayoral Candidate Forum on Tenants Rights, Feb. 27, 2021
NYC currently requires all city employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID, but has declined to impose such a requirement on eligible students in public schools.
Question 7 of 10
“This is a city and country where we do vaccinate. I was vaccinated for smallpox, for mumps, measles and so many others. We already have a system in place that states before you start school you receive your vaccination. It is to protect the child and the student population.... I say yes, if it's FDA approved, we should mandate as we mandate other vaccinations.”
from WCBS 880, Oct. 15, 2021
"We are not going to kick kids out of school because they are not vaccinated."
from New York Post, Oct. 16, 2021
A growing segment of the workforce consists of workers who pick up assignments from apps like Uber or DoorDash. They’re treated by the companies as independent contractors lacking rights of employees, including the right to join a labor union.
Question 8 of 10
"I will push for gig-economy workers to have all of the rights and benefits of traditional employees."
from Community Service Society questionnaire
NYC plans to close Rikers Island by 2027 and replace it with four new borough-based jails at accessible locations intended to make incarceration less inhumane.
Question 9 of 10
"I believe we need to change the ecosystem of our incarceration system."
from NY1 Inside City Hall, Oct. 4, 2021
"Take some of the buildings on Rikers Island, destroy them. They’re too old, they’re inoperable. But others can be rehabbed. You only have 6,000 inmates. At one point you had 20,000. There is more than enough space. Build a modern-day prison right here on Rikers Island instead of giving it to developers."
from Sliwa campaign press conference, Sept. 22, 2021
The city Department of Homeless Services came to use hotel rooms to house many homeless families as their numbers in shelters grew. During the pandemic, the agency also moved many adults from shelters into hotel rooms to thwart the spread of COVID.
Question 10 of 10
Adams wants to facilitate converting hotel rooms into 25,000 units of supportive housing: "We need to do a close deep dive into whatever rules we have in place and whatever agency that is to keep up those rules to get them out of the way."
from City Limits, Sept. 21, 2021
Sliwa wants to reopen a massive work camp upstate originally opened by Mayor LaGuardia in the 1930s: “There is so much empty space up there. They can breathe fresh air, have good food, clothes, and it gives them a chance to get back on track.”
from New York Post, Oct. 9, 2021
Project by Alyssa Katz, Aria Velasquez, Farah Javed, Will Welch, Ann Choi and Mónica Cordero. Candidate images from Ben Fractenberg/THE CITY, Alejandro Durán/THE CITY, Shutterstock and campaign websites.