Meet Your Mayor
Answer the questions below to see which candidates for NYC Mayor agree with you most
Welcome to Meet Your Mayor, which shows you how the candidates’ stands fit with your take on the issues that matter most to New Yorkers.
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Answer the following four questions on transportation to see which candidates for mayor most closely match the future you want to see for New York City.
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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. New York has since been waiting for federal approval. 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 its streets.
Question 1 of 4
"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 NYC Mayoral Leading Contenders Debate, June 10, 2021
"We need to be better stewards of our money, including the money that's going to come in as a result of congestion pricing."
from THE CITY Interview, April 29, 2021
“We need to have congestion pricing put in place now. We are not suffering from a lack of cars in midtown today, yesterday, the day before. People are coming in and if they all come in by car we can't move. We need people to get back on the subway.”
from "Leading Contenders" Democratic Debate, June 10, 2021
“We need congestion pricing. We need it now. The Trump administration thwarted us. We can really build back our transportation system with that revenue.”
from NYC Mayoral Leading Contenders Debate, June 10, 2021
"Part of what we need to do with that money is put it into our subway systems to make sure that they're continuing to run and operate and we have to improve them.”
from "Leading Contenders" Democratic Debate, June 10, 2021
“Congestion pricing has been a long time in coming but we have to be mindful of our city's recovery. Right now 80% of midtown commercial real estate buildings are still empty so we have to accelerate the recovery by any means necessary. So I'd be flexible on the timing of adopting congestion pricing in line with the city's return of commuters.”
from NYC Mayoral Leading Contenders Debate, June 10, 2021
"My administration will vocally support congestion pricing and work with the state and federal government to implement it as soon as technically feasible."
from Streetsblog, Dec. 16, 2020
"I support congestion pricing not only as a way to raise revenue for transit, but also because it has the added benefit of reducing the number of cars that are on the road and thus lessening emissions. However, we need to make sure the MTA uses this revenue well."
from Tribeca Citizen, May 24, 2021
“It’s time for NYC to see redesigned streets.... This includes also seeing a reduction of trucks and cars on streets, offering subsidies and tax breaks to those who find alternate means of travel besides cars and congestion pricing.”
“New York City is in a crisis, and we need to raise revenue for the city. We always find ways to do that — impact the people who could afford it the least."
from THE CITY interview , May 12, 2021
Isaac Wright Jr.
While the mayor appoints a few board members and the city owns the tunnels and tracks underground, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which controls the city’s subways and buses (and more), is ultimately controlled by the state. Some local politicians have called on the city to take charge of its transit destiny.
Question 2 of 4
"I've looked at the numbers. It's not pretty, but the reality is, it's very very hard to manage a recovery if you're not managing the way five and a half million New Yorkers get around every single day and that includes the subways."
from District Council 37 Forum, Jan. 26, 2021
"I would love to see the city take control, but only if we had the revenue to support it."
from Empire State Indivisible's Albany Agenda forum, Feb. 8, 2021
"I think over the long term, it would be great for the city to get control of the MTA, but that can't happen without the revenue."
from Empire State Indivisible's Albany Agenda forum, Feb. 8, 2021
"I don't know if the city is at a point right now where we should be taking on additional responsibilities until we have a clear-cut plan as to how we're going to manage it and make sure that it's successful.”
from THE CITY interview , May 12, 2021
"The city deserves an MTA that either we have the ability to resource and direct and control or that Albany does what Albany needs to do, which is ensure that it has sufficient investments and transparency and accountability."
from Empire State Indivisible's Albany Agenda forum, Feb. 8, 2021
“What we should do is expand the MTA board. A member from every borough should be added to the board. We need a lot of voices on the board to ensure that New York City, which really is the feeder for our MTA system, is in place, but no, if we don't have the dollars attached to it, it's the wrong thing to do, in my opinion.”
from District Council 37 forum, Jan. 26, 2021
Chang calls for "doubling down on our bus systems," which includes increasing the number of express buses or on-demand services.
from THE CITY Interview, April 30, 2021
"We don't have a pathway to be able to take over the subways, but we should have a mayor that has more power over the subways."
from District Council 37 forum, Jan. 26, 2021
"We simply cannot afford this...and we don't have the resources to be able to run the MTA the way that it's supposed to be run."
from District Council 37 forum, Jan. 26, 2021
“It would be great to control the subways but I've crunched the numbers — we can't take on the debt service. We can't take on the debt, it is not practical for us today to take over the MTA.”
from District Council 37 forum, Jan. 26, 2021
Isaac Wright Jr., Aaron Foldenauer
NYC’s current mayor introduced all-borough commuter ferry service with a $2.75 fare per ride, in line with city buses and subways. With five routes in place and two more set to arrive this year, the city is spending substantial sums to keep the system afloat.
Question 3 of 4
"Some of these routes just aren't really getting a ton of customers, and we're subsidizing them at a time when our budget is going to be constrained.… My goal would be to try and support the routes that, frankly, have proven that they're helping New Yorkers and have demand."
from Forum on the Future of Transportation, March 25, 2021
"I do see ferries as having a critical role.... I don't mind that we subsidize them given that we subsidize cars more than anything else.... I think the question has to be, are they equitably distributed and where is their demand?"
from Forum on the Future of Transportation, March 25, 2021
Garcia's campaign calls for redistributing funds from the ferry subsidy to half-price Fair Fares expansion and MTA bus operations.
from Campaign website
"What we really need to do is expand it ... where we need it to make sure we have that service because of usage, but also increase the rates like we do for express bus service."
from Forum on the Future of Transportation, March 25, 2021
"We're subsidizing them as our budget is constrained. We'll have to make tough choices. I would try to support the routes that have proven they're helping New Yorkers and have demand."
from Forum on the Future of Transportation, March 25, 2021
Chang says the ferry system is integral to some parts of the city but that expansion has to done on a cost-effective basis.
from THE CITY Interview, April 30, 2021
"The New York City ferry system is a money pit. That must change because we can't continue the dramatic subsidies the ferry system is getting right now."
from THE CITY Interview, April 29, 2021
“I would rework the contract.… But ultimately, the goal has to be, if we're going to do I think transportation subsidy and expansion, I would drive it into the buses and the bus lane, because I think that's a better bang for the buck. But I would keep the service of the communities right now.”
from Forum on the Future of Transportation, March 25, 2021
“We should make the ridership and the schedule has to make sense so that the city is not operating the ferries at a deficit.”
from THE CITY interview , May 12, 2021
Eric Adams, Isaac Wright Jr.
The city’s 1,300-plus mile network of bike lanes has been steadily growing. Yet many lanes remain unprotected from motor vehicle traffic. Meanwhile, expansion has failed to penetrate some areas, especially where local opposition is loud.
Question 4 of 4
"Local community community boards should have input, but they should not have veto rights over bike lanes."
from THE CITY Interview, April 30, 2021
"We need to ensure that people think of bike lanes in the same way they think of their subway, as a network."
from Bike New York forum, March 5, 2021
"We need to expand bike lanes, busways and pedestrian plazas across this city. And that’s just the start. We need to redesign our streets and ensure our more dangerous drivers cannot continue getting behind the wheel."
from Twitter, Nov. 15, 2020
Stringer's campaign website calls for a 425-mile, five-borough bikeway connected to greenways.
from Campaign website
"I want it so that, when someone moves to New York City, they think, ‘Great! I don't need to own a car.’ One aspect of that is going to be making the city as bike-friendly as it possibly can be."
from Newsweek, Feb. 23, 2021
"People connect bike lanes with gentrification.... Bike lanes have received a bad rap because people believe it’s an indicator that they’re going to be displaced, and it’s not something that’s part of the overall build-out of their community."
from Bike New York forum, March 5, 2021
“You start to change that conversation not just with what you’re taking away in terms of cars, but what you’re adding in terms of options.”
from Bike New York forum
"One of my key proposals is to build a bicycle superhighway along Third Avenue in Manhattan, which would extend to the to Third Avenue in The Bronx."
from THE CITY Interview, April 29, 2021
“What we haven’t done with major projects like this before is involve the people who are going to be most impacted.... We prescribe, but we haven’t included. In my leadership, we would get the right leaders in the communities and if we have to go down by neighborhood, then we’ll do that, because that’s where people’s lives will be most impacted.”
from Streetsblog, March 3, 2021
“Although we would like more people to ride bikes, it's not happening in every community in the same way.”
from THE CITY interview , May 12, 2021
Wiley's campaign website calls for the creation of 300 miles of bike lanes.
from Campaign website
Isaac Wright Jr.
Reporting by Ann Choi and Mónica Cordero, development by Will Welch, editing by Alyssa Katz. Candidate images from Ben Fractenberg/THE CITY, Alejandro Durán/THE CITY, Shutterstock and campaign websites.