At a "Fight Oligarchy" town hall in Brooklyn, New York, with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), on Saturday, Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, Democratic nominee for NYC Mayor, spoke about his plans to bolster the Access-A-Ride program for disabled commuters in the city.
00:00I'm Donnie. I'm so excited to talk to you guys. Here's my question. So basically, I'm going to sit down because I have a lot of spine issues. So here's my question. So two years ago, I was diagnosed with five conditions in my spine that result in sometimes debilitating chronic pain. And I had to quit my full-time job at the time because it was not like, it was a very physical job. It was an education related job.
00:30I signed a contract in March to be a first grade teacher this school year. And three days before I was supposed to start, I learned that the school would not accommodate my physical disability. And so now I'm out of work. And I'm also an artist. I'm also a fourth generation New Yorker. My mom's family has been New Yorkers as long as we've been Americans. Okay. So here's my question. I joined your campaign, Mr. Mondani, because I love everything you stand for. And so my question is twofold.
00:58One, how are you going to fix accessoride? And what do you say? And what do you, Mr. Mondani, say, given Cardi B on the stand? What do you say to men who try to make beautiful women from the Bronx be quiet?
01:14Don't.
01:15Don't.
01:16Don't.
01:17You know, and I think, I have to say that every time I sit and talk to Senator Sanders, he will always bring up healthcare.
01:35He will bring up the importance of it, the necessity of it, and the fact that we need not wait for a federal government to understand our own role in reckoning with this broken system.
01:54And I think of accessoride as one of many examples of city government's own failures.
02:07I have been guilty in the beginnings of my politics of thinking that if I were to admit the incompetence, the inefficiencies, the failures of the public sector, I would be inviting critique of the existence of that sector.
02:21But when you do not admit those things, when you do not reckon with those betrayals, those failures, you make it seem as if you do not care about the outcomes of that sector.
02:29We have allowed the right wing to take language of efficiency, of fraud, of waste, of quality of life as if it is their own.
02:41It should be the cornerstones of progressive politics.
02:45And so to your point, accessoride, we can even go further with how so many New Yorkers get around New York City, more than a million ride the bus.
02:57We have to reckon with the failures.
02:59And one of the first things I will be doing when I get to City Hall, with the help of each and every one of you, is to audit the entirety of the work that we do and that we fund.
03:11Because we need to deliver excellence.
03:17We need to ensure that public transit, that accessoride, these are not the things that only those who cannot afford something else turn to.
03:25We need to make them so good, so reliable, so dependable, that no matter how much money is in your pocket, you say, I'm going to use this.
03:33That's what we have to do.
03:42Theron raises two important issues.
03:44There are a lot of people raising their hands, all right?
03:47Please don't shout out.
03:48We'll do our best here.
03:49But just want to comment on one point.
03:52And I want everybody to understand this in their souls.
03:56You are living in the only major country on earth that does not guarantee healthcare to every man, woman and child.
04:09Over 40% of Americans who are struggling with cancer go bankrupt or deplete their life savings.
04:18That's half a million people go bankrupt because of medical bills.
04:24That is cruel, immoral, absurd.
04:31And despite all of that, we're spending, talk about efficiency.
04:37We're spending twice as much per capita on healthcare as the people in any other country.
04:43We should have the best gold standard healthcare system in the world, not one of the worst.
04:52So that's a fight we've got to wage and not ever give up on.
04:57All right.
04:58I see a woman right there, right in the middle in a white blouse.
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